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design-studio

Getting Started

Introduction

This guide will help you get started with Zoo Design Studio, and is intended for first-time users. It covers the following topics:

This page covers the essentials for first-time users. For a quick visual overview of Zoo Design Studio before diving into the details below, we recommend watching this introductory video:

Getting started

Every time you launch Zoo Design Studio, you will be greeted by a project dashboard. This is your starting point for creating and managing your design projects.

When you launch Zoo Design Studio for the first time, this dashboard will be empty. To get started, click Create Project, enter a name, and press Enter to open a blank scene. Alternatively, select Generate with Text-to-CAD to create a model from a prompt or Create from Sample to open a pre-built example part.

Once you have a project open or a model loaded, you'll need to navigate the 3D view. By default, Zoo Design Studio uses the following control scheme for navigation:

  • Orbit: Hold down the right mouse button and drag.
  • Pan: Hold down the middle mouse button (scroll wheel click) and drag.
  • Zoom: Use the mouse scroll wheel or, while holding control, hold the right mouse button and drag up or down.

Note that you can customize these controls to emulate those employed by other CAD systems. To do this, select File → Preferences → User Settings → Modeling → Mouse Controls.

Settings and preferences

To adjust your settings and preferences, select File → Preferences from the main menu.

Some settings are user-specific, while others are project-specific, with project-scoped settings available only when opening the settings dialog from within a project.

Items can be adjusted from within the following categories:

  • App: Customize the theme and define the directory where your projects are saved.
  • Modeling: Set your preferred default units (e.g., mm, inches), model navigation mode, and camera behavior.
  • Text Editor: Configure the presentation of KCL code within the text editor.

The following are also available:

  • Keybindings: View and customize keyboard shortcuts.
  • About: Available from the User and Project settings menus, this allows users to check their current version of Zoo Design Studio and access release notes.

This video provides a more in-depth overview of the settings and preferences available in Zoo Design Studio:

Sketch basics

To begin creating geometry, open a project. Before starting your sketch, ensure your desired units (e.g., mm, inches) are set.

Once ready, click the Start Sketch button. This will prompt you for a plane on which to sketch, and then you will enter 2D sketching mode. This will allow you to:

  • Draw geometric elements such as lines, arcs, and circles on the active workplane.
  • Add dimensions and constraints to control the size, shape, and position of your geometry. Dimensions can also be based on parametes and formulas, allowing for powerful parametric design.
  • Use the sketch toolbar to access common operations like mirror.

When finished, click Exit Sketch and select a 3D feature such as Extrude, Revolve, or Sweep from the feature toolbar to create a solid model.

Important Note on Creating Holes: For features like holes within a solid, it's generally best practice to extrude the main shape first. Then, create a new sketch on a face of that solid for the hole's profile, and use a cutting feature (e.g., an extrude-cut, or a Boolean subtract). Sketching a circle inside another closed profile on the same initial sketch may not automatically result in a hole when extruded.

KCL basics

Zoo Design Studio uses a custom programming language, KCL, for geometry creation. When you use the graphical user interface to create geometry by sketching and extruding, our system generates KCL. However, you can also write KCL directly, allowing you to create complex models using commands and functions. We also store your KCL code in text files with .kcl extension—so we refer to these as KCL files.

While you can achieve a lot with the graphical interface, directly editing or writing KCL unlocks advanced capabilities. This includes creating complex parametric models, automating design tasks through scripting, and defining geometries that might be challenging with GUI tools alone. It also makes Zoo designs highly portable and readily version-controllable with tools such as git.

A range of KCL-based sample parts are provided as reference models for use within Zoo Design Studio. To access these:

  • Click Create from Sample on the project dashboard to browse available KCL examples.
  • Select a sample to clone it into your workspace for examination or modification.
  • Use the feature tree to inspect how the model was constructed.
  • Modify parameters or features as needed to customize the part for your requirements.

Importing and exporting files

Zoo Design Studio supports various file formats for interoperability with other CAD systems:

  • Importing: Add external models to your project by selecting Insert from the top command bar. Supported formats include STEP, .sldprt and STL. For further details see the KCL docs.
  • Exporting: Save your designs for use in other applications by choosing File → Export and selecting your desired format: STEP, STL, gLTF, OBJ, or PLY.
  • For models created with the Text-to-CAD feature, your generated geometry is automatically saved in the project folder and can be exported to any supported format at any time.