OpenSCAD

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OpenSCAD is an open-source computer-aided design (CAD) software application with its own built-in programming-language.

Unlike many other CAD software applications which use a GUI to create, edit, and manipulate objects, OpenSCAD creates, edits, and manipulates objects via a scripting programming-language. For example:


cube([50,75,100]);

OpenSCAD scripts are usually stored in .scad files.

OpenSCAD includes many features similar to many imperative programming-languages; including:

For those already familiar with programming-languages such as C, C++, C#, D, Dart, Go, Java, JavaScript, PHP, and others — OpenSCAD uses curly-brackets. For example:


for (a =[x1,x2,x3]){echo(a);}

OpenSCAD provides two main methods for 3D-modeling:

OpenSCAD is especially geared towards mechanical, rather than artistic, aspects of 3D computer-aided design. Thus OpenSCAD can be useful when one wants to create a model that one wants to 3D-print.

Units

All dimensions in OpenSCAD are measured in (the somewhat confusingly named) "unit".

The convention used by a lot of people doing 3D-printing is:

1 unit = 1 millimeter

But OpenSCAD is in a sense unit-less.

And it is a good idea to explicitly size your model when preparing it for 3D-printing.