(guide-imported-geometry)=
# Imported geometry

Many designs start outside OpenVCAD: a parametric CAD model, a colored scan, or a lattice from another tool. These guides bring that geometry in as ordinary nodes, so you can grade it, combine it, and compile it like anything else.

| Guide | Focus |
| --- | --- |
| [Authoring CAD with CadQuery](cadquery.md) | Define part boundaries with CadQuery, or import STEP and IGES files, then add attributes |
| [Importing textured solids](textured-mesh.md) | Import colored 3MF and OBJ models as solids with a `COLOR_RGBA` field |
| [Importing 3MF beam lattices](3mf-beam-lattice.md) | Rebuild lattices from the 3MF Beam Lattice Extension as implicit geometry |
| [Selecting triangle-mesh patches](mesh-selection.md) | Select part of a mesh for conformal lattices, surface relief, or measurement |

Each guide assumes you have completed [Getting Started](../introduction/getting-started.md) and [Functional grading](../fields/gradients.md).

```{toctree}
:maxdepth: 1
:caption: Imported geometry guides

cadquery
textured-mesh
3mf-beam-lattice
mesh-selection
```