Phi

Add vertex

Add a vertex on an edge.

Shortcuts:
V: Add vertex
Shift-V: Add at middle of edge

Add edge

Add an edge between two vertices or draw an edge on a face.

Shortcuts:
E: Add edge
Shift-E: Add straight edge

Delete objects

Delete selected objects.

Shortcuts:
Del or Backspace: Delete objects.
Shift-Del or Shift-Backspace: Delete selected edge(s) along with any floating vertices left
2: Delete non-fixed vertices with 2 edges only
Shift-2: As in "2", but keep the edge shape as is

Toggle face visibility

Select one or more faces and click this icon to make them invisible. To restore an invisible face to visible, select the adjacent edge and click the icon again.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Fix objects

Fix or unfix selected objects. With shift pressed it unfixes.

Shortcuts:
X: Fix objects
shift-X: Unfix objects

Smooth vertices

Make selected vertices smooth.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Set rounding for vertices

Set how much vertices will be rounded.

Shortcuts:
---: Set vertex rounding

Tangent edge w.r.t. face

Make an edge tangent with respect to a face. The tangency is fixed.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Perpendicular edge w.r.t. plane

Make an edge perpendicular to a face, or plane.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Parallel edge tangent w.r.t. another edge

Make an edge's tangent parallel to the tangent of another edge.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Display all tangencies

Click to display all fixed edge tangencies or tangencies between edges. Click again to hide.

Shortcuts:
Shift-Ctrl-T: Display tangencies

Fix edge tangent at vertex

Fix the tangent of the edge at the selected vertex.

Shortcuts:
T: Lock tangency

Set vertex coordinates

Set coordinates of selected vertices.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Snap to body

Snap body onto another body based on selected elements.

Shortcuts:
J: Snap bodies rigidly
Shift-J: Snap bodies deforming the first one

Project edges onto faces

Project the selected edges, or the edges of any selected faces, onto any other faces.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Make edges linear

Turn each selected edge into a straight line. If already linear, removes linearity requirement.

Shortcuts:
L: Make edges linear

Make edges collinear

Place all selected edges into one straight line.

Shortcuts:
Shift-L: Make edges collinear

Make circular

Turn selected face or edges into circle or circular arc.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Make circular with parameters

Turn selected face or edges into circle or circular arc, allowing user to specify various parameters.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Smooth edges, faces, vertices or area

Smoothens selected edges, vertices, faces, or entire area around selected objects. Repeat to smoothen more.

Shortcuts:
U: Smoothen
Shift-U: Smoothen without moving vertices

Unsmooth edges, faces, vertices or area

Unsmoothens selected edges, vertices, faces, or entire area around selected objects.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Remove edge smoothness

Remove smoothness constraint from the chain of selected edges.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Remove vertex smoothness

Remove smoothness constraint from the selected vertices.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Make edges tangent

Make two edges be tangent at their common vertex.

Shortcuts:
T: Make pairs of edges tangent
Shift-T: Make pairs of edges not tangent

Manipulate edge tangents

Manipulate the tangents at the two endpoints of an edge.

Coming soon!

Remove face smoothness

Faces no longer required to be smooth (i.e. they can meet sharply).

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Smooth faces

Make selected pair of faces smooth.

Shortcuts:
shift-click: Don't move vertices

Inflate face

Inflate all selected faces.

Shortcuts:
Click-drag: Inflate face

Deflate face

Deflate all selected faces.

Shortcuts:
Click-drag: Deflate face

Flatten faces or edges

Flatten all selected faces and/or edges.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Rigid move or free scale

Rigidily move or scale selected objects.

Shortcuts:
M: Show or hide manipulator
Shift-move: Move tool without affecting object
Shift-scale: Proportional scale
G, L: Switch to global or local positioning

Offset face

Offset selected face to create a new face within it.

Shortcuts:
O: Offset face

Add to symmetry sets

Add to the two sets of symmetric edges.

Shortcuts:
Y: Add to symmetry set

Remove from symmetry sets

Removes selected edges from the two sets of symmetric edges.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Set or clear mirror plane

Select a plane, a planar face, or 3 vertices to define a mirror plane and create a mirror image of your model. Click again to remove mirror.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Materialize Mirror Image

Select one or more faces of bodies, and turn their mirror images into new, independent bodies.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Set or clear symmetry

Define symmetry by setting a symmetry plane, or clear symmetry.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Pop out faces

Pop out (extrude) the selected faces.

Shortcuts:
P: Pop out

Thicken selected faces

Pop out (extrude) the selected faces to thicken them, removing the rest of the body.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Pop in face

Pop in (extrude inwards) the selected face.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Fillet Face

Fillet selected edges (coming soon).

Carve model

Carve through the model, adding edges on all faces crossed.

Shortcuts:
C: Carve
Shift-C: Carve along straight line

Make hole

Make a hole through the body connecting two selected faces. If Shift is not pressed, the hole will consist of linear edges. With Shift pressed, Phi will attempt a freeform hole.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Make bridge

Make a bridge connecting two or more selected faces, or two or more selected edges at the borders of open surfaces with a new face.

The bridge normally consists of linear edges. For bridges between faces, Phi will attempt a freeform bridge if Shift is pressed when this button is clicked.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Stitch two bodies on edge

Stitch two bodies into a single one sharing an edge. Select two edges of different bodies and click here to stitch them.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Split patches

Split selected face(s) by connecting the middles of its surrounding edges.

If Shift is held down when the button is clicked, the selected face(s) will be split by connecting its surrounding vertices.

Shortcuts:
S: Split patch at the middles of its edges
Shift-S: Split patch at its vertices

Dissolve patches

Dissolve selected adjacent patches (faces).

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Fill patches

Fill gap between edges with a new patc. Select two or more edges and click here.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Scale objects

Scale selected objects with exactness.

Shortcuts:
D: Quick scale body
shift-D: Scale

Rescale model

Rescale entire model based on distance between two selected vertices.

Shortcuts:
---: Rescale model

Set vertex distance

Set the distance between two selected vertices.

Shortcuts:
---: Set vertex distance

Copy edge

Select a set of edges and one vertex on each, and make all edges proportional copies of the first one selected.

Shortcuts:
Ctrl-C: Copy edge

Copy body or face

Select one or more bodies and/or faces, and make exact copies of them.

Shortcuts:
Ctrl-C: Copy body or face

Import reference model

Import a model from an Onshape Part Studio or from a file, to use as reference. The model will be displayed in green and will not be editable.

Import and translate Onshape Part Studio

Import a Part Studio model from Onshape. The model will be translated into the Phi format (if possible) and you will then be able to edit it.

Snap to reference

Make a vertex, edge or face snap to a reference vertex, edge or face from an imported reference model. Select the object you want to snap, then click on this icon, then click on the reference object you want to snap it to.

Shortcuts:
N: Snap to reference

Convert to Phi objects

Convert a reference face into a new, editable Phi surface. Click on this icon, then on the face you want to convert. A new Phi face will be created following the reference face.

In case you hold the Shift key down when you click this icon, a new 0-thickness body will be created, consisting of two opposite faces. (You can make either one invisible)

Show or hide reference model

Show or hide the imported reference model.

Import reference sketch

Import a .jpg, .png or .gif file to use as reference.

Edit reference sketches

While in this mode, the reference sketches become editable, and you can use the relevant tools to change their size and position.

Edit reference body

Move, flip, or scale imported reference body.

Shortcuts:
X,Y,Z: Translate along the X, Y or Z direction
Shift-X,Y,Z: Translate along -X, -Y or -Z
Up-arrow, Down-arrow: Scale up or down proportionately
1, 2, 3, shift-1,-2-3: Scale along X, Y or Z
DELETE: Deletes the reference body

Show or hide reference sketches

Show or hide the imported reference sketches.

Labels

Show or hide command labels.

Tooltips

Enable or disable displaying command tooltips.

Start/stop autosave

Start or interrupt the auto-save cycle. This regularly saves the current version of your model to your Onshape document in the Phi format. The saved file will appear in an Onshape tab with an underscore ("_") in front of the filename.

Show reference objects transparent

Toggle showing reference object as transparent and green, or solid and beige.

Remove all 2-vertices on export

Toggle whether all 2-vertices (i.e. vertices lying on edges without other edges on them) should be removed from model on exporting to Onshape.

Search

Search for a command. Just click and start typing.

Shortcut:
Ctrl-F: Search for a command

Restart and load new model

Discard current model and load a new one.

Undo

Undo your last operation.

Shortcuts:
Ctrl-Z: Undo

Redo

Redo the last operation.

Shortcuts:
Ctrl-Y: Redo

Select all

Select all objects.

Shortcuts:
A: Select all

Select none

Deselect all objects.

---: Select none

More information

Bring up a comprehensive help page.

Shortcuts cheatsheet

Bring up a cheatsheet with all shortcuts and key operations.

Load model into current one

Load another model and add it into the current one.

Save model

Save your model in the Phi format.

Shortcut:
Ctrl-S: Save model

Send to Onshape Part Studio

Send your model to Onshape as a Part Studio.

Export model

Export your model as STL.

Show vertices

Show or hide vertices.

In case some vertices are selected, hitting the icon will hide them.

Hitting the icon with the Shift-key pressed will hide all vertices, except for the selected ones.

Shortcuts:
Q: Hide vertices

Show edges

Show or hide edges.

In case some edges are selected, hitting the icon will hide them.

Hitting the icon with the Shift-key pressed will hide all edges, except for the selected ones.

Shortcuts:
W: Hide edges

Show faces

Show or hide faces.

In case some faces are selected, hitting the icon will hide them.

Hitting the icon with the Shift-key pressed will hide all faces, except for the selected ones.

Shortcuts:
R: Hide faces

Show coordinate axes and planes

Show or hide coordinate axes and planes.

Show selected coordinates

Show or hide coordinates of selected vertices (or all, if none are selected).

Show moving object coordinates

Show or hide coordinates of moving vertices or edge deformations.

Show shadows

Show or hide the shadow of the model.

Set section planes

Set the section planes, or exit section view.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Edit model at Section View

Edit your model while in Sectional View, or return to the “Setting Section Planes” mode.

Shortcuts:
No shortcuts for this operation

Show grid

Show or hide a grid for snapping onto.

Set grid spacing and snapping threshold

Set the spacing of the grid lines (and snapping threshold) based on the current workspace units. Check the checkbox to center the grid on a single selected vertex.

Toggle snapping

Enable or disable snapping to the planes of other vertices. The snapping threshold is the same as the grid spacing (even though the grid is not visible).

Set smoothen strength

Set how strong you want the smoothening operations to be.

Shortcuts:
Shift-ctrl-U: Set smoothen strength

Set click sensitivity

Set how fast you need to click.

Set working plane

Set or unset a "working plane". All vertex movements will be confined to be on, or parallel to this plane.

View side (down the X axis)

Switch view down the X axis. Click again to switch to opposite (-X) view direction.

Clicking on the orthogonal plane also flips view between X and -X direction

The up/down-arrow and left/right-arrow keys rotate view by 15 degrees.

View front (down the Y axis)

Switch view down the Y axis. Click again to switch to opposite (-Y) view direction.

Clicking on the orthogonal plane also flips view between Y and -Y direction

The up/down-arrow and left/right-arrow keys rotate view by 15 degrees.

View top (down the Z axis)

Switch view down the Z axis. Click again to switch to opposite (-Z) view direction.

Clicking on the orthogonal plane also flips view between Z and -Z direction

The up/down-arrow and left/right-arrow keys rotate view by 15 degrees.

View perpendicular to face

Switch view perpendicular to selected face.

View entire model

Zoom to view entire model. With SHIFT rotates to an oblique view.

Shortcuts:
F: View all (Fit)

Save/recall viewport

Save or recall a viewport. To save the current viewport, click on the icon, then enter a name for the viewport and hit "Save". To recall a saved viewport simply click on it. To delete saved viewports click on the little "X" next to their name.

Show wireframe

Switch between wireframe and solid view of your model.

Show hidden edges

Switch between hidden edges and only visible edges viewing mode.

Shortcuts:
H: Show/hide hidden edges

Set number of display triangles

Set the number of triangles per face to be used to display the face.

Set color

Set the color for the selected faces, or for all faces if none are selected.

Set material

Set the material for the selected faces, or for all faces if none are selected.

Set background and lighting

Set the desired backgrounds and lighting for your scene.

Set workspace units

Set the units for your workspace. The coordinate axes, when displayed show the unit length.

Set coordinate decimals

Set the number of decimal places to display for coordinates.

Curvature combs

Show/hide curvatures for selected edges, and set number of combs per edge and scaling factor.

Zoom speed

Set zoom speed/sensitivity.

Make inside of bodies red color

Make the inside part of all bodies red color to distinguish from the outside.

Model consistency checks

Display consistency checks on the model, for example edges with extreme curvatures, etc. You can turn this on to display checks after each operation.

Settings

Set some user interface parameters.

Contact us

Having difficulties? Clicking this will save a file containing debugging information about the current model and state of the system. Please email it to us with any other comments you may have at support@phi3d.com

Suggest a feature!

Are we missing some feature or improvement that would make your work easier? Please help us out by clicking here and sugggesting it!

Save cropped STL to file

Save the reference STL model to file. If in section view, only the visible part will be saved.

Attach Phi surfaces to STL (BETA!)

Attach the selected phi surfaces onto reference STL files. Ηit this button, then follow these three steps in sequence:

"1" attaches all vertices to the STL surface.
"2" deforms the edges onto follow the STL surface.
"3" (optionally) for further smoothening.

At any time you can select a part of the surface, move it, then repeat for slightly different results.

Save reduced version of STL model to file (BETA!)

Subsample and save the STL in a new file.

Give a factor that defines the resolution reduction. A smaller factor results in a smaller number of output triangles.