Workbench Tools
PyOpticL provides a set of tools which are accessible through the GUI to help streamline design, visualization, and fabrication of optical layouts.
To access these tools, select "PyOpticL" from the workbench dropdown menu in FreeCAD. This will open the PyOpticL toolbar, which contains buttons for the various tools described below.
Select "PyOpticL"
- Re-Run Last Macro - Clears and re-draws last baseplate, great for quickly checking changes
- Toggle Component Visibility - Easily hide all beams and components
- Toggle Draw Style - Toggle wire-frame draw style to easily check for hidden issues
- Export STLs - Export all baseplates and adapter components to STL for fabrication
- Export Cart - Export all parts to both a spreadsheet and a csv compatible with Thorlabs upload-a-cart system
- Reload Modules - Reload all PyOpticL modules, great for debugging new parts
- Convert Model - Guided tool for importing a STEP file into an internal or external library for use in component definitions.
- Open Model - Open an existing model from an internal or external library. Useful for taking measurements of library parts.
- Get Position - Measure offsets and mount locations from oriented STEP file