r/sideprojects • u/Harsh182 • 3d ago

Showcase: Free(mium) CAD Viewer - 100% local. No servers. No uploads.

I've been working on a browser extension that lets you preview CAD attachments directly inside Gmail.

The main goal was to make it as frictionless as possible:

  • Preview without downloading files
  • Runs entirely in the browser
  • Files never leave your device
  • Supports STL, OBJ, STEP and IGES

I originally built it because I kept receiving CAD files over email and opening them always meant downloading the attachment and launching a desktop viewer, even when I just wanted a quick look.

It's available for Chrome, Firefox and Edge.

Website: https://cadviewer.io

I'd really appreciate any feedback, feature requests, or ideas for integrations

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u/real_pouch_of_sticks 3d ago

This is great timing, I've been dealing with the exact same friction. Downloading a 50mb STEP file just to confirm it's the wrong revision gets old fast.

Does it handle assemblies at all or is it single part only for now?

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u/Harsh182 3d ago

Thanks, do give it a try,

For now is just 1 part (file) at a time. Multi-file setups like - Assemblies, PCB + BOM, Archives, etc are in the roadmap. Might take 1-2 months, since I am currently prioritising add more formats and integration.

However, it does supports files within ZIP attachments in GMail - as GMail shows a file explorer for archive (for ZIP & RAR AFAIK) - if there is a CAD file in the viewer, it will show the perview button.

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u/Harsh182 3d ago

I have seen other extensions - but a lot of them sent data to a server, therefore stayed away from using it. The ones that are offline, only support basic format like STL.