by pfalkingham·Modeling
Images © pfalkingham. Used for product review; image policy.
Shape Fitter earns its place in the Blender extensions library for a focused job: turning vertex selections into fitted primitives, including a two-condyle cylinder suited to cases like the distal end of limb bones.
Shape Fitter is a Blender add-on from pfalkingham that fits primitive shapes to a selection of mesh vertices. Working in Edit Mode, you select the vertices you want, open the ShapeFitter panel in the 3D Viewport sidebar, choose a shape, and click Calculate to generate the fitted result.
It handles spheres, planes, cylinders, ellipsoids and a two-condyle cylinder, each with its own minimum vertex requirement. Every shape is oriented with correct local axes. Cylinder fitting uses the full height span of the selection, while the two-condyle cylinder combines two separately stored vertex sets and fits a cylinder across both. The sphere, plane, cylinder, ellipsoid and two-condyle cylinder each support Average or Midpoint centering, chosen before you calculate.
Initially developed for bones and biomechanics, it's likely useful for other purposes too. Shape Fitter is compatible with Blender 4.2 LTS and newer and is released under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later.
Shape Fitter is best for fitting primitive shapes to mesh vertex selections, with roots in bones and biomechanics work but usable for other purposes.
Shape Fitter is completely free to download and use.
Shape Fitter lists compatibility with Blender 4.2 LTS and newer, so the current 4.2-series builds and later releases are supported. You work with it inside Edit Mode on a mesh object: select the vertices you want, open the ShapeFitter panel in the 3D Viewport sidebar, pick a shape, choose a centering method, and click Calculate. If you're on an older Blender version, check the developer's GitHub page before installing to confirm it will load.
Shape Fitter can be added by dragging and dropping the add-on into Blender, or by downloading it and using Install from Disk. It requires no special permissions. Once enabled, its panel appears under View3D > Sidebar > ShapeFitter. From there you enter Edit Mode on a mesh object, select the vertices, choose a shape and a centering method, then click Calculate to fit the shape. The developer's GitHub page has the full usage notes.
Shape Fitter sets a minimum vertex count per shape: four for a sphere, three for a plane, six for a cylinder, and nine for an ellipsoid. The two-condyle cylinder needs at least three vertices per condyle, added as two separate sets in the panel before calculating. Make sure your selection meets the minimum for the chosen shape and that you are in Edit Mode with a mesh object selected, otherwise the fit won't proceed.
Shape Fitter offers two centering methods for the sphere, plane, cylinder, ellipsoid and two-condyle cylinder. Average uses the centroid, the average position of the selected vertices or regions. Midpoint uses the midpoint of the bounding box or height span, projected onto the shape's axis or plane. You choose one before clicking Calculate, so you can pick whichever placement suits the geometry you have selected for the fit.
Shape Fitter is listed as free in this catalog and is released under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. For the current licensing terms and to grab the latest build, check the developer's GitHub page. The add-on also states it requires no special permissions in Blender, so it installs without any extra access requests when you drag and drop it or install from disk.
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