On today's chart 811K views since yesterday

"Space bar doesn't work": Linus Tech Tips' engineers test AI-cloned CAD software

A Fusion look-alike built with Rust and Claude earns cautious praise, while a browser-based SolidWorks copy gives Kyle Tharatt a long list of complaints.

Channel:

Linus Tech Tips Story of October 28, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of the most watched videos since yesterday, with 811,473 views.

Pros Try AI-Cloned Engineering Tools

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

0:00Riley Murdock sets out the premise: AI coding tools are being used to clone costly engineering software.
0:55Justin and Matthew try SolidCraft, an open-source Fusion 360 clone built with Rust and Claude.
3:12Sebastien and Tynan model a plastic widget. They praise the familiar interface and smooth viewport but hit missing functions.
6:24Justin explains his interest: Fusion does not run natively on Linux, which he now uses.
6:46Kyle, Sebastien and Tynan test Purrametric, a browser-based SolidWorks clone, and run into bugs, snapping trouble and inconsistent commands.
12:38Verdict: Purrametric is too unpolished for daily work, though AI software cloning is advancing quickly.

"Pros Try AI-Cloned Engineering Tools" asks a pointed question on Linus Tech Tips: can software built largely by AI coding tools stand in for the expensive programs real engineers use every day? The video has drawn about 810,000 views since it went up.

It follows an earlier round in which the channel tried AI-made replacements for Adobe's apps and came away unimpressed, according to the description. This time Riley Murdock hosts and the subjects are computer-aided design programs. The testers are the people who design Linus Tech Tips' own products: fabricators, product designers, a senior mechanical engineer and the head of product research.

SolidCraft, an open-source clone of Autodesk Fusion written in Rust, gets the warmer reception. Its GitHub contributor graph lists Claude alongside a human developer. Sebastien Sauve-Hoover says the "sketch feels exactly the same as every other software," and he singles out one rare thing: "it gave an error that actually explains what's going wrong." Tynan Stack is less charmed by the snapping. "So it can only snap in one direction at a time," he notes.

Fabricator Justin Johnson has a personal reason to want it to work. "I swapped over to Linux and Fusion isn't on Linux," he says. The timing suits the channel: its guide to switching to Linux went up the day before, as we reported here.

Purrametric, a browser-based SolidWorks copy coded with Claude Opus, has a rougher session. Kyle Tharatt starts by objecting to the test keyboard's blank keys, a moment viewers keep bringing up. Then the software adds its own problems: odd plane rendering, unreliable snapping and shortcuts that ignore him. "Space bar doesn't work. S doesn't work. Right click wheel doesn't work," he reports. Tynan's verdict is shorter: "This is a bad experience."

The team agrees Purrametric is not ready for daily work. They also agree these projects are moving fast, and a closing segment points to more of them. The comments filled up quickly, close to a usual full day's worth in about ten hours. Many viewers ask for a rematch in a year, and Linux users describe CAD as the last thing keeping them on Windows.

Published on Trari

Where next?

Also in Technology reviews and gadgetsVideo taking off 54x its usual first dayTrevor Nace explains passkeys beyond the Face ID promptHis unusually fast-starting explainer shows why fake login pages cannot use a passkey, while viewers ask what happens when their phone goes missing.Channel: Trevor Nace · Story of October 30, 2026

A different discovery todayVideo taking off 19x its usual first dayTrump's "I like him a lot" on JD Vance gets the Kimmel treatmentThe monologue moves from FDA inspections and rally attacks to a "Presidementia" reel, then ends with a staged Halloween news report.Channel: Jimmy Kimmel Live · Story of October 30, 2026

What viewers say

Claude: watch this video and fix all the issues
@joshcryerSee it on YouTube
A cool Idea for a future Video in a year would be to rerun to these programs to see if they went anywhere.
@vi6ddarkkingSee it on YouTube
I would love if this was a regular series. Hell yeah.
@ShoelessJPSee it on YouTube

5 more comments

They're adding features as quickly as their tokens refresh lol
@nmzxyzSee it on YouTube
7:28 most valid crashout 😂😂😂
@thevoidscreamerSee it on YouTube
I first thought that this was a reupload. Nice to see a follow-up
@stoefSee it on YouTube
With how fast these tools are moving, you need to do a re-do in like... a month. lol
@PPedroFernandesSee it on YouTube
4:43 it changes the shape because the right side has a fixed value, so 40 is for the whole rectangle, then removing part of it, change the proportions
@Andres_LiraSee it on YouTube