FORGE V1.0
Official Documentation

Welcome to the Forge documentation! Forge is a dedicated workspace built natively inside Blender that brings precise BRep (Boundary Representation) CAD geometry into your viewport. This guide will walk you through the core tools, workflows, and features of the engine.

1. GETTING STARTED

Installation

  1. Open Blender and go to Edit > Preferences > Add-ons.
  2. Click Install... and select the Forge_v1.zip file.
  3. Check the box next to Forge to enable the add-on.

Entering Forge Mode

Forge operates as a fully dedicated workspace, much like Edit Mode.

  • To begin modeling, select an object (or start fresh) and enter Forge Mode from the top-left mode dropdown (or via your assigned hotkey).
  • You are now in the Forge CAD environment, with access to a completely custom toolbar and HUD.

2. SKETCHING (2D TOOLS)

Every great CAD model starts with a precise 2D profile. Forge provides engineering-grade sketching tools.

Line

Draw straight, precise engineering boundaries.

  • Usage: Click to place points. The HUD allows for exact numeric input for lengths and angles.

Spline

Draw smooth, continuous curves.

  • Usage: Click to place control points. Splines are perfect for guiding complex lofts and sweeps.

Trim & Split

Clean up your sketches with pinpoint accuracy.

  • Trim: Click any intersecting sketch segment to remove the excess piece.
  • Split: Click any curve to break it into two independent edges at that exact point.

3. MODELING (3D TOOLS)

Primitives (Cylinder & Sphere)

Quickly drop foundational shapes into your scene.

  • Adjust the radius and depth parametrically through the HUD immediately after placement.

Boolean

Perform live cuts, unions, and intersections.

  • Usage: Select a target body, select a cutter body, and choose your boolean operation. Forge provides a real-time "ghost" preview of the cut before you commit.

Fillet & Chamfer

Create mathematically flawless surface blends and precise angled bevels that standard polygons cannot achieve.

  • Usage: Select an edge (or multiple edges) and drag the gizmo or enter a precise radius in the HUD.

Revolve

Spin a 2D profile around a central axis to generate symmetrical, cylindrical parts.

  • Usage: Select a profile, select an axis of revolution, and specify the angle (up to 360 degrees).

Sweep & Pipe

Generate tubular forms and complex extrusions.

  • Pipe: Instantly create hollow or solid tubes along any sketched trajectory by specifying a radius.
  • Sweep: Extrude a custom 2D profile along a 3D path.

Loft

Generate transitional solid bodies that flow seamlessly between multiple 2D profiles.

  • Usage: Select two or more profiles in sequence to build a smooth connecting body.

Mirror

Reflect sketches and solid bodies across any axis.

  • Auto-fusing ensures that bodies mirroring across the center plane join seamlessly into a single solid.

Cut (Solid Splitting)

Slice solid bodies cleanly into separate components.

  • Usage: Draw a line completely across a solid body. Forge will split the body along that plane into two independent pieces.

4. ADVANCED WORKFLOWS & OUTPUT

Performance Mode

Don't have a high-end workstation? Forge has you covered.

  • Toggle Performance Mode in the UI to dynamically lower the Viewport Curve Quality. This keeps your viewport incredibly fast without affecting the actual underlying mathematical precision of your model.

Auto-Retopology

When your CAD design is ready for standard Blender workflows (like texturing or rendering), you don't have to manually retopologize.

  • Click the Remesh button to instantly convert your CAD geometry into a clean, animation-ready Blender mesh.

Universal I/O

Collaborate with traditional engineering software effortlessly.

  • Forge supports flawless import and export of STEP, IGES, and BREP files directly from your Blender viewport.

5. ADDITIONAL TOOLS OVERVIEW

Forge includes many more parametric tools built for heavy-duty design:

  • Extrude: Push/pull faces and profiles.
  • Offset & Inset: Create parallel boundaries.
  • Imprint: Project sketches onto solid faces to create new cut boundaries.
  • Shell & Thicken: Hollow out bodies or add thickness to surfaces.
  • Array: Duplicate bodies in linear or radial patterns.

*Documentation is continuously updated as new tools are added. Join our Discord to request tutorials on specific features!*

6. COMPLETE TOOL & SHORTCUT REFERENCE

Here is a comprehensive list of all operations available in Forge V1.0, what they do, and their assigned keyboard shortcuts (designed to align with standard CAD conventions without breaking core Blender hotkeys):

Base Primitive Tools

  • Box (B): Instantly generate a foundational solid box. You can adjust the dimensions immediately via the HUD.
  • Cylinder (C): Generate a cylindrical base shape with full parametric control over radius and depth.
  • Sphere (Shift+S): Drop perfect spheres into your scene for base meshes or complex boolean subtractions.

Transformation Tools (The Gizmo)

  • Move / Translate (G): Move solids or sketch points in 3D space.
  • Rotate (R): Spin solids or sketches around the active axis.
  • Scale (S): Uniformly or non-uniformly scale geometry.

Core Modeling & Booleans

  • Boolean (Ctrl+B): Perform live cuts, unions, and intersections between bodies with a real-time ghost preview.
  • Fillet (Shift+B): Create mathematically flawless, smooth surface blends along edges.
  • Chamfer: Create precise, angled, flat bevels along edges.
  • Hollow (U): Hollow out a solid object.
  • Shell (Shift+U): Add thickness to a flat surface (shelling).
  • Mirror: Reflect sketches and solid bodies across a specific axis or plane, automatically fusing intersecting halves.
  • Imprint: Project sketch curves onto solid faces to create new edges or cut boundaries.
  • Array (Y / Shift+Y): Duplicate bodies in linear (Y) or radial (Shift+Y) patterns.

Advanced Generative Tools

  • Sweep: Extrude a custom 2D profile seamlessly along a 3D spline or path.
  • Pipe (Shift+P): Instantly generate hollow or solid tubes by sweeping a circular profile along any trajectory.
  • Loft: Generate transitional solid bodies that flow and blend seamlessly between multiple 2D profiles.
  • Revolve: Spin a 2D profile around a central axis to calculate perfectly symmetrical, cylindrical parts.
  • Cut (Solid Splitting): Slice a solid body cleanly into separate components by drawing a straight line across it.
  • Bridge: Connect two edges or profiles with a smooth, continuous surface.

2D Sketching Suite

  • Line: Draw straight engineering boundaries. Supports exact numeric input for lengths and angles via the HUD.
  • Spline: Draw smooth, continuous, free-form curves using control points.
  • Circle: Draw perfect circles from a center point.
  • Rectangle / Plane: Draw precise 2D planar rectangles.
  • Arc: Draw specific arcs defined by 3 points or a center point.
  • Polygon: Draw multi-sided, uniform geometric shapes (e.g., hexagons).
  • Trim: Remove excess sketch lines or overlapping segments. Click any intersecting segment to delete it.
  • Split Edge: Break a single continuous curve into two independent edges at an exact point.

Selection Modes

  • Solid Mode (1): Select entire solid bodies or full sketches at once.
  • Edge Mode (2): Select individual boundary edges, curves, or line segments.
  • Face Mode (3): Select individual faces or surfaces on a solid body.