FAQ

Q: Can I import .gem, .asc, .gcs, or .fsl files?
A: Yes — there's an experimental importer in the workspace menu (the three-line "hamburger" next to Process) that accepts those formats. It tries to reverse-engineer the topology (which tiers connect, how symmetry repeats, which meetpoints matter) from mostly geometric data. That reconstruction is heuristic: it works surprisingly well on many files, but it's not perfect, and the importer will spell out what it could or couldn't infer in the generated FSL.

Q: Why do indices start at 0 instead of at a gear-specific tooth number?
A: Two reasons. First, zero-based indexing is the natural convention in software, so every algorithm and data structure lines up without off-by-one translation. Second — and more importantly — starting at 0 keeps your design gear-independent. If you wrote a base index of, say, 96, you'd tie the design to that particular gear for no functional benefit. With 0-based indices the design stays portable: swap the gear line, and every tier still makes sense. When it's time to cut, the final diagram can display both styles — abstract 0-based positions and physical tooth numbers — so nothing is lost on the machine.

Q: Why can't I manually inspect light rays and adjust windowing?
A: Modeling every ray and every facet angle by hand is practically impossible — slight changes ripple through the entire stone, and no human can track those consequences faster than a GPU. We lean on that compute power so you can spend your energy on actual design decisions instead of endlessly chasing individual photons.

Q: Why does ProFacet lean on WebGPU for its heavy compute passes instead of sticking to CPU or WebGL?
A: Optimization sweeps, lighting analyses, and the raytraced preview all boil down to embarrassingly parallel math: tracing millions of rays, sampling BRDFs (models that describe how light reflects off a material), and updating facet energy buffers every frame. WebGPU unlocks dedicated compute pipelines, storage buffers, and subgroup ops, so we can keep those workloads on the GPU without round-tripping through JavaScript. Trying to express that in WebGL would mean abusing fragment shaders and multiple render targets, which is slower, harder to debug, and about as fun as assembling furniture in the dark.

Q: How do I know whether my browser (or GPU driver) supports WebGPU today?
A: Visit caniuse.com/?search=webgpu and scroll down to the support matrix. Green boxes mean you're good to go. Yellow entries usually require enabling an experimental flag in chrome://flags, edge://flags, or the equivalent in Safari Technology Preview. Red entries mean WebGPU hasn't landed yet on that platform, so plan on updating your browser or OS before relying on it for production work.

Q: What kind of computer do I need to run ProFacet?
A: ProFacet is a web app, so it runs on anything with a modern browser — including phones and tablets. Performance-wise it's surprisingly smooth even on mobile hardware. The real bottleneck is screen size: the 3D viewer, editor, and slicer controls all benefit enormously from a large display, so doing serious design work on a phone is awkward at best. A laptop or desktop with a decent screen is the practical minimum. The only hard technical requirement is a browser that supports WebGPU (see the question above); without it the optimizer and advanced rendering passes won't run.

Q: I have P1 42.00 08-12-16-32-36-40-56-60-64-80-84-88, but the Symmetry Assistant says it isn't valid. What's wrong?
A: That string is actually two symmetry loops interleaved together, so the assistant can't guess a single pattern from it. Split the data by alternating indices: P1 42.00° 8, 16, 32, 40, 56, 64, 80, 88 and P2 42.00° 12, 36, 60, 84. Paste each loop separately and the Assistant will happily detect the symmetry for both tiers.

Q: Is this using a proper geometric modeling CAD kernel?
A: Yes. ProFacet runs on a Swiss Made 🇨🇭 precision kernel purpose-built for CAD workflows. It uses arbitrary-precision floating point math, so no drift creeps into the model — even under deep zooms or long optimization passes — keeping every point exactly where it belongs.

Q: Can I export the rendered mesh as a Wavefront .obj file?
A: Yes. Process the design first so the viewer has a current mesh, then click the hamburger button next to the Process chip and choose Export OBJ. ProFacet generates a watertight mesh straight from the WASM buffers, names the file after your design (or profacet-model.obj if unnamed), and downloads it immediately so you can inspect or 3D-print the model in other tools.

Q: How do I contact support or give feedback?
A: Join our Discord community for questions, feedback, and design discussions. Use #help for support, #bug-reports for bugs, and #feature-requests for suggestions.

Q: Is there a way to auto format FSL source inside the editor?
A: Focus the FSL editor and press Ctrl+Shift+F (or Cmd+Shift+F on macOS) to run the formatter. It normalizes spacing and delimiters automatically.