BOOLEAN OPERATIONS

Boolean operations allow you to combine, subtract, or intersect solid geometries. The shapes.Solid class provides the modern API for these operations.

Creating primitive solids

import math

import volmdlr
from volmdlr import shapes

# Create a box centered at origin
box = shapes.Solid.make_box(
    length=0.2,
    width=0.2,
    height=0.2,
    frame=volmdlr.Frame3D.oxyz(),
    frame_centered=True,
    name="box",
)

# Create a cylinder passing through the box
cylinder_frame = volmdlr.Frame3D(
    origin=volmdlr.Point3D(-0.15, 0, 0),
    u=volmdlr.Y3D,
    v=volmdlr.Z3D,
    w=volmdlr.X3D,
)
cylinder = shapes.Solid.make_cylinder(
    radius=0.05,
    height=0.3,
    frame=cylinder_frame,
    name="cylinder",
)

# Display both solids
volmdlr.model.VolumeModel([box, cylinder]).display_3d()

Union

The union method combines two or more solids into a single shape.

union_solid = box.union(cylinder)
union_solid.display_3d()

If the solids do not intersect, the result is a compound containing both shapes. If one solid is completely inside another, the outer solid is returned.

Subtraction

The subtraction method removes material from the first solid where it overlaps with the second.

subtracted = box.subtraction(cylinder)
subtracted.display_3d()

This creates a box with a cylindrical hole through it. Multiple solids can be subtracted in a single call.

# Subtract multiple cylinders at once
cylinder2 = cylinder.rotation(volmdlr.O3D, volmdlr.Z3D, math.pi / 2)
result = box.subtraction(cylinder, cylinder2)
result.display_3d()

Intersection

The intersection method returns only the volume where all solids overlap.

intersection_solid = box.intersection(cylinder)
intersection_solid.display_3d()

This returns a cylinder segment with the length limited to the box dimensions.

Complete example

Here is a complete example demonstrating all boolean operations:

import math

import volmdlr
from volmdlr import shapes

# Create a sphere
sphere = shapes.Solid.make_sphere(radius=0.1, name="sphere")

# Create a box centered at origin
box = shapes.Solid.make_box(
    length=0.15,
    width=0.15,
    height=0.15,
    frame_centered=True,
    name="box",
)

# Union: combine both shapes
union_result = sphere.union(box)
print(f"Union volume: {union_result.volume():.6f}")

# Subtraction: remove box from sphere
subtraction_result = sphere.subtraction(box)
print(f"Subtraction volume: {subtraction_result.volume():.6f}")

# Intersection: keep only overlapping region
intersection_result = sphere.intersection(box)
print(f"Intersection volume: {intersection_result.volume():.6f}")

# Display results
union_result.display_3d()