A specialized 2.5D CAD tool for designing electro-mechanical assemblies, sandwich composites, and robot chassis.

ShortStack was born out of frustrations with general-purpose CAD when building robot and exoskeleton prototypes. It bridges the gap between PCB layout software and mechanical CAD.

1. Subtractive First: For flat materials (carbon fiber, plywood, delrin, foam), laser and waterjet cutting are substantially faster than 3D printing. ShortStack is optimized for 2D and 2.5D workflows.
2. Routing is not an Afterthought: Most hardware failures stem from poor cable management. ShortStack treats wire routing and internal channels as first-class citizens.
3. "PCBA" for Mechanics: Design your mechanics like a circuit board. Create Footprints for components (motors, servos), assign them to specific material layers, and arrange them on a global Board Outline.

• Layered Stackup Editor: Define materials, thicknesses, and manufacturing types (Cut vs. Carved/Printed). Visualize complex sandwich panels (e.g., Carbon-Foam-Carbon).
• Parametric Math Engine: Don't just type numbers. Use variables and math expressions (e.g., width / 2 + clearance) driven by mathjs.
• Recursive Footprints: Build complex assemblies by nesting footprints inside other footprints.
• Wire Guides: Define virtual "snap" points and channels to ensure your wiring pathways are mathematically perfect.
• Real-time 3D Preview: Powered by Manifold-3D and Three.js, get instant feedback on boolean operations, ball-nose endmill fillets, and layer alignments.
• Production Ready Exports:
  • DXF / SVG: For laser cutters, waterjets, and CNC routers.
  • STL: For 3D printing cores or visualization in other CAD suites.

Download the latest installer for macOS, Windows, or Linux from the Releases Page.

Note: The app supports auto-updates, so you will be notified when a new version is available.

ShortStack is built with Tauri, React, and Rust.

Prerequisites:

• Node.js (v18+)
• Rust (stable)
• OS-specific build tools (Xcode for Mac, Visual Studio C++ build tools for Windows, etc.)

Setup:

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run in development mode (Hot Reloading)
npm run tauri dev
# OR
make dev

Building for Production:

# Build a local installer
npm run tauri build
# OR
make

Define your material layers.

• Cut: Goes all the way through (e.g., Carbon Fiber skins).
• Carve: Partial depth operations (e.g., routing channels in a Foam core).
• Color: Assign colors to visualize layers easily.

Set global variables (e.g., MotorDia = 28mm, WireWidth = 5mm). Use these in any input field to keep your design parametric.

Create reusable components.

• Shapes: Circles, Rectangles (rounded), Lines (paths).
• Assigned Layers: Map shapes to specific stackup layers (e.g., "Cut this circle only on the Top Carbon layer").
• Depth & Radius: For carved layers, specify cut depth and endmill radius for accurate 3D preview generation.

Arrange your footprints within the Board Outline.

• Use Wire Guides to snap path lines between components.
• Toggle the 3D View to check for collisions or routing errors.
• Click Export on specific layers to generate manufacturing files.

• src/: React Frontend (UI, Editors, Three.js Rendering).
  • components/Footprint3DView.tsx: Manifold-3D implementation for boolean geometry.
  • components/ExpressionEditor.tsx: Math evaluation logic.
• src-tauri/: Rust Backend.
  • lib.rs: Handles file I/O and geometry processing (geo-types, svg, dxf generation).

MIT