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Getting started

SolidCraft is built around parametric, timeline-based solid modeling. Instead of pushing and pulling geometry directly, you define 2D sketches with mathematical constraints and dimensions, then convert them into 3D features.

The quickest way to install is ArtCraft Launcher: install it, then press Install on SolidCraft’s card. To download SolidCraft on its own or through other package managers, see Install and update.

Core concepts

Section titled “Core concepts”
  1. Sketches: A 2D drawing made on a plane or planar face. Lines, arcs, circles, and splines are locked down using geometric constraints (parallel, perpendicular, tangent) and numeric dimensions (distance, radius, angle).
  2. Timeline (History tree): Every operation (extrude, fillet, cut) is saved as an event along the bottom timeline. You can drag the timeline marker back to edit earlier features, and downstream geometry automatically rebuilds.
  3. Parameters: Named variables (such as wall_thickness = 3mm, screw_diameter = 4mm) that can drive multiple dimensions across sketches and features.
  4. Bodies & Components: Bodies are continuous solid shapes. When parts need relative motion or independent coordinate spaces, wrap them into components with joints.

Your first part

Section titled “Your first part”
  1. Launch SolidCraft and choose New Design from the start page.
  2. Click Create Sketch in the toolbar and select the XY ground plane.
  3. Use the Rectangle tool to draw a rectangle starting from the origin point.
  4. Press D to place dimension constraints: set the width to 60mm and height to 40mm. The top-left corner of the view shows how constrained the sketch is.
  5. Click Finish Sketch in the top right.
  6. Select Extrude from the solid toolbar, select the rectangular profile, and enter 15mm for distance. Click OK.
  7. In the timeline at the bottom, right-click your extrude feature and choose Edit Feature at any time to alter dimensions.

Next steps

Section titled “Next steps”