A man’s worth is measured by the worth of what he values.
— Marcus Aurelius

Do you really need another OpenSCAD library?

Probably not. Or maybe you do. I certainly needed a good library, and having seen what’s available in the field of OpenSCAD libraries, I decided—​after having had a good old crying session—​to produce a well-documented library that actually contains good, general routines; not just somebody’s pet project in convoluted code without any comments. RME.

Rant Warning!

Seriously, if you think your code is worth sharing, why don’t you at least comment the code? Lazy arse-bum-feckers. That’s like giving me the ingredients for a recipe, but not the weights and amounts; do they think I can read their minds? And it’s code, of course I want to mess with it, now, by the time I’ve gone through a detailed psychological analysis of their brain-spawn, I might as well have written my own library. Oh, wait—​I did…​ RME. Again.

So, there you have it: The GHOUL. Profusely commented, extensively documented, and very far from either perfect or finished; but pretty good, IMNSHO, and most days almost adequate for my needs, I hope it serves you well.

Who’s this library for?

Shapes

Anyone who uses OpenSCAD, maybe even you. This library contains lots of useful primitive shapes, curve generation routines, mesh generation and array manipulation, simple objects and parts, useful helper objects, organic shapes, threads and machine parts, a bit on string manipulation (why are some people so damn eager to use parametric CAD software to parse text?). There’s lots, and if you’re missing something, it’s easy to crank it into whatever you need, because there are comments, and there’s this documentation…​ And if you’re stumped, just drop me a line.

What’s not in The GHOUL…​

The GHOUL contains (mostly) general functions and modules to make designing in OpenSCAD easier. It does not contain actual parts. The GHOUL doesn’t have the button for the remote mirror adjustment in your Ford Explorer, neither does it have electrical components, or the lid for that jar from Germany; tut mir Leid.

As a matter of fact, The GHOUL doesn’t have too many actual, real world objects. It has some parts, but they are mostly general items or parts-of-parts that enable you to more easily model those parts that you may need. I hope that makes sense.

Anyway, just dive in and RTFM. (Just kidding; fine, it stands for "fine".) [1]

This documentation.

There is a bunch more information about this documentation on the Conventions page. No, I don’t have it in a PDF. Hardcopy? I wish, but drop me a line if you’d like to publish it :-)

This documentation is a self-contained, static site that also functions entirely by itself, offline. You can have it too, right there on you own personal private computation device. No need for internet access, well, after you download it of course…​

Who’s Hank-Jr?

I am, and I’m an engineer. [2] I studied mechanical engineering and later aeronautical engineering in The Netherlands, I’ve lived on two continents in 5 different countries, spent significant time in a few more and left a lasting mark in most. In 2007 I moved to Alberta, Canada, I haven’t been able to find a reason to leave, and have long since stopped looking. I have a passion for code and human language that started, for code, in 1982 with my Commodore 64, and this is one of the many fruits thereof.

I can’t remember when I started loving language; probably when I learned to read. It’s the one defining difference between the human species and all others on this planet. You’d think that alone would be enough for people to treat it with a little care and humility, but no, humans—​being what they are—​treat this one remarkable property of the species with contempt…​ Think about that for a moment; if you don’t even care about what defines you, what is your value? The struggle is real.

What’s with the 'Hank-Jr' you may think. Well, my name’s Hank, and so is my father’s; ergo, I’m Hank-Jr. Nothing to do with Honky-Tonks and git-tahs. I’m more of a ChillStep, Deep-House guy with some Classical, Dire Straits and CCR thrown in; although I do appreciate the odd C&W song, especially if it features a dog, like this one, and I really don’t mind the Boss’s older stuff. Of course none of this matters and—​frankly, my dear—​I don’t really give a pronged piece of cutlery…​

Drop me a line…​

Email

If you feel the need to communicate, you can get me at this address. I’ve created it just for you, so you don’t become a statistic in my spam folder. I’m not sure why I cranked up the GIMP to obfuscate it—​crawlers are getting smarter by the minute—​but there it is.

1. About 'RTF…​'; here’s one I picked up somewhat 'later in life': I was working for a short guy with a lion’s heart; he had fourth stage 'little-man syndrome' and had been sent to several anger management courses. Whenever stuff went sideways in the field, head office could never get him to say who on his crew had messed up, all he would ever say was 'someone on my crew did such and such'. He took several unpaid 'holidays' because of that, and people would fight to be on his crew. The day I went to do my crane course exam he told me to write 'RTFQ3X' at the top of the question sheet to remind myself what to do. I’ve been reading questions and statements three times ever since; it has served me well.
2. I’m not arguing with you; I’m explaining why I’m right.