ZomeCAD was designed to be an interactive 3D modeling program that enables you to create and view Zome System models on a computer. It's written in C++ and can handle models with hundreds of thousands of parts.
ZomeCAD models consist of hubs and struts. Hubs are white faceted balls to which many struts can attach. Struts are red, yellow, blue, green, orange, or purple sticks that attach to hubs and can have several lengths. Every hub can connect to 12 red struts, 20 yellow struts, 30 blue struts, 60 green struts, 60 orange struts, or 60 purple struts.
ZomeCAD lets you create models by adding new struts to existing hubs and vice versa. You add new struts to an existing hub by selecting the hub. ZomeCAD then proposes several transparent struts that you can add to the hub. You can tell ZomeCAD to change the struts it proposes until you find one you like. Clicking on transparent struts makes them opaque and attaches them to the hub. Adding new hubs to existing struts works similarly.
ZomeCAD also provides powerful symmetry commands. These commands automatically add or remove parts in order to give the model the desired symmetry. You can finish a small portion of your model and then use a few symmetry commands to complete it.
Here are some key features of "ZomeCAD":
· User Guide document(PDF, online)
· Tutorial document(PDF, online)
· Save zome models to files and Open models from files
· Double clicking zome model files launches ZomeCAD (file association)
· Unlimited undo and redo
· Undo history saved to file
· Models can have more than 100,000 zome parts on most systems
· Save model image to file (JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and BMP)
· Strut types are: blue, red, yellow, green, orange, and purple
· Strut lengths are powers of ô
· Blue and green struts are also available in half lengths
· Automatically add hubs to new struts if desired
· View models from any position (even inside the model)
· Perspective and parallel projections
· Icosahedral symmetry commands automatically completes symmetric models
· Rotational symmetry commands automatically add (or remove) parts to ensure symmetry around a user specified axis
· Reflexive symmetry commands automatically add (or remove) parts to ensure reflexive around a user specified hub
· Mirror symmetry commands automatically add (or remove) parts to ensure reflection symmetry about a user specified mirror plane
· Tesselation commands automatically add (or remove) parts to ensure translational symmetry
· Scale models by ô or 1/ô
· Zome "Graph Paper" projects zome geometry onto background
