Help

Flatma Help

How to design in the Flatma studio — from the first part to cutting maps, drawings and files for the workshop.

Getting started

Your first projectStart a project in the Flatma studio with the AI, from a catalog model or by hand, change its size, save it and find it again in your account.
The studio at a glanceThe header, the left and right panels, the scene toolbars and the ☰ menu of the Flatma studio, and what changes on a phone.
AI and Editor modesWhat the AI mode and the Editor show, how to switch, and what Advanced tools and Additional settings add to the Editor.
Camera and viewsTurn, pan and zoom the view in the Flatma studio, switch to orthographic and axis views, and use contour mode, see-through and other view buttons.
Keyboard and mouseAll mouse actions and keyboard shortcuts of the Flatma studio, the right-click part menu, moving by points and keys inside tool windows.

Designing with the AIHow to ask the Flatma AI designer to build and change a model: sizes, materials, pictures, selection, undo, new conversations and AI tokens.
AI renderTurn the current view of your Flatma project into a photorealistic picture: the AI render block, models and their token cost, and what to expect.
Plans and tokensWhat the Free, Hobby, Pro and Business plans allow in the Flatma studio, what AI tokens are for, and how plan tokens and bought tokens work.

Library and catalogAdd parts to your project from the Library tab: free shapes, catalog furniture and hardware, interior items, your own parts and community projects.
Sheets, profiles and shapesThe three kinds of part in Flatma — sheet, profile and free shape — what each is for, what works on it, and the Geometry block.
Size, position and rotationChange the size of a part or the whole model, move it by numbers or by points, turn it, and measure distances on the scene.
The Elements listThe Elements tab lists every part and group on the scene as a tree: select, rename, hide, lock and reorder them, and use the right-click menu.
GroupsSelect several parts, group them, edit inside a group, stretch a group by the rubber rules and ungroup it again.
OffsetsOffsets keep gaps and overhangs at a fixed size when a part or its group stretches: door gaps, drawer slide clearance, a tabletop over its legs.
Project parts and My partsMake your own parts, edit them in the full studio, keep them in My parts for all projects, and work with part copies in older projects.
ConnectorsConnectors are ports on parts: matching ports snap together, plane ports sit a part on any face, and joint holes are drilled across the joint.
Floor and roomPut a floor or a room around your model, draw its plan of any shape, add doors and windows, and set its height and colours.

Materials and decorsChange what parts are made of and how they look: the Materials tab, the material window, decors, textures, surfaces and the edge band.
Edge bandingChoose which edges of a sheet get a band, mark doors and drawer fronts, and see what Flatma bands on its own and what it never bands.
Mitred endsCut the end of a sheet at an angle, such as 45° for a mitred corner, without changing the part's size or the cutting list.
Fasteners and hardwareJoin sheet parts with confirmats, cam locks, dowels, screws, hinges and joinery, place slides and hangers, and fix fasteners that can't be installed.

How operations workCuts, holes, milling, bends and other workshop steps are kept as a list on each part: change or remove any of them later, even after resizing.
SawCut a part in two, trim it, cut a groove or a slot in the middle: place the saw on the part, then set where, at what angle and how deep.
DrillDrill through or blind holes of any diameter, tilted or in a row, and put a screw, bolt or other fastener in the hole with its hole in the next part.
MillMill grooves, rebates, pockets, windows, holes and edge profiles on any side of a part, in a full-screen drawing of that side.
Jigsaw and bar sectionCut a panel to any outline by points — arcs, a bigger blank, cut-outs right through — or draw a bar’s section with holes along its length.
LatheTurn a part around its axis to a profile you draw — legs, balusters, knobs — or make a new turned part from scratch.
Bend and twistBend sheet metal, plastic, thin plywood and bars one bend at a time by flange, angle and radius, or twist a stretch of a bar; the flat blank is worked out.
PressFlatten the end of a tube, press a flat on a rod or a spot on a sheet between two dies: set where, how thin and how long the pressed zone is.
Merge and subtractGlue or weld touching parts into one, cut the shape of one part out of the parts it overlaps, or keep only where parts overlap.

Variables and formulasDrive a model by named values such as width or shelves, and write formulas in sizes, operations, repeats and prices.
RepeatMake rows, circles and mirror copies of objects and of operations, such as shelves, posts, shelf-pin holes and grooves, and keep them right when the model stretches.
ID and conditionGive a part an ID that formulas and the AI can refer to, and make it appear in the model only when a formula is true.
Project variantsKeep several versions of one design side by side — another size, other doors, a cheaper material — each with its own link.
AnimationMake doors open, lids lift and drawers slide out, play them in the studio, and let people with the share link open them with a click.

Check intersectionsFind parts that overlap each other before you order: the Check intersections button, the red highlight, the list, and fasteners that aren't installed.
Cutting mapsHow the studio lays out sheets and bars for cutting: machine, kerf, trim, offcuts, edge banding, grain, and moving parts on the map by hand.
DrawingsPart drawings for the workshop: what each drawing shows for sheets, profiles, bent tubes and shapes, side A and B, hidden lines and the zoom viewer.
DownloadsWhat you can download from the studio: documentation PDF, parts list in Excel or CSV, DXF for CNC, part labels, STL and OBJ, and the project video.
Part labels and assemblyPrint a label for every part with its number, size, material and a QR code, then find where each part goes in the Assembly view or with the phone camera.

Saving and versionsHow the studio saves your project: autosave, the cloud button and Ctrl+S, unsaved changes, version history, project files and where your projects are listed.
Sharing and remarksShare a view-only link to your project, let people download its documentation, and collect a client's remarks on parts right on the model.
PublishingPublish a project to give it a public page and a place in Flatma community: cover, name, section, description, author name and review.
Get it madeFind makers in your city who can make your project, send it to one of them as a request, and follow the request on the maker's site.

Before you make itWhat to check before you order the parts, and safety advice for furniture: fixing to the wall, brackets, long worktops, bed sizes, decors and hardware.

Projects made in the old Flatma designer still open in it. These articles describe that designer.

Didn’t find the answer? Write to [email protected].