Building a Support Generator Plugin Using MeshLib C++ on Windows

Overview

This tutorial demonstrates how to create a practical support generator for 3D printing using the MeshLib SDK. You will learn how to connect the dialog UI, handle user input, apply geometric algorithms (including mesh booleans), and render the result in one coherent workflow inside the MeshLib Viewer.

Prerequisites

Before starting, complete the First Plugin Tutorial, which introduces the MeshLib plugin architecture and shows how to build a basic tool.

Requirements:

• Visual Studio 2019 or later
• Windows development environment

Setup

Download the C++ project for this tutorial and verify the Visual Studio configuration: https://meshlib.io/building_support_generator

What You Will Learn

• Build a MeshLib plugin tool from scratch
• Design a dialog interface and process user parameters
• Apply geometric algorithms and use render helpers
• Generate cylindrical supports with conical tips based on local bottom curvature
• Perform boolean unions between supports and the model
• Integrate the plugin with MeshInspector for rapid testing and iteration

Summary

By the end of this tutorial, you will understand how to combine user interaction, geometry processing, and rendering into one cohesive workflow using the MeshLib SDK. This foundation enables development of more advanced 3D tools and plugins for MeshLib and MeshInspector.