RapCAD User Guide

For command line options see the RapCAD manual

Basic Values

Number

Example

a=1;
b=5.1;
c=-0.6;

Text

Example

a="Hello World!";

Boolean

Examples

a=True;
b=False;

Vector

In RapCAD commas are not allowed at the end of a vector because it it often a sign of error.

Examples

a=[,10,10]; // means [undef,10,10]
b=[10,10];  // means [10,10]
c=[10,,10]; // means [10,undef,10]
d=[10,10,]; // syntax error use [10,10,undef] <1>

Since index out of bounds errors are not desired, RapCAD will treat vectors containing less elements than expected as though the elements exist but are undefined. Thus if we expect a 3D vector, but are given a 2D vector such as [10,10] RapCAD will treat this as [10,10,undef] you can therefore treat [10,10,undef] as synonymous to [10,10] so in the example above you could simply write d=[10,10] if you prefer.

Range

Examples

a=[1:5];    // 1,2,3,4,5
b=[0:2:10]; // 2,4,6,8,10

3D Primitives

RapCAD supports a set of built in 3D primitives. The primitives are modules that take arguments which specify the size and shape of the primitive. A module is instanciated by writing its name followed by parenthesis which enclose the arguments. Since it is also a statement it must be followed by a semicolon.

<argument> ::=: <expression>
| <identifier> = <expression>
<instance> ::=: <identifier> ( <argument> );
| <identifier> ( <argument> , <argument>… );

Cube

Examples

cube(size,center);
cube(s,c);

Sphere

Examples

sphere(radius);
sphere(r);

Cylinder

RapCAD suports legacy r1 and r2 parameters on cylinder. The Cone module is more appropriate for drawing cones.

Examples

cylinder(radius,height,center);
cylinder(r,h,c);

Cone

Examples

cone(radius1,radius2,center);
cone(r1,r2,c);

Prism

Examples

prism(height,sides,apothem);
prism(height,sides,radius);

Polyhedron

RapCAD supports a legacy triangles parameter, but the name is a bit misleading since polygons with more than three points can be specified using this parameter. The name surfaces was chosen in preference to polygons so as not to have a single letter name conflict with points.

Examples

polyhedron(points,surfaces);
polyhedron(p,s);

2D Primitives

Square

Examples

square(size,center);
square(s,c);

Circle

Examples

circle(radius);
circle(r);

Polygon

RapCAD supports a legacy parameter paths this however conflicts with the single letter parameter name points.

Examples

polygon(points,lines);
polygon(p,l);

Polyline

Examples

polyline(points);

Bezier Surface

Examples

bezier_surface(mesh);

Control modules

Echo

The echo module allows you to debug values that are evaluated as part of your script. You can pass more than one argument to echo and it will be output to the console. Named arguments are allowed but the names will not be echo’ed.

Examples

echo(53+9);
echo([32,24,10]);
echo(a=1,b=2);

Bounds

Examples

bounds()cube(10);

Child

Examples

child();

Operations

Union

Examples

union() { module1(); module2(); }

Group

Examples

group() { module1(); module2(); }

Difference

Examples

difference() { module1(); module2(); }

Symmetric Difference

Examples

symmetric_difference() { module1(); module2(); }

Intersection

Examples

intersection() { module1(); module2(); }

Minkowski Sum

Examples

minkowski() { module1(); module2(); }

Glide

Examples

glide() { module1(); module2(); }

Hull

Examples

hull() { module1(); module2(); }

Sub Division

Examples

subdiv() module1();

Transformations

Linear Extrude

Examples

linear_extrude(h=10) square([10,10]);

Mirror

Examples

mirror() translate([0,20,0]) cylinder(r=5,h=10);

Offset

Examples

offset() module1();

Rotate

Examples

rotate([0,0,90]) module1();

Scale

Examples

scale([0.1,0.1,0.1]) module1();

Shear

Examples

shear() module1();

Translate

Examples

translate([0,20,0]) module1();

Compiling

The following instructions will allow you to compile RapCAD from source on various platforms.

Prerequisites

The source code is hosted in a git repository so you might want to install git first

linux

sudo apt-get install git-core

Linux

Dependencies

sudo apt-get install g++ libcgal-dev libqt4-dev bison flex

dxflib

wget ftp://anonymous:anonymous@ribbonsoft.com/archives/dxflib/dxflib-2.2.0.0-1.src.tar.gz

tar -xzf dxflib-2.2.0.0-1.src.tar.gz &&
cd dxflib-2.2.0.0-1.src &&
sed "s/<string>/<string.h>/" -i src/*.h &&
CFLAGS=-fPIC ./configure --prefix=/usr &&
make depend &&
make &&
gcc -shared -Wl,-soname,libdxflib.so.2 -o lib/libdxflib.so.2.2.0 src/*.o &&
sudo make install &&
sudo install -m 644 lib/libdxflib.so.2.2.0 /usr/lib &&
sudo ldconfig -n /usr/lib

RapCAD

git clone git://git.rapcad.org/rapcad

cd rapcad &&
qmake &&
make

Windows

MinGW

Download the MinGW Automated installer package mingw-get-inst-20111118.exe
Check the C++ compiler checkbox.
Check the msys checkbox
Install to C:\MinGW\

Qt (MinGW)

Download Qt installer qt-win-opensource-4.8.0-mingw.exe
Ignore warning about win32api version.
Install to default location C:\Qt\

CMake

Download CMake installer cmake-2.8.7-win32-x86.exe
Check the Add cmake to the system path for the current user checkbox
Install to default location C:\Program Files\CMake 2.8

Boost

Download Boost source boost_1_49_0.zip
Extract all to C:\ (sources will end up in C:\boost_1_49_0\ )
Use the QT Development Command Prompt
Start→Program Files→Qt by Nokia v4.8.0 (MinGW OpenSource)→QT 4.8.0 Command Prompt

cd C:\boost_1_49_0\
bootstrap.bat
.\bjam toolset=gcc release thread

CGAL

https://gforge.inria.fr/frs/download.php/30386/CGAL-4.0-Setup.exe

Note	CGAL-4.0-Setup.exe is not a binary distribution, just an installer that installs the source.

No need for CGAL Examples and Demos
Make sure mpfr and gmp precompiled libs is checked
Install to C:\CGAL-4.0\
Make sure CGAL_DIR environment checked.
Use the QT Development Command Prompt
Start→Program Files→Qt by Nokia v4.8.0 (MinGW OpenSource)→QT 4.8.0 Command Prompt

set PATH=%PATH%;"C:\Program Files\CMake 2.8\bin"
cd "C:\CGAL-4.0\"
cmake -G"MinGW Makefiles" -DBOOST_ROOT="C:\boost_1_49_0" -DBOOST_LIBRARYDIR="C:\boost_1_49_0\bin.v2\libs\thread\build\gcc-mingw-4.6.2\release\threading-multi\" .
make

dxflib

ftp://anonymous:anonymous@ribbonsoft.com/archives/dxflib/dxflib-2.2.0.0-1.src.tar.gz

Mac OS X 10.6.2

Xcode 3.2

MacPorts

Download the MacPorts Installer. Install the package accepting the default options.

Dependencies

sudo port install cgal qt4-mac

dxflib

tar -xzf dxflib-2.2.0.0-1.src.tar.gz &&
cd dxflib-2.2.0.0-1.src &&
./configure --prefix=/opt/local &&
make depend &&
make &&
sudo make install

RapCAD

qmake CONFIG+=official
make
cp -R /opt/local/lib/Resources/qt_menu.nib rapcad.app/Contents/Resources/
macdeployqt rapcad.app -dmg
hdiutil internet-enable -yes rapcad.dmg