Build Model

Build Model

Create new ForgeCAD models in the user's active ForgeCAD project.

Default Output Standard

Unless the user asks otherwise, the output is a manufacture-realistic prototype: a model someone could fabricate, buy parts for, assemble, inspect, and iterate in a real shop — not a concept sketch, not a universal 3D-printing exercise, not a claim of certified production readiness.

• Include prototype-real features: wall thickness, fastener stacks, bosses, ribs, flanges, seats, gaskets, cable exits, service access, toleranced clearances, believable purchased parts. No invented tooling details, certifications, or safety ratings unless asked.
• Modifiers shift the standard: blockout → rough massing; production-realistic → DFM and production-intent materials; printable → make the selected printed parts honest; visual-CAD → clearly visual, not pretending build-ready.
• Zero unexpected final collisions is part of the definition of done (see Collision Policy).

File Placement

New .forge.js files go under date-based directories (today's date) in the user's current ForgeCAD project or a clearly named local folder:

YYYY/MM/DD/file.forge.js           — single-file model
YYYY/MM/DD/folder/main.forge.js    — multi-file entry point (always main.forge.js)
YYYY/MM/DD/folder/parts/*.forge.js — standalone/importable parts
YYYY/MM/DD/folder/lib/*.js         — pure helpers/constants, no geometry

• Kebab-case descriptive names (parametric-lego.forge.js). Each part file must run standalone and import via require('./parts/name.forge.js', params).
• Plain .js only for constants, math, tables, formatting — never geometry.
• Split files only for reusable parts or independent sub-assemblies, never for organization.

Workflow

1. Load the forgecad skill — read at least the Core API reference. Moving parts: also the assembly group and joint-design guide. Mating parts: the positioning guide; default to connectors + matchTo().
2. mkdir -p YYYY/MM/DD/[folder].
3. Moving parts: prove the rig first (Kinematics-First below).
4. Write the model — param()/Param.bool() for tunable dimensions; pick the manufacturing process before styling; build real internals; follow the contracts below.
5. Validate — forgecad run <file> (main.forge.js for multi-file).
6. Run the Final Acceptance Gate and Manufacturing Outputs checks below on main.forge.js.
7. Iterate — convert every render/inspect finding into a model edit and rerun the same targeted evidence until reality matches the intended component graph.

Process, Style, and Variants

Manufacturing process is a choice, not an assumption. Never treat every model as printable. Pick process cues from the load path and operating story: machined, bent sheet, tube-and-plate, wood/composite, molded-look, printed, or hybrid purchased-hardware construction (rideables: metal/composite structure + purchased wheels/bearings; furniture: real joinery). Print-specific features (slicer clearances, heat-set inserts, layer-oriented ribs) only when the process includes printed parts.