Topic · 4 articles
Code CAD and CAD automation
Scripted CAD turns a model into source code you can version, diff, test and generate in bulk. These guides compare the libraries and their geometry kernels, walk through a first STEP file in Python, and give an honest break-even calculation for automation — including the tasks where it does not pay back.
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Code CAD: Defining Mechanical Parts in Code Instead of a Mouse
Code CAD replaces the sketch-and-click workflow with a script that builds the part. Here is the tool landscape, the CSG-vs-B-Rep split that decides whether you get a STEP file, and when scripting genuinely beats a GUI.
build123d vs CadQuery: Choosing a Python CAD Library
Both drive the same Open CASCADE kernel and both export STEP. The real differences are the API model, how you select geometry, and how each one behaves when a script grows past a few hundred lines.
What Is Parametric CAD? Constraints, Features, and Design Intent
Parametric CAD models are defined by driving dimensions and relationships instead of fixed coordinates. Here is how the feature tree, the constraint solver, and design intent actually work — and where regeneration breaks.
Python for CAD: From Install to Your First STEP File
A working walkthrough of scripted mechanical CAD in Python — environment setup, a parametric bracket, a generated part family, geometry tests in CI, and the mistakes that waste the first afternoon.