You can download the latest binaries of OpenSCAD at <http://www.openscad.org>. Install binaries as you would any other software.
When you open OpenSCAD, you'll see three frames within the window. The left frame is where you'll write code to model 3D objects. The right frame is where you'll see the 3D rendering of your model.
Let's make a tree! Type the following code into the left frame:
cylinder(h = 30, r = 8);
Then render the 3D model by hitting F5. Now you can see a cylinder for the trunk in our tree. Now let's add the bushy/leafy part of the tree represented by a sphere. To do so, we will union a cylinder and a sphere.
union() {
cylinder(h = 30, r = 8);
sphere(20);
}
But, it's not quite right! The bushy/leafy are around the base of the tree. We need to move the sphere up the z-axis.
union() {
cylinder(h = 30, r = 8);
translate([0, 0, 40]) sphere(20);
}
And that's it! You made your first 3D model! There are other primitive shapes that you can combine with other set operations (union, intersection, difference) and transformations (rotate, scale, translate) to make complex models! Check out all the other language features in the [OpenSCAD Manual](https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/OpenSCAD_User_Manual).
development. Other versions may or may not work as well.
If you're using Ubuntu, you can install these libraries from aptitude. If you're using Mac, there is a build script that compiles the libraries from source. Follow the instructions for the platform you're compiling on below.
First, make sure that you have XCode installed to get GCC. Then after you've cloned this git repository, run the script that sets up the environment variables.
source setenv_maju.sh
Then run the script to compile all the prerequisite libraries above:
./scripts/macosx-build-dependencies.sh
We currently don't use [port](http://mxcl.github.com/homebrew/) or [brew](http://mxcl.github.com/homebrew/) to install the prerequisite libraries because CGAL doesn't exist on brew and opencsg doesn't exist on ports. And more importantly, there are some patches to GMP in the compilation process.
After that, follow the Compilation instructions below.
### Building for Ubuntu
If you have done this and want to contribute, fork the repo and contribute docs on how to build for windows!
### Building for Windows
If you have done this and want to contribute, fork the repo and contribute docs on how to build for windows!