BlocksCAD — The Complete Guide: 3D Modelling by Coding With Visual Blocks
BlocksCAD teaches you to design a 3D body the way programmers think: instead of dragging shapes, you snap together visual blocks for box, cylinder, translate, rotate, union and difference, and add loops and variables. The tool assembles them into a CSG solid, much like OpenSCAD. The editor runs in the browser, and the source code is open under GPL-3.0.
BlocksCAD
Einstein’s Workshop (BlocksCAD)
Browser 3D modelling by snapping together visual code blocks, in the spirit of OpenSCAD — learning code, geometry and design for 3D printing.
Get it from the vendorWhat you get
- Block coding — no syntax errors, suitable for beginners.
- Parametric model — change one variable and the whole body updates.
- Loops — arrays of holes, ribs and teeth from a few blocks.
- STL export — straight to the slicer and the printer.
- A path to code — the concepts match OpenSCAD, so moving on to it feels natural.
What is free and what is paid
The online editor is free with a basic account, and the source code is open. An educator account with a classroom dashboard and lesson plans is a paid service with a 30-day free trial. For complex bodies, writing code in OpenSCAD itself is easier, and an internet connection is required.
Related tools
For the next step, in text code — OpenSCAD. For modelling by dragging shapes — Tinkercad. For a browser version in JavaScript — JSCAD.
OpenSCAD
OpenSCAD
Code-based 3D modelling where every dimension is a real parameter. Popular in 3D printing.
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Tinkercad
Autodesk
Browser-based 3D modelling by adding and subtracting basic shapes, plus electronic circuit simulation and block coding.
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JSCAD
JSCAD Project
Build 3D models by writing code, in the browser or from the command line.
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CadQuery
CadQuery Project
Parametric CAD scripted in Python, on a proper solid-modelling kernel.
Get it from the vendorThe bottom line
An excellent tool for teaching programming, geometry and design together, with a real printable model at the end of the lesson.