We’re delighted to see the TinkerCad community sharing shape generators. Last year TinkerCad released Shape Scripts, a way to create 3d models by writing javascript. What started out as an experimental feature lead to making a powerful tool the community could share. The feature is now dubbed ‘Shape Generators’ and they’re pretty awesome.
Shape Generators are JavaScript programs that generate 3D geometry based on a set of visual inputs provided to the user. A shape can be generated from 2D curves that are extruded, or by directly building a mesh. The end result is a water-tight shape that can interact with other shapes in boolean operations. Developers are free to use functionality provided by the Autodesk Core Library, or libraries developed by other members of the community.
Math knots, parameteric wire springs, double helixes, and voronoi patterns are just some of the shape generators coming out of the community. You can browse through them on the generators tour page or access them directly through the inspector whilst editing a project. Navigating through the many generators, adjusting parametric sliders and view their code is inspirational and really shows this feature is excellent. It’s fast and runs in your browser in using OpenGL.
Aside from declaring some parameters and generating geometry, there are lots of other things a Shape Generator may do so it became necessary to encapsulate all of the responsibilities in a clean interface that caters to our object-oriented developers.
If your interested in modeling parts for your 3d printed projects using javascript, check out the TinkerCad Shape Generator API.
Check out API and documentation.
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Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!
Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!
The Adafruit Learning System has dozens of great tools to get you well on your way to creating incredible works of engineering, interactive art, and design with your 3D printer! If you’ve made a cool project that combines 3D printing and electronics, be sure to let us know, and we’ll feature it here!