Getting a model out
What a script makes can leave Bitbybit as a file.
Without code, More > Export model in the coding editors downloads what the script drew as GLB or STL, or a picture of the 3D view; the 3D view describes it. That is the quickest way, and it takes the drawn triangles.
With code, a script exports what it chooses, at the precision and in the format it chooses, including exact CAD formats such as STEP. Each function below is the same in every editor; in Rete and Blockly you find it by its path, under occt > io or babylon > io.
Which format
| For | Format | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Another CAD program, exactly | STEP | bitbybit.occt.io.saveShapeSTEP |
| An assembly with names and colours | STEP | the assembly functions |
| 3D printing | STL | bitbybit.occt.io.saveShapeStl |
| Other mesh tools | OBJ, PLY | bitbybit.occt.io.saveShapeObj, saveShapePly |
| The web, AR and game engines | GLB | bitbybit.babylon.io.exportGLB |
| OpenCascade itself | BREP | bitbybit.occt.io.saveShapeBrep |
| Laser cutting and drawings | DXF, SVG | DXF drawings, bitbybit.occt.io.saveShapeSvg |
STEP, BREP and IGES keep the exact geometry. STL, OBJ, PLY and GLB keep triangles, divided as finely as their precision asks.
Download or keep
Each save function starts a download in the browser. Its ...AndReturn twin, such as saveShapeSTEPAndReturn, gives the file's content back to the script instead, to upload, measure or pass on:
const box = await bitbybit.occt.shapes.solid.createBox({ width: 40, length: 30, height: 10, center: [0, 5, 0] });
await bitbybit.occt.io.saveShapeSTEP({ shape: box, fileName: "box.step", adjustYtoZ: false, tryDownload: true });
const stl = await bitbybit.occt.io.saveShapeStlAndReturn({ shape: box, fileName: "box.stl", precision: 0.01, adjustYtoZ: false, binary: true });
A download from a script runs every time the script runs, which in Rete is every change. Put the save last, and keep its tryDownload off while you work: turn it on when you want the file.
Which way up
CAD programs usually treat Z as up, where Bitbybit treats Y as up. adjustYtoZ on the save functions turns the model for them, but it mirrors the part as it does; to keep a part as it is, turn it a quarter turn about X with bitbybit.occt.transforms.rotate before saving instead.
A picture
More > Export model > Picture of the 3D view (PNG) saves the view as it is. From code, bitbybit.babylon.tools.createScreenshotAndDownload does the same, at a size and through a camera you choose.
From the Designer and CAD Cloud
The Designer exports STEP, GLB, STL and BREP from its menu, without code. CAD Cloud returns STEP, glTF and mesh files from a server.