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Christophe Barlieb edited this page May 5, 2026 · 2 revisions

Install & first run

CCL_Clay3DP is a Rhino 8 plugin: drop a .dll into Rhino, restart, run the CCL_Clay3DP command, and a dockable panel appears. RoboDK is driven from that panel — but RoboDK needs two extra pieces (a KUKA post processor file and an optional UI config) for the integration to work end-to-end.

This page covers the full install on Windows. macOS is not currently supported — see the bottom of this page for the plan.

Prerequisites
OS Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit)
Rhino Rhino 8
.NET .NET Framework 4.8 (already on Windows 10+; required for building from source)
RoboDK RoboDK 6.0.x with the Python API at C:\RoboDK\Python
Robot station A KUKA KR 10 R1100-2 station with named frames T10 / T11 / T12, tool BasePlate02, and a 3DP_Template machining project. The bundled robodk_station/3DP_v0.4.rdk is preconfigured.

⚠ Lab-coupled. This plugin is built around the CCL-ALTAR-01 cell. If your robot, TCPs, or post-processor differ, see Adapting to your own lab — you'll need to rebuild from source.

Choose your install path

Path Use this if
A. Pre-built release ↓ You're a CCL lab user or you trust a tagged release
B. Build from source ↓ You're developing the plugin or you need to adapt it

Path A — Pre-built release (recommended)

1. Download the release bundle

Go to Releases on GitHub and download the latest tagged bundle (e.g. CCL_Clay3DP-v1.2.1-alpha.zip).

Unzip it anywhere; you'll get a folder containing:

CCL_Clay3DP-v1.2.1-alpha/
├── CCL_Clay3DP.dll              ← the plugin itself
├── Newtonsoft.Json.dll          ← dependency
├── PostProcessor/
│   └── KUKA_CNC_2_1_ISG_CCL_3DP_…HSC_WAIT_S_DELAY.py
├── robodk_station/
│   ├── 3DP_v0.4.rdk             ← RoboDK station template
│   ├── settings.ini             ← optional UI config
│   └── layout6.0.1.ini          ← optional UI config
├── README.md
├── CHANGELOG.md
├── LICENSE
└── NOTICE

2. Install the plugin in Rhino

  1. Close Rhino fully before installing — Rhino locks loaded DLLs.
  2. Open Rhino 8.
  3. Type _PlugInManager in the command line.
  4. Click Install… in the dialog that opens.
  5. Browse to the unzipped folder and select CCL_Clay3DP.dll.
  6. Confirm the load. The plugin is now registered.
  7. Type CCL_Clay3DP in the command line — the dockable panel should appear on the right.

📷 Screenshot of PluginManager → Install with the DLL selected goes here.

3. Install the KUKA post processor in RoboDK

The plugin generates the robot program through a custom KUKA CNC ISG post processor. RoboDK won't find it unless you copy it into RoboDK's Posts folder:

PostProcessor/KUKA_CNC_2_1_ISG_CCL_3DP_WIP_MS_S_INT_HSC_WAIT_S_DELAY.py
        ↓  copy into  ↓
C:\RoboDK\Posts\KUKA_CNC_2_1_ISG_CCL_3DP_WIP_MS_S_INT_HSC_WAIT_S_DELAY.py

If RoboDK is installed elsewhere, drop the file into the equivalent Posts\ folder inside your RoboDK directory. The filename must match exactly — the plugin references it by name at runtime.

4. (Optional) Apply the CCL RoboDK UI config

For the same view, dock layout, and load behaviour we use at the lab:

  1. Close RoboDK fully. RoboDK rewrites its config files on exit, so a running instance will overwrite anything you copy in.
  2. Copy robodk_station/settings.ini and robodk_station/layout6.0.1.ini into: 
    %APPDATA%\RoboDK\
    (typically C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Roaming\RoboDK\)
  3. Reopen RoboDK and load robodk_station/3DP_v0.4.rdk.

The layout file is RoboDK-version-specific (layout6.0.1.ini → RoboDK 6.0.x). On a different RoboDK version it's ignored harmlessly — the plugin still works, you just won't get the docked-panel layout match.

This step is optional. Skip it if you already have a RoboDK setup you like.

5. Verify

Skip to First run.

Path B — Build from source

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/CyberCraftLab/CCL_Clay3DP.git
cd ccl_clay3dp

2. Build

cd CCL_Clay3DP
dotnet build

The output DLL lands in bin\Debug\CCL_Clay3DP.dll. For a release build:

dotnet build -c Release
# output: bin\Release\CCL_Clay3DP.dll

⚠ Close Rhino before re-building. Rhino locks loaded DLLs and the build will fail with a file-in-use error if Rhino is running with the plugin loaded.

3. Load the DLL in Rhino

Same as Path A, step 2 — _PlugInManager → Install… → pick your built CCL_Clay3DP.dll.

4. Install post processor + (optional) RoboDK config

Same as Path A, steps 3 and 4. The post processor and RoboDK station template live in the repo at PostProcessor/ and robodk_station/ respectively.

First run

  1. Open Rhino. (If Rhino was already open during install, close and reopen so the plugin is loaded fresh.)
  2. Type CCL_Clay3DP in the command line. The dockable panel should appear on the right.
  3. Click Settings at the top of the panel. The Settings dialog opens — five groups: Material, Tool, Toolpath, Robot, Build Volume.
  4. Click OK (after reviewing or changing any defaults). On first OK of a session, the workflow buttons (1. Slice, 2. Analyze, 3. Send to RoboDK, Run All, Preview Clay Model) unlock.

If those buttons unlock, the plugin is installed and ready. Continue to The pipeline for the printing walkthrough.

📷 Screenshot of the panel docked in Rhino, with workflow buttons unlocked, goes here.

Troubleshooting

Symptom Likely cause / fix
_PlugInManager doesn't list the plugin after Install Rhino was running when the DLL was overwritten — close Rhino, reopen, try again.
Plugin loads but CCL_Clay3DP command is unknown Ensure you installed the DLL via PluginManager, not just dropped it in a folder — Rhino needs to register it.
Workflow buttons stay greyed-out Open Settings and click OK once. Buttons unlock after the first review per session.
Send to RoboDK opens RoboDK but no program is generated Check that the KUKA post processor file is in C:\RoboDK\Posts\ and the filename matches exactly. The plugin assigns it by name.
3DP_Template machining project not found Open 3DP_v0.4.rdk in RoboDK once, verify the machining project exists, and save the station file.
Build fails with "file in use" Rhino has the DLL locked. Close Rhino and rebuild.

For details on every Settings field, see Settings reference. For deeper architectural questions, see ARCHITECTURE.md in the code repo.

macOS — not currently supported

The Rhino plugin targets .NET Framework 4.8 (Windows-only) and uses Windows-specific subprocess launching (cmd.exe) for RoboDK integration. It will not load on Rhino for Mac, and compiling from source on macOS will not produce a working build.

Cross-platform plan: rather than porting this plugin, the lab is moving toward a Grasshopper component pair under the CyberCraft Toolbox umbrella. That GH component will be cross-platform from day one and will subsume the Clay3DP workflow alongside Corals and TreeSupports as separate-but-related tools under one CyberCraft Grasshopper tab.

Track this work in the Contributing page when it lands. For now, Mac users should run Rhino on a Windows VM or workstation.

Getting started

Hardware

Software stack

The pipeline

Reference

Project

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