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Bounding Box

Leonard Martin Struttmann

Wed, Oct 7, 2026 1:38 AM

Thinking out-of-the-cube, here. So, we can now get bounding box information
in the log when a model is rendered. Is it, therefore, theoretically
possible to have a render() function that returns that bounding box info? I
spend a lot of effort keeping track of the bounding box when designing my
models. Having such a function would be very useful.

Just a thought.

Thanks,

Len

Thinking out-of-the-cube, here. So, we can now get bounding box information in the log when a model is rendered. Is it, therefore, theoretically possible to have a render() function that returns that bounding box info? I spend a lot of effort keeping track of the bounding box when designing my models. Having such a function would be very useful. Just a thought. Thanks, Len

Jordan Brown

Wed, Oct 7, 2026 1:45 AM

Is it, therefore, theoretically possible to have a render() function that returns that bounding box info?

Yes and no. Current OpenSCAD design doesn’t allow for that, because render doesn’t actually execute until after the program has finished - it’s part of processing the CSG tree that results from executing the program.

It can be done with a bit of a design change. My PR#4478 (based on somebody else’s previous work) does it. Unfortunately that PR stalled for lack of available reviewer time, and has now gone stale.

> Is it, therefore, theoretically possible to have a render() function that returns that bounding box info? Yes and no. Current OpenSCAD design doesn’t allow for that, because render doesn’t actually execute until after the program has finished - it’s part of processing the CSG tree that results from executing the program. It can be done with a bit of a design change. My PR#4478 (based on somebody else’s previous work) does it. Unfortunately that PR stalled for lack of available reviewer time, and has now gone stale.