3D Designer — Help

What it is

The 3D Designer is an in‑browser modeller for 3D printing. Drop in primitive shapes, sketch your own profiles, combine them with booleans, check they're printable, and export to STL, 3MF, OBJ, GLB or PLY. It runs entirely in your browser and works offline.

Quick start

1. Pick a printer from the preset dropdown (sets the bed size).
2. Click a shape in the left palette to add it.
3. Click it to select, then drag the gizmo or type exact values in the right panel.
4. Combine parts with Boolean or holes; line things up with the smart guides.
5. Use Prepare to lay flat / arrange / check, then Export.

Toolbar & menus

The top bar groups actions into menus to keep it tidy:

• File — Save, Save a copy, Load…, Import STL / OBJ / 3MF / GLB / FBX / SVG, Save to / open from file (.litez), Browse public gallery, Keyboard shortcuts.
• Export — STL (binary/ASCII), 3MF, OBJ, GLB, PLY, and “Selected as STL”.
• View — jump the camera to Iso / Top / Front / Side; switch the Display mode Solid / Wireframe / Transparent (transparent is an x-ray so you can see parts moved inside other parts — Shift+W cycles) and toggle Edge outlines (crisp feature edges for a technical look) or Mesh lines (every triangle edge drawn over the solid — so you can see the full wireframe and pick edges to collapse); toggle Orthographic (CAD) view (parallel projection, no perspective distortion — great for aligning & measuring), Studio lighting + shadow and Dimension labels; plus View in AR (exports a USDZ — on iPhone/iPad it opens the model in your room at real scale).
• Prepare — lay flat, auto‑arrange, drop/centre, printability & thin‑wall checks, overhang view, print info.
• Sketch — pick a plane (bed, front, side or a part's face), then draw a profile and extrude, revolve, or sweep along it.
• Sculpt — add a sculpt ball or sculpt a selected mesh like clay.
• Create — make new objects: AI generate, parametric parts, gear, thread (bolt / nut), QR-code shape, keychain / name tag, and cookie cutter (from SVG).
• Tools — edit the selected object, organised into hover submenus: Place & size (align onto a face, scale / resize & fit-bed), Text & detail (text on a face, wrap text around a cylinder / cone / sphere, image / QR emboss, decal, apply text-image), Edit mesh (point edit, paint faces, round / chamfer, subdivide, smooth subdivide, simplify, convex hull), Cut & split (cut / split with pins, split for printing), and a reference image underlay.
• AI — describe a model in plain English and have it built for you from primitives (Supporter feature).
• Public — publish this design to the gallery when you save.
• Snap + an editable step (mm) field — rounds movement and sketch points to the grid (type any value).
• Measure — click two points to read a distance.
• Printer preset & Bed X/Y/Z — an Out of bounds badge warns if a part won't fit. The Printer & bed panel also has Display units (mm / inch), a Filament $/kg price and an Infill % that feed the live status bar.
• Status bar (bottom) — live totals: scene object & triangle counts, plus the selection's triangles, size (red if it exceeds the bed), volume, and weight + estimated cost (scaled by your infill %).

Undo / Redo and the transform modes Move · Rotate · Scale live at the top of the left palette — the active mode is highlighted. Next to them the gizmo-axes button toggles World (arrows fixed to the world) vs Local (arrows follow the selected object's own rotation) — switch to Local if a rotated part's move/scale arrows feel off-axis.

Left palette & shapes

Click a button to add that shape at the centre of the bed (it's selected automatically). Hover any button for its name. The palette is grouped into boxes & plates, round forms, faceted solids, rings & fun, then the makers. Tip: press / anywhere to open the command palette and search/run any tool or shape by name.

Below the shapes are 3D text and My Shapes (your reusable library). Import lives in the File menu: STL, OBJ, 3MF (keeps colours & separate bodies), GLB / glTF, FBX, and SVG (which extrudes the outlines). Multi-part files come in as separate editable objects (each weld-cleaned for printing); tiny metre-scale models (common in GLB/glTF) are auto-scaled to millimetres — use the Scale / resize tool if a model arrives the wrong size.

Select & transform

• Click to select; Shift/Ctrl‑click to multi‑select; click empty space to deselect. Selected shapes turn orange.
• Gizmo arrows are colour‑coded: X, Y, Z. Modes: Move (W) · Rotate (E) · Scale (R).
• While dragging, a read‑out shows live position / size / rotation, and smart guides snap parts to each other's edges/centres (cyan lines).
• Arrow keys nudge the selection (PgUp/PgDn for Z; hold Shift for fine 0.2 mm).
• Del deletes · D duplicates · right‑click opens a context menu with hover submenus — Transform, Combine (Union / Cut / Keep, mark-as-hole, apply holes), Edit mesh, Arrange and Object.

Right panel (exact edits)

The right panel has collapsible sections (click a header to fold it):

• Transform — type precise Position, Size and Rotation per axis, set the colour, and read the live dimensions / weight estimate.
• Actions — Drop to floor, Centre, Mirror X/Y/Z (flip in place) and Mirror copy X/Y/Z (a mirrored duplicate — perfect for symmetric left/right parts), Duplicate, Delete, Array Row / Ring / Grid (the two count boxes are columns × rows for Grid), Hollow, and Toggle hole.
• Arrange — Align & Distribute a multi‑selection, plus Group, Ungroup and Split (break an imported/boolean mesh into its separate bodies).
• Combine — the boolean buttons and Apply holes.
• Objects — the scene list: rename (double‑click), recolour, hide , lock , or export each shape.

Sketch → extrude / revolve

The Sketch menu lets you draw your own profiles on the bed and pull them into 3D:

• Plane — choose where to draw: Top (bed), Front (XZ), Side (YZ), or Pick a face… to sketch directly on a face of an existing part — the chosen face is highlighted in orange so you can see where you'll draw. All the draw tools below then work on that plane and extrude along its normal.
• Rectangle / Circle — click two points, then enter a height to extrude. For an exact size, click the first point (or none) and press Enter to type the dimensions (e.g. 40x20 for a rectangle, or a diameter for a circle).
• Polygon — click points; finish with Enter, a double‑click, or by clicking the start point, then enter a height.
• Revolve — click a side profile (radius is measured from the orange axis line); it spins into a solid of revolution (vases, bottles, knobs). Start & end on the axis for a closed solid.
• Sweep along a path (tube / bar) — click points to trace a path; Enter / double-click then sweeps a profile along it. Pick the cross-section by number of sides — 0 = round tube, 3 = triangle, 4 = square, 6 = hexagon (any number) — and a size. Great for pipes, cables, handles, rails and bars.

Sculpting

Push and pull a mesh like clay. From the Sculpt menu pick Add sculpt ball (best results) or Sculpt selected; a brush bar appears over the viewport.

• Left‑drag on the surface to sculpt · right‑drag to orbit · scroll to zoom. A cyan ring shows the brush.
• Brushes: Draw (bump), Inflate (puff), Smooth (relax), Flatten, Pinch (crease), Grab (drag vertices).
• Size & Strength sliders · Invert to carve inward · Symmetry to mirror across the centre.
• Subdivide adds resolution for finer detail · Done (or Esc) finishes.

Sculpting moves existing vertices (it doesn't add detail on its own) — Subdivide first for finer features. Dense sculpts make large files, so run Check printability before exporting.

Boolean & holes

Boolean (two shapes): select the first, click ∪ Union, − Cut or ∩ Keep, then click the second (Esc cancels). Heavy operations run in the background with a spinner so the app stays responsive.

Hole mode (many at once): mark shapes as holes (they go translucent), position them, then Apply holes cuts every hole out of every solid in one step.

Tools (text, cut, emboss…)

Most tools open a small floating panel over the viewport and show a live preview as you change the settings — green means it will be added (emboss), red means it will be cut away (engrave). Press Apply to commit or Cancel / Esc to back out.

• Align onto a face — pick the object to move, then click a face on another object to seat it flush on that surface. Copy / Paste (Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V) duplicate parts, even between designs.
• Scale / resize — resize the whole selection to an exact size. Type a target X / Y / Z in mm (keep Lock ratio on for uniform scaling), or hit Fit bed to shrink it to your printer bed. A live box preview turns green if it fits, red if it's over‑size; parts stay seated on the floor.
• Text on a face — click a face, then type your text and set size + depth. The text previews right on the surface; Apply bonds it in (emboss = raised, engrave = cut), or Place drops it as a movable object to position first and apply later via Apply text / image to shape (Tools menu or right‑click).
• Image / QR emboss — stamp a picture or QR code onto a face. Upload an image (Threshold for logos / line art, or Relief for a grayscale plaque) or type text for a QR code, preview it, then click a face to place it with a live on‑surface preview and Emboss or Engrave.
• Decal on a surface — project text or an image onto a curved surface so it conforms to the shape (a logo on a sphere, a name on a cone). Set text+colour or pick an image and a size, then click the surface. Note: a decal is a visual / colour layer (great for renders, GLB & AR), not a printable relief — for raised/engraved markings use Image/QR emboss or Wrap text. Decal textures aren't stored in saved projects.
• QR code shape — generate a standalone, printable QR plaque (a base plate with raised modules). Set the text / URL, size, module height and base thickness. The modules start exactly at the base height, so a filament change at that Z gives a clean two‑colour, scannable code.
• Cut / split — slices a model into two parts (to fit the bed). A floating bar + a draggable plane show the cut; toggle the handle between Move and Rotate for straight or angled cuts, and optionally add alignment pins (pin on one half, socket in the other) so the pieces glue back together.
• Split for printing (auto) — too big for one bed? This chops a whole model into a grid of bed-sized pieces automatically. The piece size defaults to your current printer bed but you can type any X / Y / Z; a gap margin keeps each piece inside the bed, and optional alignment pins mate the pieces for gluing. It shows a live piece-count, then opens a gallery of every piece with a thumbnail — download each STL, all of them, or the whole set as one ZIP. In the scene the pieces fan out in an exploded view so the split is obvious; buttons let you Arrange on bed (flat-pack, ready to slice), Reassemble (check the joins line up), or drag the Explode slider. Print them on one or several printers.
• Round / chamfer / smooth — fillet or 45° chamfer the edges of a box or cylinder (set the edge radius), or Smooth (subdivide + relax) to round the edges of any mesh.
• Edit points (vertex drag) — tweak a mesh by hand: hover snaps to the nearest vertex (a dot shows it), then left-drag to move it. An Influence radius pulls neighbouring vertices along with a smooth falloff (set it to 0 to move a single vertex), and you can lock the drag to an axis with the Axis dropdown or the X / Y / Z / F keys. Switch the Action to Extrude face to pull new geometry out (click a flat face and drag — it grows the whole coplanar face outward and builds the side walls), or Inset face to shrink a face inward (drag toward the centre) — inset then extrude is the classic way to add a recessed or raised panel. Right-drag orbits; Done keeps the edits, Cancel reverts. The mesh is auto-welded on entry so shared corners move together without tearing.
• Thread (bolt / nut) — generates real helical threads: a Bolt (hex head), a Threaded rod, or a Nut. Set Diameter, Pitch and Length (common metric sizes are listed); a matching bolt & nut screw together.
• Gear — a parametric spur gear with a live preview: set teeth, diameter, thickness, tooth depth, edge style, centre hole and an optional hub.
• Wrap text on a surface — bend a line of text around a cylinder, cone or sphere (mugs, vases, shades, baubles). Set the text, size and depth and it previews curved on the surface; Apply embosses (raised) or engraves (cut).
• Parametric parts — drop in ready-made, fully editable functional parts: box + lid, bracket, standoff, cable clip, vase, phone stand, filament-spool, jar, honeycomb, divider, threaded jar, hinge and cable comb. Each opens with sliders so you dial in the exact dimensions.
• Reference image — drop a photo or drawing onto the bed as a flat, see-through underlay to trace or scale against. It's a guide only and isn't exported.
• Paint faces — click or drag to colour individual faces; pick a colour and optionally Fill all. The colours export to 3MF / GLB / PLY for AMS/MMU multi-colour printing (not to STL, and not yet saved in .litez projects).
• Subdivide (×4 faces) — split every triangle of the selected mesh into four for a denser mesh (also on the right-click menu). Run it once or twice before sculpting or point-editing when you need finer detail; it keeps the shape, just adds resolution.
• Smooth subdivide (round) — Loop subdivision: also splits ×4 but rounds the form as it divides (a cube creeps toward a ball; faceted imports soften). Welds the mesh first so it smooths across seams; boundary edges of open meshes are kept crisp.
• Simplify (reduce triangles) — the opposite: decimate a dense mesh by a percentage you choose. Great for taming heavy OBJ/FBX/scan imports so they stay editable and slice fast.
• Convex hull (wrap selection) — build the tight convex solid that encloses the selected shape(s) — handy for quick bases, grips, or a simplified blocked-out form.
• Keychain / name tag — type text, set size/thickness and a hanging-hole, and get a printable rounded tag with raised or engraved lettering in one click.
• Cookie cutter (from SVG) — pick an SVG outline and it becomes a printable cutter: a thin wall following the shape plus a wider base flange for grip. Set the overall size, wall thickness, height and flange.

You can also Split into parts (right‑click an imported/boolean mesh) to break it into its separate bodies.

AI generate

Open the AI tool, describe what you want in plain English (e.g. "a desk organiser with three pen slots and a phone stand"), and the AI builds it for you out of primitives and drops it into your scene as normal, editable shapes — so you can fine-tune, combine or cut as usual.

• Be specific about sizes and counts for the best results; rough prompts give rough models.
• It's a starting point — expect to nudge, scale and tidy parts afterwards.
• The AI generator is a Supporter feature (it costs real money to run). Free accounts can use everything else; see the Supporter page. The status chip in the toolbar shows your plan and remaining AI prompts for the day.

From a lithophane

Made a photo lithophane on one of the generator pages (flat, cylinder, cone, cube, globe, lantern, multi)? Click Send to 3D Designer there and it imports straight into the editor — already welded and watertight — ready to add a frame, stand, base or hanging loop, combine with other parts, or export. A progress bar shows the hand-off for big meshes.

Shape library

• Open it with the button at the bottom of the palette. Two packs: a Shared pack (curated, categorised — Gears, Hardware, Trains, Cars, Planes, Buildings, Robots, Building bricks…) and your private My Shapes.
• Save selection stores the current selection as a reusable shape; Add drops a copy into your scene.
• Use the search box and category dropdown to find things fast. Sections collapse to tidy the list.

Print preparation

• Lay flat (click a face) — pick any face and the part rotates to rest flat on the bed (key L).
• Auto‑arrange on bed — packs all parts into the bed without overlap; Drop all / Centre all place everything at once.
• Check printability — flags open edges / non‑manifold geometry that could fail to slice.
• Repair / make watertight — one click to weld, drop bad triangles, make the winding consistent, fill holes and flip normals outward. The fastest fix for imported OBJ/FBX/STL that won't slice cleanly.
• Overhang view — paints faces steeper than 45° (likely to need supports) red.
• Thin‑wall check — highlights walls thinner than a value you set (magenta), so they don't print too weak.
• Print info — volume, bounding size, and weight & rough cost per material.

Lighten & simulate a print

Once a design is finished, two companion tools under Tools in the top menu take it further. Export your model as an STL first, then open it in either.

• 3D Print Tools — hollow the model, perforate it, wrap it in a hexagonal frame, fill it with a gyroid lattice, or reduce it to a wireframe. A solid print is mostly wasted plastic; these routinely cut 70–95% of it.
• Print Simulator — slice the model and watch it print layer by layer on your own bed size, with print-time and filament estimates, then download the G-code.

Both run entirely inside your browser — the model is never uploaded. Full details are in the main guide.

Save, load & autosave

• Name your design and Save to your free account; Save a copy forks it. Load shows your designs (and the public gallery) with thumbnails — sections collapse.
• Save to file (.litez) / Open from file… — keep a design as a single file on your own computer (no login or size limit), including every separate part from a Split for printing. Opening one shows a thumbnail preview and part count before it loads, so it's great for backups or sharing the whole multi-part project. When a file holds several parts, the parts gallery opens automatically — the same thumbnail grid you get after a split, with per-part and ZIP downloads. You can reopen it any time from File → Parts gallery….
• Autosave keeps a local backup as you work; if the page reloads it offers to restore your unsaved work.
• Your preferences (snap, printer, public toggle…) are remembered per account. Saving / loading requires login.

Public gallery

Tick Public before saving to share a design. The Gallery page shows everyone's public designs with author and likes; Open loads any design into your editor as your own editable copy (a remix).

Export formats

• STL (binary or ASCII) — the universal print format (geometry only).
• 3MF — keeps per‑object colour and separate bodies; best for Bambu / Prusa / Orca.
• OBJ + MTL — widely supported, carries colour (two files).
• GLB — single file with colour & materials, great for sharing / web / AR.
• PLY — mesh with per‑vertex colour. 1 unit = 1 mm throughout.

Keyboard shortcuts

Tips & limits

• Overlapping shapes export as separate solids — your slicer merges them, or use Union for a single mesh.
• Use Subtract / hole mode to cut holes, slots and pockets.
• Keep parts reasonably simple before booleans for clean, fast results.
• Check printability after booleans, imports or splits to catch non‑manifold geometry.
• Colours are saved into 3MF/OBJ/GLB/PLY but not STL.