This article will focus on the process of creating one of the three components for the following model: Notably, OpenSCAD is a unit-less CAD program it leaves the units to be decided once the model is exported. Making a model starts with coding modules that generate primitives like cylinders and cubes, then those primitives are manipulated and combined in code to build more complicated objects. Once programmed, models produced by OpenSCAD can be exported in a variety of formats, including notably STL, SVG, and PNG.Īs an application, the interface provided by OpenSCAD is fundamentally simplistic on one side a code editor is provided to write scripts, while the other provides a view of the generated model and a console for messages. Unlike FreeCAD, however, the solitary way to create models is by programming them using the OpenSCAD scripting language. Like the FreeCAD project we have previously looked at, OpenSCAD can be used to build 3D-models suitable for everything from 3D-printing to CNC machining. It is a unique way of approaching CAD and has many real-world applications that may be of interest.
Where the majority of 3D-modeling software is point-and-click, the OpenSCAD website describes the project as “something like a 3D compiler”, where models that are generated using a scripting language.
OpenSCAD is a GPLv2-licensed 3D computer-aided design (CAD) program] best described as a “programmer’s CAD” it is available for Linux, Windows, BSD and macOS.