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Transformations

All transformations are available both as standalone functions and as methods on solid objects.

translate

Move an object by a displacement vector.

Syntax:

translate(obj, v)
obj.translate(v)

Parameters:

Parameter Type Description
obj solid The object to translate
v [x, y, z] Displacement vector

Examples:

from pythonscad import *

cube(5).translate([10, 0, 0]).show()

translate(cube(5), [10, 20, 0]).show()

OpenSCAD reference: translate

rotate

Rotate an object by angles in degrees.

Syntax:

rotate(obj, a, v=None, ref=None)
obj.rotate(a, v=None, ref=None)

Parameters:

Parameter Type Description
obj solid The object to rotate
a number or [x, y, z] Rotation angle(s) in degrees. A single number rotates around v; a list rotates around each axis
v [x, y, z] Axis of rotation (when a is a single number)
ref [x, y, z] Reference point for rotation

Examples:

from pythonscad import *

cube(5).rotate([45, 0, 0]).show()

cube(5).rotate(45, [0, 0, 1]).show()

OpenSCAD reference: rotate

scale

Scale an object by factors along each axis.

Syntax:

scale(obj, v)
obj.scale(v)

Parameters:

Parameter Type Description
obj solid The object to scale
v number or [x, y, z] Scale factor(s)

Examples:

from pythonscad import *

cube(5).scale([1, 2, 3]).show()

OpenSCAD reference: scale

mirror

Mirror an object across a plane defined by a normal vector passing through the origin.

Syntax:

mirror(obj, v)
obj.mirror(v)

Parameters:

Parameter Type Description
obj solid The object to mirror
v [x, y, z] Normal vector of the mirror plane

Examples:

from pythonscad import *

cube(5).mirror([1, 0, 0]).show()

cube(5).mirror([1, 1, 0]).show()

OpenSCAD reference: mirror

resize

Resize an object to fit exact dimensions.

Syntax:

resize(obj, newsize, auto=False, convexity=2)
obj.resize(newsize, auto=False, convexity=2)

Parameters:

Parameter Type Default Description
obj solid — The object to resize
newsize [x, y, z] — Target dimensions. Use 0 for an axis to keep its original size
auto bool or [bx, by, bz] False Auto-scale axes with 0 size proportionally
convexity int 2 Convexity for rendering

Examples:

from pythonscad import *

sphere(5).resize([10, 10, 20]).show()

# Auto-scale: set X to 20, scale Y and Z proportionally
sphere(5).resize([20, 0, 0], auto=True).show()

OpenSCAD reference: resize

multmatrix

Apply a 4x4 transformation matrix to an object.

Syntax:

multmatrix(obj, m)
obj.multmatrix(m)

Parameters:

Parameter Type Description
obj solid The object to transform
m 4x4 list Transformation matrix [[a,b,c,d],[e,f,g,h],[i,j,k,l],[0,0,0,1]]

Examples:

from pythonscad import *

mat = [[1,0,0,10], [0,1,0,0], [0,0,1,0], [0,0,0,1]]
cube(5).multmatrix(mat).show()

OpenSCAD reference: multmatrix

divmatrix

Apply the inverse of a 4x4 transformation matrix. This is a PythonSCAD extension that simplifies undoing a multmatrix operation.

Syntax:

divmatrix(obj, m)
obj.divmatrix(m)

Parameters:

Parameter Type Description
obj solid The object to transform
m 4x4 list Transformation matrix whose inverse will be applied

Examples:

from pythonscad import *

mat = [[1,0,0,10], [0,1,0,0], [0,0,1,0], [0,0,0,1]]
a = cube(1)
b = a.multmatrix(mat)   # move right by 10
c = b.divmatrix(mat)    # move back left
c.show()

color

Apply a color to an object.

Syntax:

color(obj, c, alpha=1.0)
obj.color(c, alpha=1.0)

Parameters:

Parameter Type Description
obj solid The object to color
c string or [r, g, b] or [r, g, b, a] Color name (e.g. "red", "Tomato"), hex string ("#ff0000"), or RGB/RGBA list (0.0-1.0)
alpha float Opacity (0.0 = transparent, 1.0 = opaque)

Examples:

from pythonscad import *

cube(10).color("Tomato").show()

cube(10).color([1, 0, 0]).show()

cube(10).color("#ff6347").show()

cube(10).color("blue", alpha=0.5).show()

OpenSCAD reference: color

See also: solid.c — read or write the color of a color() node after construction.

offset

Offset a 2D shape inward or outward.

Syntax:

offset(obj, r=None, delta=None, chamfer=False, fn=0, fa=0, fs=0)
obj.offset(r=None, delta=None, chamfer=False, fn=0, fa=0, fs=0)

Parameters:

Parameter Type Default Description
obj 2D solid — The 2D shape to offset
r float None Offset with rounded corners (positive = outward, negative = inward)
delta float None Offset with sharp corners
chamfer bool False Use chamfered corners instead of sharp (only with delta)
fn, fa, fs float global Curve discretization; defaults to the global fn/fa/fs values

Exactly one of r or delta should be provided.

Examples:

from pythonscad import *

square(10).offset(r=2).show()

square(10).offset(delta=-1).show()

square(10).offset(delta=2, chamfer=True).show()

OpenSCAD reference: offset

Convenience Transforms

PythonSCAD provides shorthand functions for single-axis translations:

right / left / front / back / up / down

Syntax:

right(obj, val)    # translate along +X
left(obj, val)     # translate along -X
front(obj, val)    # translate along -Y
back(obj, val)     # translate along +Y
up(obj, val)       # translate along +Z
down(obj, val)     # translate along -Z

obj.right(val)     # method form

Examples:

from pythonscad import *

cube(2).right(5).up(3).show()

cube(2).left(5).down(3).show()

Convenience Rotations

Single-axis rotation shortcuts:

rotx / roty / rotz

Syntax:

rotx(obj, val)     # rotate around X axis
roty(obj, val)     # rotate around Y axis
rotz(obj, val)     # rotate around Z axis

obj.rotx(val)      # method form

Examples:

from pythonscad import *

cube(5).rotx(45).show()

cube(5).roty(90).rotz(45).show()