For those who don’t know the tool: HiPhyEngine LLC plugs into Blender as a Python addon, then runs sims through its own solver and returns results to the timeline. Think character sim prep, cloth, Rigid Body, sand, snow, mud, Hair, shotwork, and less collider drama.

What shipped and what it tries to solve

HiPhyEngine presents itself as a fully coupled, high fidelity physics engine aimed at character simulation inside Blender. The core pitch is a unified solver that can handle rigid body, hair, cloth, and soft body together, with an intersection free guarantee.

Alongside the Lagrangian style setups for meshes, HiPhyEngine also includes an MPM solver for snow and sand style simulations. The documentation frames this as bringing those effects into Blender workflows without relying on separate, subscription based tools. Those statements are product claims.

The developer, Haixiang Liu, has a Mathematics and Computer Sciences bachelor degree from HKUST, and doctoral work on simulation and high-performance computing at UW Madison. He also worked for six years at Walt Disney Animation Studios on character simulation and grooming tools.

How it fits into Blender without breaking your scene

HiPhyEngine is implemented as a standard Blender Python addon that reads and writes scene data through the Blender Python API, which forces you into a few workflow rules.

First, clean geometry matters. The intersection free guarantee assumes the starting and input geometry is intersection free (D’uh). HiPhyEngine also offers controls to disable collisions on selected vertices if you do not need them participating.

Second, sim kickoff happens across the timeline. When a sim runs, the solver exports relevant scene objects frame by frame, using the final evaluated state from the editor. If a modifier is not visible in the editor, it does not make the trip.

Third, modifier stack placement is not magic. Because of Blender Python API limits, the sim deformation applies at the start of the modifier chain. Any modifier that changes position or topology after that can cause issues. Triangulate is acceptable, and using a second object if you need a heavy modifier stack after the sim result is also OK.

Finally, cache handling is deliberately manual. The solver does not automatically save caches when a Blender file saves, to avoid slowdowns and disk I/O spikes on large sims. You trigger save and load operations via the solver controls, and the docs point out that this leaves room for custom cache versioning scripts.

Simulation setup details that matter in production

The quick start walks through a first sim using an affine body setup, a collider, and a solver node. Affine bodies are presented as very stiff objects that can be treated like rigid bodies for setup purposes.

Mesh requirements are strict: sim meshes must be triangle meshes. HiPhyEngine does not perform internal triangulation, so what you see in the scene is what the solver gets. Coordinate systems and units also show up early. The quick start notes that the engine is generally coordinate system agnostic except for gravity, and it sets expectations about unit scale by stating the internal length unit is centimeters.

A solver scale parameter can convert between scene and solver units, with follow on adjustments needed for parameters like collision radius that stay tied to model units.

The sim run itself is asynchronous. The UI reports progress, and the timeline updates meshes as frames become available. This is a simualtion workflow that matches how many artists already think about baking, just with a different backend.

Platform reality check before you get excited

HiPhyEngine supports Windows and Linux, and requires an x64 CPU with AVX2 support. The docs say any Intel or AMD CPU from the last decade should be enough. On the host side, the addon targets Blender 4.5 and later. The docs call out that the Steam build of Blender might run into permission issues during dependency installation.

HiPhyEngine installs dependencies into Blender’s Python environment on first load, using pip or wheels. The docs name Intel oneAPI Math Kernel Library and pybind11 as dependencies, and warn that first load can take from seconds to minutes depending on network speed. The quick start also states compliance with the VFX Reference Platform VFX2025 and VFX2026 standards from the VFX Reference Platform site, and ties that to Python 3.11 and Python 3.13 support as used by Blender 4.5 and later.

Features, licensing, and the fine print that comes with them

HiPhyEngine has five different material models and a fully coupled approach that handles interactions between them without extra setup. It also describes features like animated collider de-intersection and a soft collider feature intended to clean up incoming animation meshes before simulation. These are product claims.

HiPhyEngine also has parameter mapping and animation for many sim properties, such as using Blender attributes and geometry nodes for parameter maps, plus integration with the SeExpr2 expression language via SeExpr to build attributes and force fields.

Pricing on Superhive is split by seat count. The Individual License is listed at $119 for an individual commercial license, the Small Studio License is listed at $599 for a 6 seat license, and the Studio License is listed at $999 for a 15 seat studio license.

https://hiphyengine.github.io/


https://superhivemarket.com/products/hiphyengine

The post HiPhyEngine wants clean sims in Blender first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who don’t know the tool: FreeCAD (Free as in Free speech and “Free Beer”) sits in the CAD corner of the pipeline and packs workbenches like PartDesign, Sketcher, Assembly, CAM, and FEM so you can model, wrangle, and sanity check without app hopping.

FreeCAD 1.1 arrived on with a big bag of quality of life upgrades across workbenches. You get transparent previews in PartDesign. You grab interactive draggers in tools like Fillet and Chamfer. You flip on three-point lighting. You reach for a Clarify Selection tool when the viewport plays tricks. You also get Assembly and FEM improvements, including animations, plus a totally new CAM tool library system in CAM.

Previews and draggers that cut the click tax

Transparent previews in PartDesign let you see more of the result before you commit the feature. That single change can save a lot of undo gymnastics. Interactive draggers show up in tools like Fillet and Chamfer.

You adjust values directly in the 3D view and keep your attention on the shape instead of the dialog hunt. That kind of workflow tweak sounds small and then steals back your afternoon.

Three point lighting joins the highlight list too. Better lighting makes inspection less squinty and more deliberate, especially when you chase tiny edges and subtle surface changes.

Selection finally gets a referee

The Clarify Selection tool exists now. When geometry overlaps and selection turns vague, you can use a dedicated tool to clear up what you actually picked. That matters most for busy scenes and imported geometry, where you often click a face and accidentally choose its annoying neighbour.

CAM, Assembly, and FEM get louder updates

The new CAM tool library system lands in CAM. The highlight list calls it totally new, which usually means you should poke it on a test job first, then decide how hard you want to lean on it. The new-features list also calls out improvements to Assembly and FEM, including animations. If you already use those workbenches, you get new reasons to revisit your templates and habits.

This is the one spot where the FreeCAD Project itself deserves a nod in plain text, because shipping broad QoL work takes stamina.

The sleeper feature: format wrangling and quick analysis

FreeCAD does not just model. It also handles a long list of formats, which makes it handy as a converter and inspection tool when your inbox dumps mystery geometry on your desk.

It supports its native FCStd format (D’uh) and it can import and export a wide set of common interchange types. You can work with STEP and IGES. You can move meshes through OBJ and STL. You can wrangle 2D CAD through DWG and DXF. You can push vector work through SVG. You can touch GIS data via SHP. You can exchange scenes via DAE. You can trade BIM data through IFC. You can open mesh data in OFF. You can pull in solver flavored meshes like NASTRAN. You can also handle VRML, and you can import OpenSCAD CSG.

If you live in 3D print land and you just need to cobble together greeblies or CAD style parts, that broad format support can turn the tool into a quick staging area for cleanup, scale checks, and conversions. You might also hear 3D print aficionados call it easier to use than Autodesk Fusion, even though it is far less powerful for many end-to-end workflows.

https://blog.freecad.org/2026/03/25/freecad-version-1-1-released/

Also: Check out this excellent overview from Deltahedra!

The post FreeCAD 1.1 stacks workflow upgrades first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.