STL to editable OpenSCAD and CadQuery code

Have an STL of a printer part and want to change one hole size? mesh2cad can export the recovered model as OpenSCAD or CadQuery source, with dimensions as named values, so you edit a number instead of sculpting a mesh.

Quickstart

pip install mesh2cad
mesh2cad convert part.stl -o part.step

Run mesh2cad convert --help for the CadQuery and OpenSCAD export options. To use it from an MCP client, add the server command mesh2cad mcp (install with pip install "mesh2cad[mcp]").

The generated code is rebuilt and compared with the original mesh before it is written. Parts that do not reproduce within tolerance are refused with a reason.

Limits

• Works best on mechanical parts made of planes, cylinders, cones and chamfers (brackets, holders, printer parts).
• Example: mesh2cad convert bracket.stl --cadquery bracket.py
• Organic shapes (figurines, scans, sculpted surfaces) are not recovered as exact surfaces.
• Every export passes a self check against the original mesh (deviation and volume error). If a part fails, mesh2cad refuses and tells you why instead of giving you a wrong model.
• On our 6 Prusa printer test parts: exact STEP for 6 of 6, editable CadQuery/OpenSCAD for 6 of 6 (v0.15.0).

mesh2cad is free and open source (see the GitHub repository for the license). Found an STL it handles badly? Open an issue with the file.