I’ve played around briefly on the beta to try and figure out how to do this and I’m not getting it. Does this feature have any documentation yet that I can look at?
You can create a copy just like in the live app.
I tried some and I think it’s still far from the real component functionality:
- Set A as a component and copy the components B, C, D, E, F…
- When A is modified, B, C, D, E, etc. are modified simultaneously.
- Component nested component, combine several components into one component to form a folder structure, just like Sketch Up/Figma/Fusion360 does. (Even Photoshop’s smart object feature supports this)
The current history-based parametric modification looks like McNeel Rhino’s “record build history” feature. When the source component is modified, the copied project will be modified accordingly, but this is very unintuitive. There is no way to manage a huge library of components. Imagine if you were to design a chair, an elevator… When the amount of data increases, the current functionality is a disaster.
That’s correct, at the moment we don’t have assemblies in Shapr3D. It’s on our radar though.
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Will it be available in the latest beta version? This is an important basis for my purchase
This is the way
The only issue is they don’t auto update when you make changes to one instance. If you’re diligent in your naming of bodies and grouping of them, it shouldn’t take too long to replace them all.
Feature Request: Shapr3D as a Small-Project Architectural Platform
Dear Shapr3D Development Team,
I’m writing as an architect in a small firm of five people. I’ve read the previous letter about component instancing and parametric modeling, and I agree with that writer’s direction.
First, congratulations on what you’ve accomplished with your parametric modeling system. It’s genuinely impressive. What I’m proposing isn’t asking you to change anything—I’m asking you to fine-tune it to create specialized tools for architectural components: floors, walls, roofs, windows, doors, and cabinets. Tools that architects can use to create 3D models of buildings.
I’ve just started learning Shapr3D—literally my first day experimenting with it—and I’m already excited. The interface is intuitive. Most architects my age can still sketch, and your stylus support on iPad is bringing those skills back to life. It’s far more natural than trying to draw with what feels like a bar of soap (a mouse). I’m able to do certain things quickly that I thought would take much longer. I still need to find videos to learn some of the functions, but the program makes sense.
I’m amazed to find you’re using Siemens Parasolid® as your modeling kernel—that’s industrial-grade CAD. With these architectural tools in place, your program will become perfect for small firms. We could create detailed models in hours that clients who can’t read floor plans can immediately understand.
What’s Needed: Specialized Tools
You’ve already built parametric modeling that works. What’s needed are specialized wall, floor, and roof tools that assist in the creation, editing, and placement of these components.
Layered construction: A wall shouldn’t have its assembly modeled with every component. Just get the layering right. That avoids making the model heavy—too many parts. I’m dealing with a factory that builds panelized housing to Passive House standards. All they ask of me is to get the layers right. The geometry stays simple and fast.
The only other thing needed is how walls intersect—how they meet and how they clean up.
Wall placement: The placement of the wall should be based on a line. That line is either face of wall, face of stud (exterior or interior side), or centerline.
Floors and roofs are handled the same way.
The workflow: Draw a line for a wall—the wall is created based on your chosen reference. Place windows, they cut their own openings automatically. Line them up, make them work.
Geometric integrity is inherent. Once you have the walls and roofs up and windows in, you can show the client, and they’ll understand what they’re getting. We’ll worry about rendering later.
Parametric Windows and Doors
Windows and doors will either follow the thin-stick model used in the United States or the DIN standard fat-stick model used in Europe.
The American model is Marvin Windows in the United States and Loewen Windows in Canada. They are the models for North America—the best windows to the American standard. Both Marvin and Loewen make doors. Use those as models.
Doors are handled the same way. Installed in situ.
Work at the Right Level
These specialized tools for the building shell and the components used in it—windows, doors, etc.—get the massing model and the architect through 80% of the schematic design in a very automated process.
The windows and doors can be numbered and automatically placed in a spreadsheet format to keep track of. It can be put on a sheet.
The AI Advantage
Shapr3D models can be loaded into an AI for review and comment. It may even be able to handle putting drawings on a sheet.
I know my AI can read drawings, understand them, and take part in discussion. With properly written prompts to tell it what to look for, it could handle dimensioning and other drawing tasks. At minimum, it can redline and bring issues to the architect’s attention, like a spellcheck program.
Shapr3D and AI together cost as much as the industry standard 2D AutoCAD Lite—and would be much better.
What you have is one of the better programs for 2D and 3D work for small projects and small-budget architectural firms.
Conclusion
You’ve built something impressive. The solid modeling foundation, the interface, the iPad capability—it works. Adding these parametric building tools would transform it into the ideal platform for small-project architectural design.
The foundation is excellent. The opportunity is clear.
Sincerely, Morton
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