ShapeIt

ShapeIt is an open-source 3D modeler based on the CADability geometry kernel.

The project is still under active development, but many features already work well —
especially for 3D printing workflows.

The main goal of ShapeIt is simplicity of use:
creating and modifying solid models with as little friction as possible.

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Repository structure

This repository contains several closely related projects:

• ShapeIt
  The ShapeIt 3D modeling application

• CADability
  The geometric kernel and modeling infrastructure used by ShapeIt

• CADability.Forms.NET8
  UI / Forms layer for .NET 8

A separate repository named CADability exists for users who rely on a stable version of the kernel.
This repository (ShapeIt) is the main development workspace, where ShapeIt and ongoing CADability work live together.

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Branches

• main – stable snapshots
  Suitable if you just want to build and try ShapeIt.

• develop – daily development
  Active work happens here; things may break temporarily.

Recommendation:

• Contributors → use develop
• Users → use main

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Build and run

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio 2022 (or newer)
• .NET 8 SDK
• Windows (currently required due to tooling and UI)

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Step 1 (optional but highly recommended): CADability debugger visualizer

Before working on ShapeIt, it is recommended to build CADability.sln once.

This will build and install a Visual Studio Debugger Visualizer that allows direct visual inspection of CADability objects during debugging, e.g.:

• Edge
• Face
• Shell
• Solid
• BRep structures

Instead of interpreting raw data structures, you can see the geometry you are working on. This is extremely helpful when developing or debugging the kernel.

Steps:

1. Open CADability.sln
2. Build the solution (Debug configuration)
3. Restart Visual Studio (required for the visualizer to become available)

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Step 2: Work with ShapeIt

After that, you normally work only with ShapeIt.sln.

1. Open ShapeIt.sln
2. Set ShapeIt as startup project
3. Build & run (F5)

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome — bug reports, fixes, refactorings, documentation, and ideas.

Guidelines

• Check the Issues tab for open tasks
  (good first issue and help wanted will be used where possible)
• For larger changes, please open an issue first to discuss the approach
• Keep pull requests focused and readable

CADability vs ShapeIt changes

Some changes made here affect the CADability kernel.

• General bug fixes may later be cherry-picked into the standalone CADability repository
• Experimental or ShapeIt-specific changes remain here

This separation helps keep CADability stable for existing users.

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Project status

• ShapeIt is usable, but still evolving
• APIs and workflows may change
• Feedback from real usage (especially 3D printing) is very welcome

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License

MIT

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Contact / discussion

• GitHub Issues for bugs and feature requests
• Maintainer: @SOFAgh