SolidCraft: GUI tutorial steps -> MCP commands (validated)

Public SolidCraft video tutorials teach the GUI. Every recipe below was re-run through the MCP server and checked with measure against hand-computed volumes. The tutorials themselves are not reproduced here, only the numbers needed to check a rebuild. Use together with solidcraft-modeling (command shapes, plane table, ids). For sweep recipes (twist, scale, vase, cup) and the rules for booleans that hang the app see solidcraft-sweep-and-boolean-hangs.

GUI -> MCP mapping

Release-video items (0.25 - 0.29): only from the videos, not tested on the MCP

These come from the SolidCraft release videos and notes. Treat them as GUI facts and test them before relying on them in a recipe.

• Name = value in a dimension box (0.25): typing pocket diameter = 24 mm in the size box creates a user parameter and links the dimension. Defining a name in one box and using that new name in the other box of the same operation is not supported; reuse it afterwards. Via MCP use parameters.add first.
• Value box in extrude (0.26): typing plate T = 5 mm in the distance box creates the parameter. Via MCP: parameters.add, then the name in distance.
• Parameter expressions in rectangle coordinates (0.29): the corner can be written as length, width. Not tested here.
• Equation curve (0.27): parametric form with X(t), Y(t), start, end, tolerance, e.g. X = body_widtht, Y = body_depth + wave_ampsin(2pit); close the profile with three lines and extrude.
• Interface only: toggle radius/diameter on a dimension, Shift+R (repeat last command, default shortcut), freehand lasso selection, settings profiles, status bar, view angles readout, CGA and one-bit themes, saved render shots (look / light / frame / output stages).
• Point clouds (0.26): insert a PLY as a reference display; it is not a scan-to-solid tool.
• Copy and paste between designs (0.27, 0.28, 0.29): the 0.27 video shows a component paste refused with an unknown parameter when it only appears inside an equation, and the workaround of creating that parameter in the empty destination first. My own attempt failed with "nothing copied" because new_design clears the clipboard; paste inside the same design works. Cross-design paste is NOT confirmed.
• 0.28: flat pattern DXF organises cutting geometry, bend directions and bend notes; select several holes in one operation; infinite construction lines.

Validated recipes (mm)

1. L-bracket plus hole: sketch YZ, polyline [[0,0],[100,0],[100,80],[75,80],[75,25],[0,25],[0,0]], extrude 50 symmetric new; solid.hole position [25,87.5,55] diameter 20. Volume 178 044.6 mm3 (193 750 minus the hole through the 50 mm arm).
2. Notched profile plus hole by point: YZ polyline [[0,0],[10,0],[10,10],[40,10],[40,0],[50,0],[50,30],[35,30],[35,40],[15,40],[15,30],[0,30],[0,0]], extrude 25 symmetric; a point sketch on plane {origin:[12.5,0,0], x_dir:[0,1,0], y_dir:[0,0,1]} at [20,20], then solid.hole sketch diameter 10. Volume 33 036.8 mm3.
3. Revolve 270 deg: upright plane, polyline [[0,0],[50,0],[38.453,20],[15,20],[15,65],[0,80],[0,0]], solid.revolve axis "y" angle "270 deg". Volume 119 197 mm3.
4. Flange with 4 holes: polyline [[0,0],[5,0],[5,8.5],[15,8.5],[15,11.5],[5,11.5],[5,32],[0,37],[0,0]], revolve 360 (volume 4528.6). Holes via the cylinder-cut pattern in trap 1 (final volume 4293.07).
5. Dish: revolve, fillet, shell, cross hole: polyline [[0,0],[25,0],[50,43.301],[75,43.301],[75,75],[0,75],[0,0]], revolve 360; solid.fillet R10 on [25,0,0] and [50,0,43.301]; solid.shell faces [[0,0,75]] thickness 5 inside; then a sketch on XZ with a circle centre [60,-60] r5 and solid.extrude through_all symmetric cut.
6. Dish v2 (different numbers from recipe 5): upright plane polyline [[0,0],[50,0],[75,43.30127],[150,43.30127],[150,68.30127],[0,68.30127],[0,0]], revolve 360 axis y; fillet R10 at [[50,0,0],[75,0,43.30127],[150,0,43.30127]]; shell faces [[0,0,68.30127]] thickness 5 inside; a circle dia 10 at [0,60] on the upright plane, extrude cut symmetric through_all targeting the body. Tutorials with the same name can have different dimensions, so read them on the frames.
7. Revolved flange with counterbore holes (from a Fusion 360 to SolidCraft tutorial): profile (20,0)-(70,0)-(70,7.6)-(40,7.6)-(34.24264,14.75736)-(34.24264,22.75736)-arc(centre (34.24264,25.25736), r 2.5, through (31.74264,25.25736))-(34.24264,27.75736)-(34.24264,30.75736)-(30,35)-(25,35)-(25,5)-(20,5)-(20,0); revolve 360; parameter R_holes=56; hole sketch on XY offset 7.6 with a point at (0,-56); solid.hole counterbore dia 5 / dia 12 / depth 3; solid.pattern.circular count 6; fillet R10 at [40,0,7.6], then R2 at [70,0,7.6], one per call. Final volume 151 384.4 mm3, within 0.002 % of the analytic value.

Traps found

1. solid.hole plus solid.pattern.circular can be wrong. On the small flange of recipe 4 the patterned through-all hole removed extra material (4213.8 instead of 4293.1). On recipe 7 (counterbore hole from a face sketch, 6 copies) the pattern matched the analytic volume. Rule: try hole plus pattern, measure, and compare with the analytic volume. If it is off, build the hole as solid.cylinder {diameter, height, base, operation:"cut", targets:[body]} and pattern that (solid.pattern.circular {features:["cutname"], axis:"Z", count:4} gave exactly the analytic volume).
2. Edge picks on circular edges must lie ON the circle (for example [50,0,43.301] for a radius-50 circle at z=43.301), not at a profile midpoint, or you get a no edge near error.
3. A fillet bigger than the neighbouring wall fails ("blend is taller than the walls", "largest radius that fits is N mm"): the rim of a dish must be taller than the radius. On a plate, the R8 corner rounds belong on the edges that run along the thickness, not along the plate width (picking the wrong edges gave "largest radius that fits is 5 mm").
4. Shell with a fillet on the open-face rim fails when radius > thickness. Fillet the other edges first, shell, and fillet the rim afterwards only if radius < thickness.
5. A failed step in a batch rolls the WHOLE batch back (including the sketch and revolve before it). Re-send everything with the fix.
6. Spoken numbers in transcripts are often wrong (seen: "14 / 18 / 19" for 40 / 80 / 90 deg, "100" for 90). Extract frames with ffmpeg -ss <t> -i video.mp4 -frames:v 1 at the dimension moments and read the on-screen labels.
7. Do not call sketch.inspect on large sketches (huge reply). Use measure or sketch.solve.
8. Pick after a fillet: the edge midpoints change after each fillet, so "no edge at [x,y,z]: nearest edge is 5 mm away" means re-pick from body_topology, not a larger radius.