Duplicating non primitive mesh with Python

Question

I've created a mesh I want to duplicate using python with specifications for the new duplicate's coordinates. How do I do that?

Answer 1

You can simply use Object Duplicate Operator on the selected object(s) in Object Mode:

bpy.ops.object.duplicate()

By default this will create an identical copy, like pressing Shift+D in 3d View. By passing linked=True to the operator, you can also create a linked duplicate like pressing Alt+D on the keyboard. This will create a new object with all of its data (like the mesh) linked to the original object.

---

To adjust the location, access the Active Object (which is the duplicate in this case) and simply overwrite the location values:

bpy.context.object.location = (x, y, z)

When duplicating multiple objects use bpy.context.selected_objects to get a list of the created duplicates afterwards. Iterate through the list and assign new position values to each object.

For more options, see this question: Python move object on local axis

Answer 2

You can create a copy of the Mesh datablock, create a new Object, position it where ever you want and attach it to the current collection/scene like this:

Blender 2.8x

import bpy

C = bpy.context
me = C.object.data # use current object's data
me_copy = me.copy()

ob = bpy.data.objects.new("Mesh Copy", me_copy)
ob.location = (1,2,3)

# Link object to the collection in context
C.collection.objects.link(ob)

# Update the view layer
C.view_layer.update()

Blender 2.7x

import bpy

me = bpy.context.object.data # use current object's data
me_copy = me.copy()

ob = bpy.data.objects.new("Mesh Copy", me_copy)
ob.location = (1,2,3)

scene = bpy.context.scene
scene.objects.link(ob)
scene.update()

You may also duplicate the original object. If you set the new object's data attribute to the original mesh datablock (no mesh copy created), it will be a linked duplicate.

Answer 3

Here's how you can duplicate an object starting from Blender 2.8x:

import bpy

targetObject = bpy.data.objects['TargetObjectName']
# Or you can get the target object in other ways, such as:
# targetObject = bpy.context.active_object

newObject = targetObject.copy()
newObject.data = targetObject.data.copy() # Omit if you want a linked object.

bpy.context.collection.objects.link(newObject)