The Rig Cad editor has five core working areas: Add Object, Objects, Viewport, Properties, and Variables. Together they let you add geometry, select it, inspect it, edit it, and make it parametric.

Selection connects the interface. Select a node in Objects and the viewport highlights it while Properties shows that node’s editable settings. This guide is the entry point to the Rig Cad modeling articles: learn the interface here, then use the same panels to build operation trees, place features, process solved geometry, and inspect final meshes.

The editor at a glance

Area What it does
Add Object Finds and adds primitives, operations, and other nodes
Objects Shows the project hierarchy and controls selection
Viewport Displays the solved 3D result and the current selection
Properties Edits the selected node’s options and transform
Variables Defines reusable values and expressions for the whole project

A normal edit moves through these areas in that order: add or select a node, change its settings, then check the result in the viewport.

Interactive Sandbox
View project
Use this embedded project as an interactive reference. Select nodes at different depths and observe how the tree, viewport, properties, and inherited transforms stay connected.
Explore the Rig Cad editorInteractive Rig Cad editor

Add Object

Use Add Object to browse the node catalog. The catalog contains primitives such as boxes and cylinders, operations such as union and difference, and more specialized modeling nodes.

After adding a node, find it in Objects and confirm that it has the intended parent. Where a node sits in the hierarchy can change how the project evaluates it.

Viewport

The Viewport displays the solved project. The selected node is highlighted so you can connect an entry in Objects with its position in the scene.

Inspect the model from more than one angle. Check whether parts overlap, cuts reach the intended depth, and transforms move geometry in the expected direction. Viewport display controls can change how the scene is presented without changing the model.

Objects

The Objects panel shows the project as a tree. Parent nodes contain or operate on their children; leaf nodes usually provide geometry or other inputs.

Use this panel to:

  • select a node;
  • see its parent and children;
  • rename nodes by purpose;
  • show or hide branches; and
  • move a node when its parent or order must change.

Selection is the most important action. It determines what is highlighted in the viewport and what appears in Properties. Reordering or reparenting can change the model, so inspect the result after either action.

Rig Cad Objects panel showing a difference root, a union body, and a hole cutter
The Objects panel shows both hierarchy and operation order.

Properties

The Properties panel edits the selected node. The available fields depend on its type, but usually include:

  • node-specific options, such as width, radius, or operation mode;
  • position, rotation, and scale; and
  • expressions that connect a property to project variables.

Check the selected node’s name before editing. A correct value entered on the wrong node is still the wrong edit.

When a text-valued property accepts an expression, include quotation marks: use "union" for the literal string union. Bare union is treated as a variable reference.

Variables

The Variables panel manages values that belong to the project rather than one node. A variable has a name and expression, and can also define a type, range, step, units, option labels, and whether it appears in the configurator.

Use variables when several properties share a value or when a dimension should be easy to change. For example, a partThickness variable can drive the depth of the body and the length of a cutter. Keep intermediate helper variables hidden; expose only meaningful controls.

A typical editing pass

  1. Add a node with Add Object, or select an existing node in Objects.
  2. Confirm the selected geometry in the Viewport.
  3. Change the node’s dimensions, transform, or options in Properties.
  4. If the value is reused or user-facing, define it in Variables and reference it from the property.
  5. Inspect the recomputed result, then continue with the next node.

That is the core editor loop: select, edit, inspect.

Next steps

Continue through the core modeling path:

  1. Constructive Solid Geometry in Rig Cad explains primitives, Boolean operations, and readable operation trees.
  2. Transforms and Reference Frames in Rig Cad explains how those nodes are positioned through local, parent, and world space.
  3. Post-Processing in Rig Cad applies ordered changes to solved geometry.
  4. Mesh Cleanup in Rig Cad measures and corrects the final mesh.

Use Oversize the Cutter as a focused Boolean-robustness guide, Signed Distance Fields for the field-based modeling branch, and Beyond Sliders when project variables become customer-facing product controls.