Setting up a parametric modeling pipeline with python
WIP
Goal
I have a couple of pretty simple 3D models that I want to tweak very many ways. There are a dozen different parameters, I’ll be tweaking each one one or two millimeters. When I’m done, I want to wind up with a library of different configurations, and be able to print each without a lot of hassle (finding the files, slicing, etc.). In addition, I want to be able to easily create new configurations quickly and without having to go through a lot of UI clicking.
Originally I was going to use Fusion360’s Configuration Tables but they aren’t available on the free version and it’s not worth upgrading for just that feature.
The stack I am going with is:
- DevContainer to simplify the dev environment
- Python with CadQuery to generate the models
- Prussa Slicer CLI to generate the slicing
This post will be about getting a minimal hello world set up end to end.
Set Up the Environment
- Install Cursor/Vs Code - it doesn’t really matter which but I’m going with Cursor for this.
- Install Docker Windows from the store
- Install the Dev Containers extension
- Trust the git repo from inside Cursor with:
git config --global --add safe.directory /workspaces/pens