Mohammadreza Talebi

Fargah Design Toolkit

A dockable 3ds Max production suite that turns repeatable façade-design tasks into fast, measurable, and exportable workflows.

Explore the project

By Mohammadreza Talebi · 5 min read

Fargah Design Toolkit
3ds Max product library · Actual product interface
Year
2026
Role
Tool design / Development
Scope
3ds Max · Data · XLSX
Status
Release candidate

The project, in context

FD Toolkit brings the stone catalogue, rigid-size façade modelling, scene takeoff, and company spreadsheet output into one 3ds Max panel. I designed and developed the tool around a practical question: how can a designer move from a convincing façade to quantities that still describe the actual factory products?

The model had to remain buildable.

Façade design often begins with repeating a cornice, filling a wall, or arranging a column. The work looks simple until a spline changes direction, a window cuts through the pattern, or the final piece needs trimming. Scaling a stone to make it fit can solve the image while creating a product that does not exist in the catalogue. Counting the visible objects alone is also insufficient when those objects contain groups, mirrored components, or partial pieces.

The tool also needed a clear ownership boundary. Designers should be able to compose, reuse, and estimate their own work without accidentally changing the shared catalogue or its production values. The administrator's catalogue tools therefore stay separate from the package intended for designers.

One panel, from choosing a stone to preparing the factor.

Library, Smart Modeler, Count, and Settings share one dockable shell. Product images help the designer choose; catalogue codes and metadata keep that choice meaningful after insertion. Complete modules retain their factory dimensions. Edge pieces are handled explicitly, and the takeoff reads the component identity rather than treating every object as an interchangeable block.

I kept the workflows close to familiar 3ds Max actions. Bands use native Array or Spacing Tool placement, while a recipe-based takeoff estimates the required company components. Columns and walls have purpose-built controls. The designer can review the quantities before producing an XLSX factor using the approved company workbook.

What I built

The parts that make this project useful in day-to-day work.

  1. A searchable product library

    Browse company products by category, image, name, or code, then inspect their details and add them to the scene. Company products and designer presets have separate views, so a reusable composition is not confused with a factory component.

  2. Columns that respect module size

    A guide spline defines the column height. The selected base and capital anchor the composition; repeated body modules fill between them. Complete pieces remain instances, and the final overlapping piece is copied and sliced instead of stretching the whole column.

  3. Walls with explicit opening controls

    The wall builder places rigid plaques or panels and recognises door/window proxy objects and rectangular mesh openings. Each opening edge can use no treatment, Slice, or Symmetry. Large builds receive a preflight, and cancellation removes an unfinished result.

  4. Takeoff that stays with the scene

    Count follows recognised catalogue components through grouped presets, Slice, and Symmetry. Manual takeoff rows are saved with the Max scene and remain after recounting. Band recipes can be estimated, reviewed, and added to the same counter.

  5. Personal presets with a counting recipe

    Selected scene objects can become a personal preset with a name, category, measured dimensions, and a count recipe. Inserting that preset carries its quantities into Count. Personal editing remains separate from the administrator-managed company preset catalogue.

  6. Company XLSX output and estimate handoff

    Export fills the approved company workbook while preserving its product images, formulas, print layout, and branding. Quantity, price, and weight totals are calculated there. A local scene-state bridge also makes the current takeoff available to Fargah Estimate without an internet service.

From structure to release

  1. Start from the factory rules

    I translated catalogue identity, fixed dimensions, units, and quantity rules into the tool's data model. Those rules determined the modelling behaviour, including where trimming is allowed and what must remain an unchanged module.

  2. Test the awkward geometry

    The documented release checks include band corners, transformed splines, nested Symmetry, partial column pieces, wall openings, and live counts. These cases expose mistakes that a clean presentation model would hide.

  3. Prepare the handoff as part of the product

    Installer backups, catalogue-preserving updates, separate designer/admin packages, and rollback rehearsal are documented alongside the UI. Automated local gates passed in the recorded RC checkpoint; clean-machine installation and team pilot remain separate acceptance steps.

Delivery and current scope

  • A unified MaxScript tool with Library, Smart Modeler, Count, and Settings.
  • A designer package separate from the private catalogue-management package.
  • Company XLSX factor export, personal preset recipes, and the local estimate bridge.
  • Documented geometry, counting, packaging, licensing, and rollback checks; release-candidate scope retained.

Questions about this project

Does Toolkit replace 3ds Max?

No. It runs inside the designer's existing 3ds Max workspace and adds catalogue-aware modelling and takeoff. Native modelling tools remain part of the workflow.

Can a designer change the factory catalogue?

The designer package does not include the private catalogue manager. Designers can save and edit their own presets and takeoff recipes without changing the shared production catalogue.

Is the tool publicly released?

The toolkit is a release candidate. Geometry, interface, packaging and rollback checks are recorded; the next step is acceptance on a fresh workstation and in a team pilot. Installation depends on the supported 3ds Max environment.

Have a similar project in mind?

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