Case Maker

Parametric 3D-printable enclosure designer for microcontrollers and single-board computers (ESP32, Arduino, Raspberry Pi, custom boards). Generates production-ready STL and 3MF files for slicers — fully client-side, no backend. Also ships as a Windows desktop app.

Hero render placeholder: drop a render at docs/assets/hero.png and inline it here. A high-quality preview makes the landing page sell itself.

Key features

• 5 built-in board profiles out of the box (Pi 4B, Pi 5, Pi Zero 2W, Arduino Uno R3, ESP32 DevKit V1) — each schema-validated against a manufacturer datasheet URL.
• Real-time parametric editing — every slider rebuilds the case in ~50ms via Manifold WASM CSG on a worker thread.
• Four lid joint types: flat lid, snap-fit (lip-ring friction fit), sliding (rail), and screw-down (M2.5 / M3 inserts).
• Automatic port cutouts for USB-C, USB-A, USB-B, micro-USB, HDMI, micro-HDMI, barrel jack, RJ-45, and more — per-port enable/disable.
• Custom boards — clone any built-in profile into an editable copy; add/remove mounting holes and components in a table editor.
• External STL / 3MF import with reference / subtract / union visibility — drop a fan grille STL, mark it subtract, watch it carve through the shell.
• Project save/load to schema-versioned .caseproj.json files; undo/redo with Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z.
• STL (binary), STL (ASCII), and 3MF export.
• Embedded HTTP server in the desktop build — configurable port (default 8000), optional LAN access via --bind-all.
• Built-in docs viewer — press 📖 Docs in the toolbar to read the full manual without leaving the app.

Stack

• TypeScript (strict) + React 19 + Vite 8
• three.js + @react-three/fiber + @react-three/drei — 3D viewport (Z-up coordinate frame, mm units)
• Manifold-3d (WASM) — CSG geometry, runs in a Web Worker
• Zustand + Immer + zundo — state + history
• Comlink — typed worker RPC
• fflate — 3MF zip writer + 3MF asset import
• marked — in-app markdown rendering
• Tauri 2 + axum + rust-embed — Windows/macOS/Linux desktop wrapper, embedded HTTP server
• Vitest — unit tests
• Playwright — E2E with deterministic test mode and window.__caseMaker API

Layout

The app lives in casemaker-app/. Architecture rule: the parametric Project (JSON in the store) is the single source of truth; the rendered scene is derived state, recomputed in the geometry worker on every change.

Documentation lives in docs/:

• Getting Started — 10-minute walkthrough from clone to printed case.
• User Manual — every parameter, every joint type, every export format.
• Technical Reference — module API, coordinate system, adding new boards.
• Changelog — phase-by-phase history.
• Contributing — bug-workflow + code-style guidelines.

Run

cd casemaker-app
npm ci
npm run dev          # Vite dev server (http://localhost:8000)
npm run typecheck    # tsc --noEmit
npm run lint         # eslint
npm test             # vitest unit tests
npm run test:e2e     # playwright E2E
npm run build        # production web bundle
npm run tauri:dev    # desktop app dev (requires Rust toolchain)
npm run tauri:build  # native installer (requires Rust toolchain)

Windows installer

Don't have Rust locally? Push to main (or trigger the workflow manually) and grab the .msi / .exe from the Windows installer workflow's artifacts on GitHub Actions.

LAN access

The desktop app embeds a tiny Rust HTTP server (axum + rust-embed) that serves the SPA bundle on a configurable port (default 8000). The Tauri window navigates to http://127.0.0.1:PORT. To make the UI reachable from another device on the same network:

casemaker.exe --bind-all

The --bind-all flag rebinds the embedded server to 0.0.0.0. Anyone on your LAN can now load the UI — only enable on trusted networks. The actual bound port is logged at startup (and shown in the Settings panel) since it falls back to an OS-assigned port if the configured one is taken.

CLI flags:

Flag	Effect
--bind-all	Bind to 0.0.0.0 for LAN access (default: 127.0.0.1)
--port N	Override the configured port for this run only
--print-config	Print effective config as JSON and exit

The port can also be set via the App settings panel in the UI; changes persist to %APPDATA%/casemaker/config.json on Windows (or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/casemaker/config.json on Linux).

Coverage

• 76 Vitest unit tests (compiler math, board zod schema, STL/3MF binary + ASCII writers, port cutouts/factory, joint compilation, persistence round-trip + version rejection, custom-board editor guards, component editor, heat-set insert resolver, screw-down geometry, hex vs slot ventilation, ASCII STL parser, 3MF round-trip parsing, external asset compilation pipeline, app settings clamping, in-app docs registry)
• 29 Playwright E2E tests (boot, board load, board swap across all 5 boards, parameter sensitivity, port cutout toggle, STL binary + ASCII round-trips, 3MF round-trip, snap-fit / sliding / screw-down lid bbox checks, ventilation cutout, project save/load round-trip, undo/redo restoration, clone-and-edit custom board, add mounting hole, STL asset import + subtract pipeline, port-marker selection, drag-handle position patch, settings port persistence + range clamp, in-app docs modal navigation + Escape close + blockquote rendering)

Roadmap

• Phase 1 ✓: Pi 4B tray + flat lid + STL/3MF export
• Phase 2 ✓: all 5 built-in boards, automatic port cutouts, per-port toggles, Windows installer via Tauri
• Phase 3 ✓: snap-fit + sliding + screw-down joint types (UI selector), ventilation slots, project save/load with zod validation, undo/redo (Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z)
• Phase 4 ✓: custom-board editor UI (clone built-in → edit dims + holes), external STL import (reference visibility), heat-set insert variants with auto-sized bosses, hex ventilation pattern
• Phase 5 ✓: STL/3MF subtract/union geometry pipeline through the Manifold worker, 3MF asset import, ASCII STL parser with auto-format detection, component editor UI (port table for custom boards), real screw-down lid with corner holes sized by insert variant
• Phase 6 ✓: STL ASCII export, bundle code-splitting (initial 53KB), PCB-relative coordinate inputs, selectable port markers with PivotControls drag, app settings + configurable port (default 8000)
• Phase 7 ✓ (this release): embedded HTTP server in Tauri (#1) — port setting drives a real server, optional LAN access via --bind-all. Documentation suite + in-app docs viewer (#5).
• Open issues: #2 snap-fit physical print loop · #3 NSIS install-time port prompt · #4 advanced drag-handle UX

License

License terms are still being finalized. Contact dave@drscapital.com for usage questions.