cadquery-png-plugin

cadquery-png-plugin is a PNG export plugin for CadQuery, which is a Python API for creating CAD models and assemblies. The core CadQuery library can export SVG images, but not bitmap images, such as PNG.

Installation

This plugin has not been released on PyPI, but it can be installed via git and pip.

pip install git+https://github.com/jmwright/cadquery-png-plugin.git

This installation will also install other required packages such as CadQuery if the environment does not already include them.

Usage

Below is a minimal example of this plugin being used to export a CadQuery assembly.

import cadquery as cq
import cadquery_png_plugin.plugin  # This registers the plugin with CadQuery

# You can customize the render options through a dictionary
render_options = {"width": 600,  # width of the output image
                  "height": 600,  # height of the output image
                  "color_theme": "default",  # can also be black_and_white
                  "view": "front-top-right",  # front, top, front-bottom-left, etc
                  "zoom": 1.0  # zooms in and out on the center of the model
                  }

# Create a simple CadQuery assembly for an example export
box = cq.Workplane().box(10, 10, 10)
cyl = cq.Workplane().circle(2.5).extrude(5)
assy = cq.Assembly(box, color=cq.Color(1.0, 0.0, 0.0))
# assy.add(box, color=cq.Color(1.0, 0.0, 0.0))
assy.add(cyl, loc=cq.Location(0, 0, 5.0), color=cq.Color(0.0, 0.0, 1.0))

# Do the PNG export
assy.exportPNG(options=render_options, file_path="ouptput_file.png")

That code results in the following image.

It is also possible to pass a dictionary for the view parameter rather than using a named view. This allows for custom views. The view values provided below are equivalent to passing the string front-top-right for the view parameter. The parameter values shown below are also the default values for the view if any of the custom view parameters are omitted from the dictionary.

render_options = {
    "width": 1200,
    "height": 1200,
    "color_theme": "default",
    "view": {
        "view_up": (0, 1, 0),
        "azimuth": 45,
        "elevation": -45,
        "roll": -55,
        "window_center_x": -0.05,
        "window_center_y": -0.05
    },
    "zoom": 1.0,
    "background_color": (1, 1, 1),
}

Where this Plugin is Used

An example of this plugin being used by a project in the wild can be found in the Nimble repository.

Running Tests

1. Clone the repository.

https://github.com/jmwright/cadquery-png-plugin.git && cd cadquery-png-plugin

2. Install the plugin and its development dependencies.

pip install -e .
pip install -e .[dev]

3. Run the tests

pytest