visualization_controller : Controls how elements look in the active 3D window (colors, visibility, rendering styles). A Simple Example: Creating a Beam via Python API
The Cadwork API (Application Programming Interface) is a bridge that allows external scripts to interact directly with Cadwork 3D. While Cadwork has long supported powerful built-in modules, the API—specifically the Python-based interface
The Cadwork API transforms the software from a traditional drafting tool into a fully customizable engine for digital fabrication. By automating routine modeling, ensuring geometric consistency, and streamlining the flow of data to CNC machinery, engineering firms can dramatically cut down project lead times and eliminate costly manual drafting errors on the shop floor.
provides specific methods for managing piece-by-piece data, often used in export routines for shop drawings or manufacturing lists. Cadwork Documentation Export Control : Methods like get_piece_by_piece_export_with_dimensions set_piece_by_piece_export_with_dimensions
The CADwork API offers a wide range of features that enable developers to tap into CADwork's capabilities. Some of the key features include: cadwork api
Let’s leave the theory behind. Here is how the API changes your daily workflow.
: The Cadwork Python Guide provides a comprehensive reference for modules like the element_controller , attribute_controller , and geometry_controller .
# Create a separate scene for each selected element for index, element_id in enumerate(element_ids): scene_name = f"Scene index" if sc.add_scene(scene_name): sc.add_elements_to_scene(scene_name, [element_id])
Recognizing the need for advanced parametric and free-form modeling, cadwork has integrated Rhino.Inside . This tool allows Rhino 7 to be embedded directly into the cadwork 3D environment. visualization_controller : Controls how elements look in the
To ensure your scripts and plugins continue to work, keep these best practices in mind:
Unlocking Automation in Timber Construction: The Ultimate Guide to the Cadwork API
: Scripting repetitive tasks such as list calculations, exports (IFC, PDF), and import functions to save time during the design phase.
In timber engineering, detailing connections, adding fasteners, and positioning dowels can consume up to 70% of a designer's time. An API script can scan a 3D model for specific geometric conditions—such as a beam intersecting a column—and automatically populate the precise hardware, pre-drilling holes, and clearances required, completely error-free. 2. True BIM Integration and Data Flow Some of the key features include: Let’s leave
For CNC integration, the API can create drillings, mortises, tenons, grooves, and contour cuts. You can define the start point, depth, diameter, and orientation of each machining operation, directly linking design to fabrication.
Of course, power invites hubris. The Cadwork API is unforgiving. Write a loop that accidentally selects all edges instead of every third edge, and you will carve channels through a $50,000 beam before your coffee cools. The API does not have an "undo" for bad logic; it has a log file and a cold stare.
One of the most innovative features introduced in cadwork version 29 is the ability to create "script-filled attributes". Traditionally, an attribute's content (e.g., a part's group, name, or a custom property) had to be manually set. With script-filled attributes, this content is generated automatically at runtime by a Python script.
The CADwork API offers numerous benefits to developers, CAD users, and organizations. Some of the key advantages include: