Molten & FormGLASSBLOWING STUDIO
3D Studio

3D STUDIO

Four interactive glassblowing tools

Gather and blow a bubble, deform hot glass with the hand tools, paint frit onto a turning gather, and draw an annealing curve that tells you whether the piece survives. Free, no account, and they run in the browser.

These are educational simulationsEvery model is built from a small set of relations that are exact — glass volume is conserved, cooling rates follow the workshop rule, expansion mismatch is computed from the coefficients — so the trends you see are real. They are not a substitute for the instructions that came with your equipment or for instruction from someone who has worked hot glass.
Gather & Blow Simulator — Gather glass from the furnace, then blow a bubble and watch it form.
INTERACTIVE

Gather & Blow Simulator

Dip a pipe into a 3D furnace, carry the glowing gather to the bench and inflate it. Pressure, gather size, rotation and temperature all move the bubble in real time, and the volume, diameter and wall thickness are calculated as you work.

Bubble volume (ml) · Diameter (mm)
Glass Shaper — Push hot glass around with jacks, pliers, a paddle and the centrifuge.
INTERACTIVE

Glass Shaper

Take a hot gather and deform it with five different tools. Drag across the surface and the geometry moves vertex by vertex, with the height, diameter and capacity recalculated on every stroke.

Height (mm) · Maximum diameter (mm)
Color Mixer — Sprinkle frit, brush powder and lay gold leaf onto a turning gather.
INTERACTIVE

Color Mixer

Paint colour directly onto a 3D gather with five application tools. The surface texture changes with the tool, coverage is measured as you go, and the frit you would need is estimated in grams.

Coverage (%) · Frit required (g)
Annealing Curve Simulator — Draw a cooling schedule and see whether the piece survives it.
INTERACTIVE

Annealing Curve Simulator

Set the glass, the thickness and the ramp rates, then watch the schedule play out against the annealing and strain points. Cooling too fast raises a stress warning and shows where the crack would start.

Total anneal time · Soak temperature

Your device

WebGL support

Checking…

Performance notes

  • The 3D library is fetched only on the four tool pages, never on the home page or a guide.
  • On a screen narrower than 640 px the tools open as the static 2D reference, and you can load the 3D version with one tap if you want it.
  • If the frame rate drops below 30 fps for three seconds, shadows and the extra pixel ratio are switched off automatically.
  • Rendering pauses when the page is not visible.
  • Auto-rotation, particles and transitions are disabled when your system asks for reduced motion.

Where to start

Gathering and Blowing: The Core Techniques

Gathering and Blowing: The Core Techniques

Gathering, rotating and blowing — the three motions every other technique is built on, and the reasons each one fails.

Blowing14 min read
Annealing Explained: Why It Matters

Annealing Explained: Why It Matters

Why a piece that looks perfect can shatter a week later, what the annealing and strain points actually mean, and how to build a schedule that works.

Safety13 min read
How to Start Glassblowing: A Beginner's Guide

How to Start Glassblowing: A Beginner's Guide

What to buy, what to leave on the shelf, what your first piece should be, and why the honest first step is a class rather than a shopping list.

Beginner12 min read