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ShapeMason

Vector art to a solid

Art goes straight to a solid body that CAD can boolean, shell and fillet, skipping the sketch-then-extrude step. How it works: Vector art to a STEP solid.

Turn a logo into a solid body

Section titled “Turn a logo into a solid body”

“I want our logo to stick out from the front of the box I’m designing, like a raised badge, without redrawing it by hand.”

You want a raised logo as a separate 3 mm solid to place on an enclosure.
Input badge.svg or badge.dxf
Output badge.step, a solid
Works with Shapr3D, Fusion, Onshape, SolidWorks, FreeCAD
Available in Web app · App · Shortcuts · CLI
Choose Extrude (STEP), set Depth to 3 mm and Scale to width to 50 mm. The 3D preview shows the result.

What it does. Cleans the art as for a sketch, nests profiles by containment (outlines, holes, islands in holes) and extrudes each outline with its holes into its own solid. Arcs become true cylindrical faces; fill colors carry into the STEP.

Why. CAD tools without SVG import can’t do this at all. True cylindrical faces can be selected and filleted.

Tips

  • Open paths can’t be extruded; they’re reported and left out.
  • The default depth is 3 mm.
  • Extrusion goes straight up from z = 0, with no draft, taper or chamfer. Add those in CAD.

Two-height sign from colors

Section titled “Two-height sign from colors”

“I’m making a house-number sign. I want the numbers to stand up higher than the background, and I’ve already colored them differently in my drawing.”

A black background plate 3 mm thick, with red numbers rising 1 mm higher, from one colored SVG.
Input sign.svg with two fill colors
Output sign.step, solids at different heights
Works with Shapr3D and other CAD; Bambu Studio and PrusaSlicer for printing
Available in Web app · App · Shortcuts · CLI
Extrude (STEP); set Layers from to Color, then a depth per layer under Extrude › Layer depths.

What it does. Puts each fill color on its own layer and extrudes each layer to its own depth.

Why. You set the heights by color in your drawing tool, and the STEP arrives ready to print or refine.

Tips

  • Layer names must match exactly, color code included. The report lists the layers it found (layer 'FILL_FF0000': 1 profile(s) → 1 solid(s), 4 mm deep).
  • Every layer starts at z = 0, so a “raised” layer is a taller solid that overlaps the plate. Union the bodies in CAD, or keep them separate for two-color printing.
  • A depth of 0 skips a layer, such as guides or a background. default= sets the depth for every layer you don’t name.

Multi-color badge for a multi-material printer

Section titled “Multi-color badge for a multi-material printer”

“My printer can do several colors at once. I want each color of my badge to be its own piece, so I can just pick which color goes where.”

A three-color badge where each color prints as its own part.
Input badge.svg with three fill colors
Output badge.step, separate colored solids
Works with Bambu Studio (AMS), PrusaSlicer (MMU), Shapr3D
Available in Web app · App · Shortcuts · CLI
Extrude (STEP); Layers from › Color; Depth 2 mm (every layer gets it).

What it does. Keeps each color as separate solids and carries the colors into the STEP, so the slicer or CAD tool shows which part is which.

Why. Assigning filaments per part is the slow step in multi-color printing; separate colored bodies make it quick.

Tips

  • How colors appear after import depends on the receiving tool. Check that your slicer reads STEP colors before relying on them.
  • Slicers turn STEP into a mesh on import, so do any edits in CAD first.

Mounting plate with real holes

Section titled “Mounting plate with real holes”

“I have a flat drawing of a metal plate with screw holes. I need it as a proper 3D plate, and I want to be able to make the holes bigger later.”

A DXF of a plate outline with bolt holes becomes a 4 mm plate whose holes can be resized and filleted.
Input plate.dxf
Output plate.step
Works with Any CAD tool; CNC and sheet-metal work
Available in Web app · App · Shortcuts · CLI
Extrude (STEP); Depth 4 mm.

What it does. Nests the holes in the outline, extrudes one solid, and writes circles as true cylindrical faces.

Why. CAD can select real cylinders, change their diameter, add chamfers or apply hole features.

Tips

  • If the DXF’s units are wrong or missing, set Units to mm or inches (--units mm), or the plate can be 25.4 times off.
  • Run Analyze (shapemason analyze plate.dxf) first on a file from someone else.

Overlapping lettering and script logos

Section titled “Overlapping lettering and script logos”

“My logo is in a curly handwriting font where the letters touch. When I make it 3D, it turns into a messy pile of overlapping bits.”

A script logo whose letters overlap extrudes as a pile of overlapping solids.
Input script-logo.svg
Output script-logo.step, one merged solid
Works with CAD tools, slicers
Available in Web app · App · Shortcuts · CLI
Extrude (STEP); turn on Union.

What it does. Merges overlapping shapes into one outline, keeping real holes, before extruding.

Why. One clean solid is easier to place, boolean and print.

Tips

  • Union flattens curves into polylines, so the merged solid has faceted edges. If smooth curves matter more, skip Union and combine the bodies in CAD.