# SkexGen: Autoregressive Generation of CAD Construction Sequences with Disentangled Codebooks

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.04632 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.04632/

## Key facts

- Cited by 125 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 27 of its 42 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 11 Jul 2022.

## Builds on (most cited first, 27 of 27)

- [Attention Is All You Need](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.03762/) (2017)
- [Deep Residual Learning for Image Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1512.03385/) (2015)
- [Adam: A Method for Stochastic Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1412.6980/) (2014)
- [An Image is Worth 16x16 Words: Transformers for Image Recognition at Scale](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.11929/) (2020)
- [PyTorch: An Imperative Style, High-Performance Deep Learning Library](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.01703/) (2019)
- [Neural Discrete Representation Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1711.00937/) (2017)
- [Taming Transformers for High-Resolution Image Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.09841/) (2020)
- [The Curious Case of Neural Text Degeneration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1904.09751/) (2019)
- [Generating Diverse High-Fidelity Images with VQ-VAE-2](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.00446/) (2019)
- [Pointer Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1506.03134/) (2015)
- [DeepCAD: A Deep Generative Network for Computer-Aided Design Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.09492/) (2021)
- [PolyGen: An Autoregressive Generative Model of 3D Meshes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.10880/) (2020)
- [BSP-Net: Generating Compact Meshes via Binary Space Partitioning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1911.06971/) (2019)
- [CSGNet: Neural Shape Parser for Constructive Solid Geometry](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1712.08290/) (2017)
- [Write, Execute, Assess: Program Synthesis with a REPL](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.04604/) (2019)
- [Computer-Aided Design as Language](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.02769/) (2021)
- [UCSG-Net -- Unsupervised Discovering of Constructive Solid Geometry Tree](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.09102/) (2020)
- [SketchGraphs: A Large-Scale Dataset for Modeling Relational Geometry in Computer-Aided Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.08506/) (2020)
- [Learning to Infer and Execute 3D Shape Programs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1901.02875/) (2019)
- [SketchGen: Generating Constrained CAD Sketches](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.02711/) (2021)
- [Vitruvion: A Generative Model of Parametric CAD Sketches](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.14124/) (2021)
- [CAPRI-Net: Learning Compact CAD Shapes with Adaptive Primitive Assembly](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.05652/) (2021)
- [Inferring CAD Modeling Sequences Using Zone Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.03900/) (2021)
- [Engineering Sketch Generation for Computer-Aided Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.09621/) (2021)
- [B'ezierSketch: A generative model for scalable vector sketches](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.02190/) (2020)
- [Fusion 360 Gallery: A Dataset and Environment for Programmatic CAD Construction from Human Design Sequences](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.02392/) (2020)
- [Neural Shape Parsers for Constructive Solid Geometry](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.11393/) (2019)

## Built on by (most cited first, 30 of 125)

- [BrepGen: A B-rep Generative Diffusion Model with Structured Latent Geometry](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.15563/) (2024)
- [SceneScript: Reconstructing Scenes With An Autoregressive Structured Language Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.13064/) (2024)
- [Hierarchical Neural Coding for Controllable CAD Model Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.00149/) (2023)
- [CAD-MLLM: Unifying Multimodality-Conditioned CAD Generation With MLLM](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.04954/) (2024)
- [IconShop: Text-Guided Vector Icon Synthesis with Autoregressive Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.14400/) (2023)
- [CAD-Llama: Leveraging Large Language Models for Computer-Aided Design Parametric 3D Model Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.04481/) (2025)
- [CAD-Recode: Reverse Engineering CAD Code from Point Clouds](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.14042/) (2024)
- [CAD-SIGNet: CAD Language Inference from Point Clouds using Layer-wise Sketch Instance Guided Attention](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.17678/) (2024)
- [Text-to-CAD Generation Through Infusing Visual Feedback in Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.19054/) (2025)
- [SECAD-Net: Self-Supervised CAD Reconstruction by Learning Sketch-Extrude Operations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.10613/) (2023)
- [Text-to-CadQuery: A New Paradigm for CAD Generation with Scalable Large Model Capabilities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.06507/) (2025)
- [CAD-Coder: An Open-Source Vision-Language Model for Computer-Aided Design Code Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.14646/) (2025)
- [D2CSG: Unsupervised Learning of Compact CSG Trees with Dual Complements and Dropouts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.11497/) (2023)
- [CAD-Assistant: Tool-Augmented VLLMs as Generic CAD Task Solvers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.13810/) (2024)
- [GenCAD: Image-Conditioned Computer-Aided Design Generation with Transformer-Based Contrastive Representation and Diffusion Priors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.16294/) (2024)
- [Img2CAD: Conditioned 3D CAD Model Generation from Single Image with Structured Visual Geometry](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.03417/) (2024)
- [Img2CAD: Reverse Engineering 3D CAD Models from Images through VLM-Assisted Conditional Factorization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.01437/) (2024)
- [CADCrafter: Generating Computer-Aided Design Models from Unconstrained Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.04753/) (2025)
- [FlexCAD: Unified and Versatile Controllable CAD Generation with Fine-tuned Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.05823/) (2024)
- [TransCAD: A Hierarchical Transformer for CAD Sequence Inference from Point Clouds](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.12702/) (2024)
- [CadVLM: Bridging Language and Vision in the Generation of Parametric CAD Sketches](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.17457/) (2024)
- [CADmium: Fine-Tuning Code Language Models for Text-Driven Sequential CAD Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.09792/) (2025)
- [PLay: Parametrically Conditioned Layout Generation using Latent Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.11529/) (2023)
- [Seek-CAD: A Self-refined Generative Modeling for 3D Parametric CAD Using Local Inference via DeepSeek](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.17702/) (2025)
- [ShapeCoder: Discovering Abstractions for Visual Programs from Unstructured Primitives](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.05661/) (2023)
- [Text2CAD: Generating Sequential CAD Models from Beginner-to-Expert Level Text Prompts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.17106/) (2024)
- [Self-Supervised Representation Learning for CAD](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.10807/) (2022)
- [DTGBrepGen: A Novel B-rep Generative Model through Decoupling Topology and Geometry](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.13110/) (2025)
- [SHARP Challenge 2023: Solving CAD History and pArameters Recovery from Point clouds and 3D scans. Overview, Datasets, Metrics, and Baselines](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.15966/) (2023)
- [CAD-Editor: A Locate-then-Infill Framework with Automated Training Data Synthesis for Text-Based CAD Editing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.03997/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We present SkexGen, a novel autoregressive generative model for computer-aided design (CAD) construction sequences containing sketch-and-extrude modeling operations. Our model utilizes distinct Transformer architectures to encode topological, geometric, and extrusion variations of construction sequences into disentangled codebooks. Autoregressive Transformer decoders generate CAD construction sequences sharing certain properties specified by the codebook vectors. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our disentangled codebook representation generates diverse and high-quality CAD models, enhances user control, and enables efficient exploration of the design space. The code is available at https://samxuxiang.github.io/skexgen.