DesignTool — SCAD Design Management Companion¶

A Tkinter GUI for managing OpenSCAD hardware design files: browsing SCAD files and presets, diffing parameters, exporting to STL/3MF, 3D preview with orthographic views, and tracking the full export history.

Usage¶

python3 tools/designtool/designtool.py

Tab 1 — Browser¶

Browse all .scad files in the hardware-design/scad Parts/ directory. Select a file to see its parameters, presets, and source code preview.

Browser tab — SCAD file browser with search, parameter listing, and file details panel

Features¶

Search bar filters files by name in real time
File tree lists all .scad files found recursively
Detail panel shows file path, parameter count, preset count, and file size
Parameter table displays all top-level SCAD variables with their default values
Selecting a file auto-loads its companion .json preset file (if present)

Tab 2 — Presets & Diff¶

Compare any two presets side-by-side to see exactly which parameters changed between design iterations.

Presets tab — Preset list with parameter diff — changed values highlighted, unchanged dimmed

Features¶

Preset list loads from the SCAD file's companion JSON
Diff view compares two presets (or a preset against the SCAD defaults)
Color-coded diff: changed (yellow), added (green), removed (red), unchanged (dim)
Diff export to markdown for documentation

Tab 3 — Export¶

Export a SCAD file with a specific preset to STL, 3MF, or both. Includes embedded labeling and automatic description generation.

Export tab — Export panel with format selection, embedded label configuration, and export log

Features¶

Format selection: STL, 3MF, or both
Embedded label: optional text/date stamp baked into the export filename
Description: auto-generated markdown documenting the export parameters vs defaults
Export log: real-time output from the OpenSCAD CLI (openscad or openscad-nightly)
All exports saved to tools/designtool/exports/ with timestamped filenames

Tab 4 — 3D Preview¶

Render a live 3D preview of the selected SCAD file + preset using the OpenSCAD CLI.

3D Preview tab — 3D preview with isometric and 6 orthographic quick-view buttons

Features¶

Live preview: renders the current SCAD + preset to a PNG via openscad --render --camera
Orthographic views: one-click buttons for Front, Back, Right, Left, Top, Bottom
Default isometric: 55/0/25 degree camera angle at distance 200
Quick render: low-res preview for fast iteration
Full render: high-res output for documentation

Tab 5 — History¶

Full audit trail of every export — what was exported, when, with which parameters, and where the files went.

History tab — Export history with details panel showing file paths, formats, and parameter snapshots

Features¶

History list: every export logged to history.json with timestamp
Detail panel: shows the SCAD file, preset name, exported formats, and output paths
Parameter snapshot: the exact parameter values used for each export (for reproducibility)
Re-export: one-click to re-run a previous export with the same settings

Architecture¶

tools/designtool/
├── designtool.py         ← main application (1500+ lines)
├── exports/              ← exported STL/3MF files + descriptions
└── history.json          ← full export audit trail

Class structure¶

Class	Purpose
`DilderDesignTool`	Main Tk window, theme, notebook, log panel
`ScadBrowserTab`	SCAD file discovery + parameter parsing
`PresetManagerTab`	Preset loading + parameter diffing
`ExportTab`	OpenSCAD CLI export with labeling
`PreviewTab`	3D render via OpenSCAD `--camera`
`HistoryTab`	Export audit trail viewer

Theme¶

Catppuccin Mocha color scheme — matches the DevTool for visual consistency.

Element	Color
Background	`#1e1e2e`
Panel	`#282840`
Text	`#cdd6f4`
Accent	`#89b4fa`
Green	`#a6e3a1`
Yellow	`#f9e2af`
Red	`#f38ba8`

Requirements¶

Python 3.9+ with Tkinter
OpenSCAD (for preview and export)

Source: tools/designtool/designtool.py