Experimental · Blender add-on
Cross‑Tool Palette
A command palette for designers who think in Rhino or SolidWorks words: type loft, fillet or shell and it finds the Blender equivalent — or tells you why not.
Same vocabulary and thresholds as the add-on · it shows what would happen, it does not run Blender
01 — The project
Cross-Tool PaletteTen operations carry the vocabulary of three programs, so a search for sweep (SolidWorks) lands on the same entry as loft (Rhino). Matching works word by word: it tolerates typos like filet or bevle, and scores unrelated typing at zero.
It refuses to guess. Below a confidence of 0.45 it offers the closest terms instead of acting; when two answers score within 0.08 of each other it asks you to be more specific; and everything it runs is a non-destructive modifier, guarded against objects that cannot take one.
- Operations in the vocabularyDesigned
- 10
- Terms it understands across Rhino, SolidWorks and BlenderDesigned
- 47
- Confidence needed before it runs anythingDesigned
- 0.45
- Score gap below which a query counts as ambiguousDesigned
- 0.08
02 — What it understands
10 operations · 47 terms| Operation | You can type | In Rhino and SolidWorks | What it does in Blender |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boolean Union | union · boolean union · combine · merge solids · add solids · join solids | Rhino: BooleanUnion. SolidWorks: Combine > Add. | Adds a Boolean modifier (union). |
| Boolean Difference | difference · subtract · boolean difference · cut solids · combine subtract | Rhino: BooleanDifference. SolidWorks: Combine > Subtract. | Adds a Boolean modifier (difference). |
| Boolean Intersect | intersect · boolean intersect · common volume · combine common | Rhino: BooleanIntersection. SolidWorks: Combine > Common. | Adds a Boolean modifier (intersect). |
| Bevel / Fillet / Round | bevel · fillet · round edge · chamfer · round corner | Rhino/SolidWorks: Fillet (round) or Chamfer (flat). Blender: Bevel. | Adds a Bevel modifier. |
| Mirror | mirror · reflect · symmetry | Same term across Rhino, SolidWorks and Blender. | Adds a Mirror modifier. |
| Array / Pattern | array · pattern · linear pattern · repeat · duplicate in a row | SolidWorks: Linear/Circular Pattern. Blender: Array. | Adds an Array modifier. |
| Shell / Offset Surface | shell · offset · hollow out · wall thickness · offset surface | SolidWorks: Shell. Rhino: OffsetSrf. Blender: Solidify. | Adds a Solidify modifier. |
| Subdivision Surface / Smooth | subdivide · smooth surface · subdivision surface · smooth mesh | Roughly comparable to more surface smoothness in Rhino, though NURBS and mesh subdivision differ mathematically. | Adds a Subdivision Surface modifier. |
| Loft / Sweep / Skin | loft · sweep · skin surface · bridge loops · surface between curves · surface between profiles | The classic cross-tool mismatch: Rhino calls it Loft; SolidWorks separates Sweep from Loft; Blender's nearest built-ins are the Skin modifier or Bridge Edge Loops. | Adds a Skin modifier. |
| Extrude | extrude · push out · pull face · extrude face | Same term everywhere, but Blender's is edit-mode and selection-based rather than one dialog command. | Declines: extrude needs Edit Mode and a selection, so it explains how instead. |
03 — Project status
Prototype- Stage
- PrototypeA working prototype exists (an app, a tool or a functional model); the page says exactly what it covers. Form-only models are listed under Physical evidence.
- About this page
- Python add-on for Blender 3.0 and later. The demo on this page runs the same matching rules in the browser; it shows what the add-on would do, it does not run Blender.
Next project · Research · Research archive
Field Notes →
Twelve research notes on systems, mechanisms and materials