Oops. My bad. I had already changed things and didn't want to keep re-posting a new zip file so I removed the old one after a week.
Let me add the capability of reading in an ASCII stl file so you don't have to reproduce that functionality and I'll repost later today.
Photo beads with OpenSCAD
Re: Photo beads with OpenSCAD
Here's the latest TobyCad with an ascii STL loader included as a plugin. It loads the model into an internal "mesh" structure and stores it in a buffer where any other plugin can access it.
As a reminder, when you first run the software the plugins won't be loaded. You load them (once) through the plugin menu. After that they're loaded on startup. (Not from the file- they get stored in the browser's local memory).
There's a problem with large files such as those that come out of the S3D image converter.The size of the strings representing the models in stl or obj format is too big- it seems to go over some internal limit when I try to manipulate it as one giant string. The answer is to do the reading and writing in a streaming way, which appears to be possible, but file i/o in javascript is a pain- not like the good old days of printf() and scanf().
This experiment of releasing TobyCad into the wild and using it on real world problems (well, if you accept lithophanes as the real world!) is quickly revealing shortcomings. Aside from the file size problem, the drawing part has limitations and quirky usage. Like no splines for nice curves. That can be added via plugins, but doing it right depends on improvements to the core code. Ditto for basic oprations like selecting and moving different parts of the drawing. It's ok for small designs, but for more detail and complexity it quickly gets unworkable. This can be improved over time, but it's not there yet. This is version 0.1 after all.
So be forewarned: It's not ready for general use, but only for someone who is looking for a platform on which to develop customized code and is willing to deal with substandard functionality elsewhere.
Edit: Removed the attachment since it's no longer current. Anyone interested, please PM me.
As a reminder, when you first run the software the plugins won't be loaded. You load them (once) through the plugin menu. After that they're loaded on startup. (Not from the file- they get stored in the browser's local memory).
There's a problem with large files such as those that come out of the S3D image converter.The size of the strings representing the models in stl or obj format is too big- it seems to go over some internal limit when I try to manipulate it as one giant string. The answer is to do the reading and writing in a streaming way, which appears to be possible, but file i/o in javascript is a pain- not like the good old days of printf() and scanf().
This experiment of releasing TobyCad into the wild and using it on real world problems (well, if you accept lithophanes as the real world!) is quickly revealing shortcomings. Aside from the file size problem, the drawing part has limitations and quirky usage. Like no splines for nice curves. That can be added via plugins, but doing it right depends on improvements to the core code. Ditto for basic oprations like selecting and moving different parts of the drawing. It's ok for small designs, but for more detail and complexity it quickly gets unworkable. This can be improved over time, but it's not there yet. This is version 0.1 after all.
So be forewarned: It's not ready for general use, but only for someone who is looking for a platform on which to develop customized code and is willing to deal with substandard functionality elsewhere.
Edit: Removed the attachment since it's no longer current. Anyone interested, please PM me.