SVG to OpenSCAD: turn vector artwork into editable code
OpenSCAD can import an SVG directly with import("file.svg") - so why convert at all? Because import() creates a dependency: the SVG file has to live next to your .scad file, forever, everywhere the design gets rendered. That breaks the moment you want to share a single self-contained file, and it's a hard blocker on MakerWorld, where parametric models run in the online customizer and external file references simply don't work.
This converter solves it by generating native OpenSCAD polygon() arrays wrapped in linear_extrude(). The output is plain .scad code you can copy, edit, parameterize, and ship as one file - your logo or icon becomes geometry you own, not a file you have to carry around.
After conversion, preview your converted file in the OpenSCAD Viewer or continue editing it in the OpenSCAD Playground.
How the converter works
An SVG is just structured code, so the converter reads it directly: it applies transforms, flattens curves into line segments, and emits OpenSCAD point and path arrays. Filled contours become printable regions, open filled paths get closed automatically, and contours nested inside other contours are treated as holes - which is how letters, icons, and cutouts keep their open spaces instead of printing as solid blobs.
Preparing an SVG for OpenSCAD
The best inputs are filled paths, filled shapes, or simple stroke-only artwork with a visible stroke width. The converter outlines common strokes automatically - open paths, lines, polylines, polygons, rectangles, circles, ellipses - so thin visual strokes become real printable width in the output.
Simpler files convert more reliably. Artwork from Illustrator, Inkscape, Figma, or a logo generator often carries hidden layers, masks, clips, gradients, live text objects, and metadata that mean nothing to OpenSCAD. If the preview looks wrong: delete unused objects, convert text to paths, flatten where you can, and export a plain SVG. That fixes the majority of weird conversions.
When this tool is a good fit
Use it when the SVG is a mostly flat 2D silhouette you want to extrude into a printable object - a name tag, badge, sign, logo plate, stencil, or decorative insert. It's also the right move when you want vector geometry inside a parametric project: once the shape is native OpenSCAD code, you can union it with rounded bases, subtract screw holes, add text, and apply tolerances like any other module.
Current limitations
SVG is a deep format, and this converter aims at the printable subset. It doesn't evaluate complex CSS, preserve gradients, render raster images, convert live text objects to paths, or boolean-clean heavily overlapping shapes. If the preview looks off, simplify the SVG and run it again - that's almost always the fix.
SVG to OpenSCAD FAQ
Why not just use import("file.svg") in OpenSCAD?
import() works on your desktop, but the SVG has to travel with the .scad file everywhere. MakerWorld's online parametric customizer can't resolve external files, and sharing two files instead of one is friction everywhere else. Converted polygon code is self-contained.
Can I edit the generated OpenSCAD code?
Yes - that's the point. The output is ordinary polygon() and linear_extrude() code. Change the extrude height, scale it, wrap it in a module, combine it with other geometry.
My logo converts but looks wrong. What do I check first?
Convert text to paths, remove masks and clip paths, flatten layers, and re-export as plain SVG. Live text and clipping are the two most common causes of mangled conversions.
