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Sphere

In one sentence: Create a parametric sphere (or spherical segment) whose radius and angular extents can be changed at any time.

Overview

Workbench: Part · Menu: Part → Primitives → Sphere
Toolbar: Part Primitives · Shortcut: none

The Sphere primitive creates a full sphere or a portion of a sphere defined by two latitude angles and a longitude sweep. The radius is a live parameter.

Intuition

Full spheres appear less often than cylinders in mechanical work but are common in mould-making, ergonomic grips, optical components, and ball joints. The partial sphere parameters (Angle1, Angle2, Angle3) let you create caps, segments, and sectors without any Boolean operations.

When to use it

  • Ball or dome shapes.
  • Convex end caps for pressure vessels.
  • Decorative hemispherical features.

Parameters

Parameter Type Default Description
Radius Distance 5 mm Sphere radius
Angle1 Angle −90° Start latitude (−90° = south pole)
Angle2 Angle 90° End latitude (90° = north pole)
Angle3 Angle 360° Longitude sweep (360° = full sphere)
Placement Placement Identity Position and orientation

Latitude angles (Angle1, Angle2)

  • Angle1 = −90°, Angle2 = 90° → full sphere
  • Angle1 = 0°, Angle2 = 90° → upper hemisphere
  • Angle1 = −90°, Angle2 = 0° → lower hemisphere
  • Any range in between → a spherical zone (band)

Longitude angle (Angle3)

  • 360° → full revolution (no cut face)
  • 180° → half-sphere sector (one flat face on the cut plane)

Step-by-step walkthrough

  1. Part → Primitives → Sphere.
  2. A 5 mm radius sphere appears at the origin.
  3. In the Data panel, set Radius to your value.
  4. Leave Angle1/Angle2/Angle3 at defaults for a full sphere.
  5. Adjust Placement as needed.

Common mistakes and pitfalls

Centre at origin, not tangent to plane

The sphere centre is at the Placement origin. To rest the sphere on the XY plane (touching it at the south pole), set Placement Z to +Radius.

Python API

import FreeCAD as App

doc = App.newDocument()

# Full sphere
sph = doc.addObject("Part::Sphere", "Ball")
sph.Radius = 10.0   # mm

doc.recompute()
print(f"Volume: {sph.Shape.Volume:.2f} mm³")   # ≈ 4188.79

# Upper hemisphere
hemi = doc.addObject("Part::Sphere", "Hemisphere")
hemi.Radius = 10.0
hemi.Angle1 = 0.0    # start at equator
hemi.Angle2 = 90.0   # end at north pole

doc.recompute()
print(f"Hemisphere volume: {hemi.Shape.Volume:.2f} mm³")   # ≈ 2094.40

See also