I recently visited the Marine Mammal Center in Sasaulito for the first time, and learned that they use 3d printed "hat tags" to tell the seals in their care apart. This is important because seals can look very similar, but each one has their own specific dietary and treatment needs.
Here's an example of the tags in use:
Image source (and more information) here
I tend to think that the world needs more hyper-specialized CAD tools. There are tons of people and processes that could benefit from customized 3d models, but actually using CAD tools is a huge ask. Much better to have tools that provide only the options that are strictly necessary.
This tool allows the user to specify the following:
- a width (all dimensions in millimeters)
- a height
- a depth
- the letters to add
- the amount of fillet to add to the edges
It creates a 3d model of a triangular prism using those settings, adds the fillets and text, and allows the user to download the result as a 3d printable STL file.
This is implemented as an Electron app, using typescript, React, and the MUI library and for the 3d, I'm using ThreeJS for the rendering and camera control.
But the real magic / heavy lifting is thanks to opencascadejs, the WASM port of the OpenCascade open-source CAD kernel. This means that the app can do actual, proper CAD operations, like filleting edges, and output proper clean geometry.
I went with webtech + Electron both because I love webtech, but also because it means that this should run on any OS.
I haven't tested it at all yet outside of my personal machine, but as long as you have Node and npm installed, you should be able to:
- Install the dependencies with
npm install - run the application with
npm run dev