SolveSpace

SolveSpace is shipped with the following basic features:[7][8]

2D Sketch Modeling

SolveSpace supports parametric 2D drawing of lines, circles, arcs, Cubic bézier curves etc; datum points and lines are also supported for general, reference based modeling.[8]

3D Solid Modeling

Drawing, extrusion, rotation and revolution along a helix are supported in both modes. In 3D it is possible to use basic Boolean operations (union, difference, intersection), though as of version 3.0, SolveSpace had limitations on the order of application of these operations.[8]

Hart's A-frame created in SolveSpace.

Mechanical design and analysis

By using the built-in constraint solver it is possible to visualize planar or spatial linkages with pin, ball, or slide joints, trace their movements, and export its data in .cvs format.

Assembly

SolveSpace allows solids to be imported in a special mode that does not allow modeling. These imported solids can then be constrained to ensure that the designed model's dimensions meet necessary requirements.

Plane and solid geometry

Replace hand-solved trigonometry and spreadsheets with a live dimensioned drawing.

SolveSpace can open and import its own textual *.slvs file formats for both editing and assembly. The DXF/DWG file format AutoCAD (version 2007) is supported for opening and editing.[8]

SolveSpace v3.0 is able to export 2D sketches and surfaces into DXF/DWG (AutoCAD version 2007), PDF, SVG, EPS, and HPGL file formats. Wireframes can be exported as DXF and STEP files. Polygon meshes can be exported as STL and Wavefront OBJ; NURBS as STEP. SolveSpace is able to export models in STEP, STL, and G-code for reuse in third-party CAM software.[8]

Modeling in SolveSpace is done by way of sketching in a workplane.[9] A workplane is plane with an origin for the new sketch where the SolveSpace draws entities. Users can make it active and draw basic primitives such as lines, circles, arcs, dots, and other points of references on the workplane, and constrain them to specific dimensions and relations.[9]

SolveSpace can split intersecting entities via a separate tool. Users can snap points to a grid.[9] There are no software limitations for the number of workplanes user can create.[9]

Constraints include dimension limitation, angle, paralleling with another line, tangency, point, symmetry and alignment of a line with origin axes (to make them "vertical" or "horizontal").[9] The radius of a circle, for instance, can be constrained to a specific value, or can be influenced by some other entity dimension.

When sketching is complete, a 3D part can be extruded into a volumetric model for further modeling. An extruded model creates a group along a specified normal. Every group in SolveSpace encapsulates an action applied to the specified sketch created for every 3D operation, such as an extrusion, rotation, or translation. Created 3D models can also be further constrained with the basic tools mentioned above or combined with another one by Boolean operations.

It is also possible to draw a workplane on a specific "surface" of another 3D model; the surface is usually indicated by two line segments joined by a point.

In order to verify a newly modeled concept in SolveSpace, users can "link" all the components and constrain them at specific positions to check whether the virtual end-product meets the original concept's design and constraints.[9]