Cartesian by Formas
Formas' AI 3D-modeling tool that turns words, sketches, and dragged-in references into precise, editable models — native NURBS solids aimed at architecture and product design, not polygon-mesh blobs.
Last verified · 2026-10-23 · by Moe Ameen
Published 2026-09-15 · Updated
Short answer
Cartesian is an AI 3D-modeling tool from Formas that builds precise, editable models from a text description, a sketch, or a dropped-in photo, plan, or scan. Formas says it produces native NURBS solids with clean topology and exports to SketchUp, Rhino, and STL, with AutoCAD and IFC planned. The preview opened September 18, 2026, with no published pricing.
Key takeaways
- Cartesian turns words, sketches, and references into editable 3D models aimed at architecture and product design.
- It exports SketchUp (.SKP), Rhino (.3DM), and STL today; AutoCAD and IFC are listed as planned.
- The preview opened September 18, 2026, starting with Formas founding-circle and studio members.
- Its precision claims come from Formas, not independent tests, so check your own output.
What is Cartesian by Formas?
Cartesian is an AI 3D-modeling tool from Formas (formas.ai), a design-software company with offices in Singapore and Tokyo. Its pitch is "say it, sketch it, drag it in" — you describe an intent in natural language, sketch a form, or drop in a photo, plan, or scan, and Cartesian builds a 3D model from it.
It's aimed at architecture and product design work that needs precise geometry you can edit.
What sets Cartesian apart from the crowded text-to-3D field is precision. Formas positions it to generate native NURBS solids and exact geometry with clean topology and editable assemblies — not the loose polygon meshes most AI 3D generators produce. It's built with BIM-style workflows in mind (named elements with explicit relationships), and it exports to SketchUp (.SKP), Rhino (.3DM), and STL. AutoCAD and IFC support are listed as planned.
Cartesian's preview opens September 18, 2026, with early access going first to Formas' founding-circle and studio members and a public waitlist for everyone else. Formas hasn't published pricing for Cartesian, and its geometry-quality claims are vendor-stated rather than independently benchmarked, so treat the specifics as things to confirm once the preview opens. The use cases Formas lists are broad within design: product, furniture, interiors, residential and urban architecture, landscape, manufacturing, 3D printing, and game assets.
Honest framing: Cartesian is a modeling tool. It produces 3D files you can measure, cut, print, or machine, and hand to the rest of a CAD pipeline — but it writes no copy, cuts no video, designs no social graphics, and publishes nothing. Turning a design into content that reaches an audience is a separate job.
What can you make with Cartesian?
- Precise, editable 3D models from a text description, a rough sketch, or a dragged-in photo, plan, or scan
- Native NURBS solids with clean topology for product, furniture, and architectural work
- Models you can export to Rhino (.3DM), SketchUp (.SKP), and STL for the rest of your pipeline
- STL-ready geometry for 3D printing and manufacturing
- BIM-minded assemblies with named elements and explicit relationships
- Screen-captured turntables and orbit views of a model — the raw visual material for a reveal
How do Cartesian and Kompozy split the work?
Think of Cartesian as the maker's bench and Kompozy as the launch team. If you sell 3D-printed products, run a furniture line, or ship a product design, Cartesian gets you to a clean, precise model — but a model in a .3DM file doesn't sell anything until people see it. Kompozy is a full content generation and publishing engine, so it takes the visual output of that model and turns a single design into a product-launch content set that actually goes out the door.
The concrete handoff: screen-record a turntable of your Cartesian model, or export a render, and drop it into Kompozy's Quick Ingest. It becomes a vertical Listicle Video or Clipped Shorts reveal with burned-in branded captions, reframed for Reels, Shorts, and TikTok. From the same source Kompozy fans out the rest of a launch: an Infographic Photo laying out the specs and dimensions, Photo Posts staging the piece, a build-in-public process Carousel via HyperFrames, Quote Graphics, native Text Posts, a product-story Blog Article, and an Email Newsletter to your buyers — all held to one voice by a Persona Brief, then scheduled and published across the eight social platforms plus blog and email through Autopilot, behind a per-post review gate. One model in Cartesian becomes a week of on-brand launch content in Kompozy — the formats a modeler was never built to make.
- Model your product or design in Cartesian from a prompt, sketch, or reference, and refine the geometry.
- Capture the visual: screen-record a turntable or orbit of the model, or export a still/render.
- Drop that clip or image into Kompozy Quick Ingest as the source for a new content unit.
- Set your Persona Brief once, then generate the launch set — a listicle/clipped reveal, a spec infographic, a build-in-public carousel, photo posts, a product-story blog, and a newsletter.
- Review each piece behind the per-post gate, then schedule and publish across the eight social platforms plus blog and email with Autopilot.
What does this look like in Kompozy?
A real infographic photo made in the Kompozy workspace. It's the format we'd use to lay out a product's specs and dimensions once you have a model to show.
Who is this for, and who should skip it?
Best for:
- Architects and product designers who need editable solids rather than meshes
- Makers who 3D print or machine parts and need STL-ready geometry
- Design brands that want a quick path from a sketch to a model they can show off
Not ideal for:
- Anyone who needs it today without a waitlist. Access starts with Formas members
- Teams that need AutoCAD or IFC export right now. Both are still planned
- Buyers who want a published price before committing. Formas hasn't listed one
Frequently asked questions
What is Cartesian by Formas?
Cartesian is an AI 3D-modeling tool from Formas (formas.ai) that turns natural-language descriptions, sketches, and dragged-in references into editable 3D models. It targets architecture and product design, claims native NURBS solids with clean topology, and exports to SketchUp (.SKP), Rhino (.3DM), and STL. AutoCAD and IFC are listed as planned.
Is Cartesian available yet, and what does it cost?
Cartesian's preview opens September 18, 2026, with early access going first to Formas' founding-circle and studio members and a public waitlist for others. Formas hasn't published pricing for Cartesian at this time, so check the Formas site for current availability and terms.
How is Cartesian different from mesh-based AI 3D generators?
Cartesian claims native NURBS solids and precise, editable geometry for CAD and BIM pipelines — solids you can measure, cut, and machine rather than meshes you'd rebuild. That precision claim is vendor-stated in preview, so verify it on your own output.
Can Cartesian create social posts or marketing video?
No. Cartesian builds 3D models and geometry — it makes no captions, social video, carousels, blogs, or scheduled posts. To turn a model or render into published marketing across platforms, you use a content engine like Kompozy, which clips, captions, builds every format, and publishes across the eight social platforms plus blog and email.
How do we know this?
We checked every figure, date, and price on this page against the sources listed below on 2026-10-23, using Formas' own Cartesian page. Kompozy plan, format, and platform details come from kompozy.io and kompozy.io/pricing.
Sources
- Formas — Cartesian (features, exports, preview date) (read 2026-10-23)
- Kompozy — Home (platforms, formats, Persona Brief, autopilot) (read 2026-10-23)
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