OpenSCAD Cubes for Beginners

These models help students explore how axes, movement, rotation, union, and difference all work in OpenSCAD. I've also included 2 very simple OpenSCAD projects for students to explore union/difference, translation, and rotation.

Everything (except difference cube) will require supports for printing. Carefully remove all support materials on braille dots, as any remaining support material can leave sharp points on the braille that can be unpleasant to touch.

I've included 2 versions of the rotation cubes: 1 version is print in place, and the other version lets you print the base and rotation cubes separately. I print my braille labels (files beginning with "brl") separately for cleaner braille dots. Braille labels should be printed standing on their edge, not lying flat with the dots pointing up. 

Brief explanation of models:

• OpenSCAD Faces Cube - Help get students oriented to the spatial directions in OpenSCAD.

  • It's helpful to think of this cube as being centered on the origin in OpenSCAD (x, y, and z axes meeting at the center of the cube). If you start at the origin and move toward the "Front" face of the model, you would be moving into the negative numbers along the y-axis. Moving from the origin to the "Back" face would be moving into the positive numbers along the y-axis, and so on. 

  • Most 3D modeling programs have a "View cube" that let you snap the view to the front, back, left, right, top, or bottom views (Ctrl + 4-9 in OpenSCAD). The labeled faces on the model match these views in OpenSCAD. 

  • This model is standing on a corner for cleaner braille printing. This orientation can make the model more difficult to print, so you may want to rotate the model to a different position.

• Rotation cubes - Understand which direction items will move when rotated in OpenSCAD. 

  • You can rotate items relative to each axis (x, y, z) in OpenSCAD. When rotating around a given axis, you can imagine a rod going through your model along that axis.

  • For example, if you drove a rod through a model along the x-axis, you could then rotate that model around the x-axis. Since the x-axis moves through the left and right faces of a model, you might expect the model to rotate toward the left or right. BUT, with a rod going through the x-axis, you'll find that model actually rotates toward the front and back. 

• Union and Difference cubes - Super simple models illustrating union vs. difference in OpenSCAD.

  • A simple cube with a cylinder through the center. With a union operation, the cube and the cylinder are united into a single object. With a difference operation, the cylinder is subtracted from the cube, leaving a hole in the center. 

The chess pieces in the first photo are sadly not included in this set of models. Those were designed by the excellent Edis Adilovic. I printed them along with my original set of cubes to get the student excited about the possibilities of modeling in OpenSCAD.