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BoxCAD

Created by: 2klxst
8 devlogs
17h 7m 35s

BoxCAD is a parametric enclosure designer built with Python and PySide6 that simplifies creating custom housing for Arduino, ESP32, Raspberry Pi, and other electronics. It balances ease of use with configurability, allowing makers to generate, and later 3D print, hardware-ready designs through a modern desktop interface.

This project uses AI

Used Google Gemini for debugging.

Demo Repository

README

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2klxst
2klxst worked on BoxCAD
about 7 hours ago
2h 51m logged

I refined the viewer.html to display an infinite grid and dynamically generate lines and arrows beside the models furthest edge.

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2klxst
2klxst worked on BoxCAD
3 days ago
1h 51m logged

I connected the HTML file which uses Three.js to load and display the 3D model. There is still a Three.js model positioning bug where the model will not spawn at coordinates 0, 0, 0. I plan to fix this bug tomorrow. Below in the screenshot you can see an example model rendering with the bug I described earlier.

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2klxst
2klxst worked on BoxCAD
4 days ago
4h 6m logged

I have started working on making the model viewer. I tried using an OpenGL approach, but when that failed, I switched to a HTML approach (the model viewer window is just displaying a HTML page which gets the model.stl and uses the HTML tag to display it). It’s obviously not perfect yet as I’m having trouble with the HTML, but we’ll get there. The next step is to display a 3D model. I’ll write a devlog when that happens :)

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2klxst
2klxst worked on BoxCAD
7 days ago
0h 44m logged

Started working on the main window’s UI. It’s not perefect yet but it’s getting there! At the moment, the UI is running from the “main_window_test” Python script.

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2klxst
2klxst shipped BoxCAD
7 days ago

Shipped this project!

Hours: 7.56
Cookies: 🍪 185
Multiplier: 24.5 cookies/hr

Let’s go! The first ship!

Currently the v0.0.1 is still a huge work in progress (don’t worry, I’m working on it!) but you can still try it out by following the instructions in the GitHub Readme file. If you don’t have time to set it up, you can watch the short GIF near the bottom of the readme.

Thanks for reading!

2klxst
2klxst worked on BoxCAD
8 days ago
1h 49m logged

Today I refined the code logic and made the welcome screen visually more pleasing. To the welcome screen I also added a working Exit button. I fixed some names of variables and typos and generally just refactored the code so that it’s better in every aspect. The next step would be to connect the main window UI and implement switching between the two windows. Below you can see the new look of the app. Hope you like it!

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2klxst
2klxst worked on BoxCAD
11 days ago
1h 37m logged

Today I worked on improving the visual style of the app. I’ts not finished yet, but I hope it will be soon! I also implemented simple functionality to the buttons on the left (currently each prints a message into the terminal) and to the Recent projects list (supports loading projects from a local file recentFiles.json).

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2klxst
2klxst worked on BoxCAD
12 days ago
1h 53m logged

After refreshing my Python skills and getting the hang of PySide, I moved on to learning CadQuery. After a bit of a struggle, I managed to generate a simple enclosure with a cover with a lip, so the cover wouldn’t just slide off. In the screenshot and the GIF you can see the generated enclosure and the dynamic nature of the script. The learning part of the project is coming along nicely so far!

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2klxst
2klxst worked on BoxCAD
13 days ago
2h 12m logged

I got started on the project learning how to use PySide6 and remembereing how to use Python as I haven’t used it in a long time. I managed to learn a lot about PySide and it’s features. I finished the two hours with a simple project on my hands - a simple window with some text, a button that when clicked shows a message box, a vertical slider and some radio buttons. I also implemented functionality to use the program’s icon in the window’s top bar and in the Windows taskbar.

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