1. A command-line program that sweeps (extrudes) a 2D cross-section shape along the edge of a 2D shape, both given as black and white PNG files, and exports the resulting solid as a triangle mesh in STL format.
2. An Inkscape extension using this for simple creation of 3D-printed cookie cutters from a black and white SVG shape.

See http://zurich.fablab.ch/2013/12/nicer-cookie-cutters/ for a description of the algorithm and development history.

• Get the zip file from the releases page.
• Follow the Readme file for instructions on how to add the extension to Inkscape.

On the releases page you can find binaries for most systems as part of the Inkscape extension.

If you want to compile yourself the c++ part of the plugin, install libpng development files in a place where pkg-config finds them and run

make

(or examine and adapt the makefile, it’s trivial).