VentForge

Design vent and perforation patterns for 3D printing, laser cutting and CNC, then export them as ready-to-use files. Use the desktop editor, or let an AI assistant such as Claude do the designing through the built-in MCP server. Both work on the same design file.

Features

• 10 layouts: grid (square, diamond, hexagon), random, path, spiral, concentric, fibonacci, crosslines, voronoi stone cracks, flow lines, and custom points.
• Hole shapes: circle, rounded rectangle, hexagon, polygon, star, or your own outline.
• Gradients: vary size, spacing, angle or shape across the plate. Drive them with points, lines or curves, with noise, or with a grayscale image.
• Boundary: none, circle, rounded rectangle, or a drawn outline, with margin and clipping.
• Fan grilles: one click for a 40–140 mm fan: holes only over the blades, 4 screw holes, and the share of the fan opening left open (airflow).
• Keep-outs: circles or rectangles that stay free of holes (bosses, logos, screws), optionally cut as holes. Draw them on the canvas with the Keep-out tool (K; Shift for a circle, right-click to remove).
• Machining: CNC tool radius (rounds inside corners, drops holes the cutter cannot reach) and laser kerf compensation for SVG/DXF. Set a minimum feature (about 2× nozzle for 3D printing) to flag holes that would close up.
• Export: PNG, SVG, DXF, STEP, STL. You can also wrap the pattern onto a tube or cut it into an existing STEP part.
• Checks: hole count, open area, the thinnest wall in mm (marked on the canvas), and warnings where walls get thinner than your minimum.
• Airflow estimate: pressure loss of the grille (Idelchik thin perforated plate) at 2 m/s, so two designs can be compared by airflow. A rough figure, not a flow simulation.
• Undo/redo, presets, and a personal library (also from the AI assistant: save_to_library).

Install

You need Python 3.11 or newer. Install the full app with uv (recommended) or pipx:

uv tool install "ventforge[all]"

pipx install "ventforge[all]"

Pick a smaller install if you don't need everything:

Use the desktop editor

ventforge

To open a saved design, pass its file: ventforge my_vent.vent.json.

1. Pick a preset or a layout mode in the side panel.
2. Drag the sliders. The preview updates as you go.
3. Pick a file type from the Export menu.

Canvas controls

Your design saves itself shortly after each change.

Use it with an AI assistant (MCP)

You don't need to install anything first, because uv downloads VentForge on demand.

Claude Code:

claude mcp add ventforge -- uvx --from "ventforge[all]" ventforge --mcp

Claude Desktop: add this to claude_desktop_config.json, then restart the app:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ventforge": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--from", "ventforge[all]", "ventforge", "--mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Then ask, for example: "Make a 120 × 80 mm hexagon vent with 4 mm holes that get smaller toward the edges, and export it as STEP."

The assistant works on ~/Documents/VentForge/current.vent.json. If you open that file in the editor (or ask the assistant to "open it in the GUI"), you can watch the design change live.

Tools the server offers: new_design, open_design, list_presets, save_to_library, get_design, describe_parameters, set_params, add_control, clear_controls, fan_grille, fit_open_area (solve a parameter for a target open area), preview, export, wrap_cylinder, cut_into_part, open_in_gui.

Project layout

ventforge/
├── model.py         design file format: every parameter and its default
├── pattern.py       geometry: places and shapes the holes
├── export.py        PNG, SVG, DXF, STEP and STL output, tube wrap, cut into part
├── gui.py           desktop editor
├── mcp_server.py    MCP tools for AI assistants
├── __main__.py      `ventforge` command (editor, or MCP server with --mcp)
└── presets/         example designs shipped with the package
tests/               pytest suite, including a real MCP client/server run
.github/workflows/   CI on Windows, macOS and Linux; publishes to PyPI on version tags

Licence

GPL-3.0-or-later, see LICENSE. You may use, change and sell VentForge. Versions you distribute must stay open source under the same licence.