# Welcome to Karamba3D Karamba3D is a Finite Element program like many others. However it has advantages over these in several important respects: It is easy to use for non-experts, has been tailored to the needs of architects and engineers in the early design phase, works interactively and costs slightly less than the rest. Karamba3D is fully embedded in the parametric environment of Grasshopper which is a plug-in for the 3d modelling tool Rhinoceros. This makes it easy to combine parameterized geometric models, finite element calculations and optimization algorithms like Octopus or Galapagos. Navigate through the following chapters below or in the menu on the left. This manual is currently available in English and Chinese. The Japanese manual (1.0.5) can be downloaded from our [website](https://www.karamba3d.com/download/). ## Citing Karamba3D In case you use Karamba3D for your scientific work, please cite the following paper: > Preisinger, C. (2013), *Linking Structure and Parametric Geometry*. Architectural Design, 83: 110-113\ > DOI: 10.1002/ad.1564. ## Disclaimer Although being tested thoroughly Karamba3D probably contains errors – therefore no guarantee can be given that Karamba3D computes correct results. Use of Karamba3D is entirely at your own risk. Please read the [license agreement](https://www.karamba3d.com/buy/license-agreement/) that comes with Karamba3D in case of further questions. ## This manual is written by Clemens Preisinger. \ Editing by Matthew Tam. \ Chinese translation by Lei Feng. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://manual-1-3.karamba3d.com/undefined.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.