The independent SolidCraft guide
SolidCraft beginner tutorial.
A basic CAD part starts with a two-dimensional sketch, becomes a solid through extrusion, and stays editable in a native design file. This beginner walkthrough uses a rectangle to introduce that flow in SolidCraft. Follow it alongside the official documentation, with the desktop or web app open, and check the result at each stage.
Coming from Fusion? Compare workflows and STEP migration
The practice part
A very useful little block.
40 × 30 × 10 mm · Suggested exercise dimensions
SKETCH → DIMENSION → EXTRUDE → SAVEA clean place to think
Start with an empty design.
Open the installed desktop app or the official web app . Start an empty design using the app’s new-design action. If a sample is open, save anything you want to keep before replacing it.
Check your progressYou have an empty design ready for a sketch.
Two dimensions first
Draw a rectangle on the XY plane.
Choose Create Sketch and select the XY origin plane. Use the two-point rectangle tool to draw a closed rectangle. Keep its edges as normal geometry: construction geometry is for reference and does not form a solid profile.
Check your progressOne closed rectangular profile is visible in the sketch.
Make your intent explicit
Give the sketch its dimensions.
For this practice part, aim for a 40 mm × 30 mm rectangle. Use sketch dimensions on the horizontal and vertical edges; check the document’s units. These are suggested exercise values, not a prescribed official sample. Choose Finish Sketch when the profile is ready.
Check your progressThe rectangle has two clear sizes and you are back in the model view.
The third dimension
Turn the profile into a solid.
Use Extrude on the closed rectangle. For this exercise, choose a one-sided distance of 10 mm and a New Body operation. Confirm the feature and inspect the result from another angle. A closed profile with a positive distance should give you a rectangular block.
Check your progressA simple solid block and an extrusion feature appear in your design.
Keep the editable original
Save a design you can come back to.
On desktop, save the design as first-part.solidcraft in a folder you can write to. Keep this native design for later edits. In the web app, ordinary saves stay in browser-private storage. Open its file panel (shown as Files in this browser) and choose Download open design to download the editable native design to your computer. Check where your browser saved the file and reopen the copy before clearing site data. These panel labels were checked in the v0.13.1 source; compare your build with the official browser file implementation.
Check your progressYou have saved your editable design and know where it is stored.
Optional / Share the result
Export a copy for another tool.
A native design keeps your modeling history. An exported file serves a different purpose: STL for a mesh workflow, or STEP for exchanging solid geometry. The official files guide documents File → Save as mesh… for STL and 3MF; check the current export options for STEP in your build.
Keep your .solidcraft original and check the exported file in the receiving tool before printing or sharing it. STL and STEP exports are exchange copies; they do not replace a native design backup containing your original feature history.
Good questions
When a first step gets stuck.
I cannot find the tool described here.
My rectangle will not extrude.
My dimensions do not match the practice part.
I cannot save, or I cannot find my file.
Follow the source
Built on official documentation.
Last reviewed . Software evolves. Check the official documentation for changes before following these steps.