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What is the FLIP Fluids addon?

The FLIP Fluids addon is a tool that helps you set up, run, and render liquid simulation effects. Our custom built fluid engine is based around the popular FLIP simulation technique that is also found in many other professional liquid simulation tools. The FLIP Fluids engine has been in constant development for over four years with a large focus on tightly integrating the simulator into Blender as an addon. It just feels like a native Blender tool!

With our reputation for delivering high quality software and outstanding customer support, the FLIP Fluids addon is one of the best selling products on the Blender Market.

Fluid simulation software can be intimidating, complex, and difficult to work with, but it does not need to be. We believe that usability should come first when designing a simulation tool. A simulator might contain the most advanced technology in the world, but if it is not usable, reliable, and flexible, it will not be a tool that is useful or enjoyable to the artist.

Our goal is to improve on many aspects of the built-in Blender fluid simulator such as usability, stability, customization, and to prevent common problems that we see artists encounter when working with simulation systems. We want to provide you with the tools, learning resources, and workflows to assist you in creating beautiful effects as quickly and as painlessly as possible.

User Documentation

Guides and Info

• How to Install the Addon
• Creating Your First FLIP Fluids Simulation
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Scene Troubleshooting
• Example Scene Descriptions
• Video Tutorial Series

Settings Documentation

• FLIP Fluid Objects
  • Domain
    • Simulation
    • Cache
    • Display
    • Surface
    • Whitewater
    • World
    • Presets
    • Materials
    • Advanced
    • Debug
    • Stats
  • Fluid
  • Obstacle
  • Inflow
  • Outflow
  • Force Field (Experimental)

Menu Documentation

• FLIP Fluids Helper Menu (Toolshelf)
• FLIP Fluids Preferences

Technical Support

• Technical Support Guidelines
  • Reporting Bugs/Issues
  • Scene Troubleshooting Help
  • Feature Requests
  • Questions or Comments

The Most Important Documentation Topics

Don't know where to start in the wiki? Here is a collection of our most recommended topics to help you learn how to use the FLIP Fluids simulator effectively.

Grid Info - What is the simulation grid?	The FLIP Fluids simulator is a grid-based simulator, but what is the grid?
How large should I make my domain object?	A domain that fits as tight as possible around your fluid effect maximizes detail and performance.
Why is manifold geometry important?	For objects to work correctly within the simulator, their geometry must be manifold/closed/watertight.
The Importance of Scale	Setting an appropriate scale will ensure that your fluid moves at realistic speeds and can make the difference between simulating a small mug of coffee and a large section of a beach.
Containing Fluid Inside of an Object	Easily contain fluid inside of an object using our Obstacle Inverse Workflow.
Simulation baking is taking too long to compute!	Tips for optimizing your simulation set up to improve performance.
How to debug problems with obstacles	The first tip in this article/video will teach you how the FLIP Fluids debugging tools can be used to diagnose issues with your obstacle objects.
What are substeps?	Fluid simulations are calculated by taking small steps through time. The smaller the timestep, the more accurate the simulation. Sometimes multiple substeps/timesteps during a frame are needed.
What is the PIC/FLIP Ratio?	Take a look at the documentation for the PIC/FLIP Ratio, an interesting setting that has applications in faking viscosity and dampening fluid motion.
What does the Inflow Constrain Fluid Velocity option do?	A powerful Inflow option that has applications in slowing down inflow emission, pushing around fluid when submerged, or filling up a tank when submerged.
How to export to Alembic (.abc) for render farms	Not all render farms support the FLIP Fluids addon. Here is how to export the FLIP Fluids simulation to the Alembic format for use on render farms.
Rendering from the Command Line	Are you rendering a huge simulation? Rendering from the command line is the quickest and most stable way to render massive animations in Blender, and it's easier than you may think!
Limitations of the FLIP Fluids addon	There may be limitations in the FLIP Fluids development project, limitations in the FLIP simulation method, or limitations of Blender that may affect success in creating your desired fluid effect. This document will detail common limitations of the FLIP Fluids addon and Blender.