OpenVCAD

Volumetric, Multi-Material, Programmable CAD for Additive Manufacturing

OpenVCAD is an open-source volumetric geometry compiler for the design and fabrication of functionally graded, multi-material objects. It brings advanced implicit modeling and programmable parametric design into the world of additive manufacturing.

[!WARNING] OpenVCAD 3.0 Update We have recently moved to a non-backwards compatible version 3.0 that introduces attribute modeling. If you are migrating from an older version, please read the migration guide.

Quick Start

pip install OpenVCAD

import pyvcad as pv
import pyvcad_metamaterials as mm
import pyvcad_rendering as viz

# Define a 30x30x30 mm block
block = 30.0

# Create a cell map for a 3x3x3 lattice
cell_map = mm.rectangular_cell_map(
    (
        pv.Vec3(-block / 2.0, -block / 2.0, -block / 2.0),
        pv.Vec3(block / 2.0, block / 2.0, block / 2.0),
    ),
    cells=(3, 3, 3),
)

# Build a bcc strut lattice
root = mm.graph_lattice(cell_map, "bcc", beam_radius=1.0)

# Apply a modulus gradient in MPa from 10 MPa (soft) to 2000 MPa (stiff)
# mapped across the Z axis from -15 to +15.
modulus_expr = "10.0 + (z + 15.0) * (2000.0 - 10.0) / 30.0"
modulus = pv.FloatAttribute(modulus_expr)
root.set_attribute(pv.DefaultAttributes.MODULUS, modulus)

viz.Render(root)

Resources

Examples

Clone this repo to get runnable example scripts:

git clone https://github.com/MacCurdyLab/OpenVCAD-Public.git
cd OpenVCAD-Public/examples

See the Getting Started tutorial in the documentation for a walkthrough.

License

OpenVCAD is released under a non-commercial open-source license. See the LICENSE file for details.

Citing OpenVCAD

If you use OpenVCAD in your research, please cite:

@article{wade2024openvcad,
  title={OpenVCAD: An open source volumetric multi-material geometry compiler},
  author={Wade, Charles and Williams, Graham and Connelly, Sean and Kopec, Braden and MacCurdy, Robert},
  journal={Additive Manufacturing},
  volume={79},
  pages={103912},
  year={2024},
  publisher={Elsevier}
}

@article{wade2025toolpaths,
  title = {Implicit Toolpath Generation for Functionally Graded Additive Manufacturing via Gradient-Aware Slicing},
  author = {Wade, Charles and Beck, Devon and MacCurdy, Robert},
  journal = {Additive Manufacturing},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2025.104963},
}

@article{wade2025pyvcad,
  title = {Implicit Modeling for 3D-printed Multi-material Computational Object Design via Python},
  author = {Wade, Charles and Beck, Devon and MacCurdy, Robert},
  journal = {Proceedings of the 10th ACM Symposium on Computational Fabrication},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2509.15562},
}

See the full list of publications for additional citations.