3DVIA® - 3DVIA

3D models make our world possible - and fun too! Whether our 3D models are the internal bulkhead of the next major airliner or the latest clothing mod for our hot avatar, 3D makes it better. 3DVIA.com is a gathering place for all kinds of models and modelers. Check out the latest architectural ideas or explore historical steam engines for some perspective. Learn some cool new things and have some fun.

In order to keep the fun factor up and the frustration factor down, this post provides some useful tips to export your CATIA models so that they can be easily uploaded and shared on 3DVIA.com.

Dassault Systemes’ CATIA is a creative tool that is highly respected throughout the world for its wide-ranging capabilities. Fortunately; Fabrice Pinot, member of the CATIA Solutions team in Suresnes, France, has kindly offered some valuable information to help make it as easy as possible to export your CATIA V5 models in a way that allows them to look their best on 3DVIA.com.

So, in his own words:

There are 2 options that are very important for the 3DXML exports from CATIA V5 to 3DVIA.com.

First is the type of 3D mesh which is used for the geometry. At the present time, the supported mesh in 3DVIA.com is specified in the following option, it is a mesh in ASCII code.

The second option deals with 3D Accuracy:

For products; where all the parts have roughly the same size, such as consumer goods or hi-tech products, we recommend setting a fixed accuracy from 0.1 to 0.2.

Fixed 3D Accuracy sets a fixed sag value (from 0.01 to 10), which is used for calculating tessellation on all objects and does not vary with object size. The sag value defines the chordal deviation for curves and surfaces. The “curve chordal deviation” represents the maximum distance between a polyline (”chord”) whose end points lie on a curve and a point on the curve:

For detailed models of cars, boats or planes, we recommend setting a proportional tessellation of 0.1 to 0.2 as you may have small parts and huge ones. In this case tessellation is calculated according to object size: the larger the object, the coarser the tessellation. For the same 3D accuracy setting, the tessellation on small objects is always finer than on large objects. Please note that the toggle does not represent a distance, but a parameter, as the actual sag will depend on the object’s size.

Of course, in both cases, the finer the parameter, the larger the 3DXML file. Uploaded files are limited to 10MB on 3DVIA.com. If your file is bigger, then toggle this 3D accuracy parameter in order to be below this value.

Other tips: 

Products originally created in CATIA V5 have the Z axis as the vertical axis, so there are no modifications to perform to have them appear in the proper orientation in 3DVIA.com. If this is not the case, it is always possible to insert this product into a newly created one and rotate the inserted model with the 3D Compass.

Textures created in CATIA V5 are supported, do not hesitate to use them. It gives a better aspect of your product at a minimum cost.

SPECIAL NOTE: These suggestions are valid for V5R18 and V5R19SP1. V6 compliance and tips are in the works. Stay tuned.

Thank you Fabrice, for making it easier for 3DVIA.com users to upload their CATIA models!

 Rejoice!  Our 4th Champion has been chosen!  Machdoem is the winner of the 3DVIA Challenge: The Luau.  Unlike our last challenge Dragsters, was our widest subject yet, and we had some great entries.  Machdoem won using our new Judging rules, with a score of “7.2″!  His composition had a wide range of objects,  good construction and excellent imagination. 

 Check out the winning entry below!

Our next challenge will be more focused and is a tie-in with our Siggraph 2008 presence. Read all about it!

The Champion of 3DVIA Challenge #4 has been selected, check out his own Champions page here! This week we start the Challenge anew, from the Siggraph 2008 tradeshow!  Will you have what it takes to be the next 3D Champion?

3DVIA Challenge 5: 3D Cell Phones

This week’s Challenge is all about 3D Cell Phones.  Create your own cell phone, the one you want to buy or a brand new creation!  This contest ties in to our Siggraph 2008 Booth where we’ll be showing our own cell phones along with many other demonstrations of our software.  Add as much detail as possible while staying under 30,000 triangles. 

 Challenge Extended by 1 Week!!   All Entries and Edits accepted till this friday August 29th!!

Our team is at NVISION 08, if you were one of the lucky one to attend Nvisions first tradeshow, please stop by our booth #320!!

 NEW!! Contest Rules based on USER FEEDBACK!

3DVIA Users: How to participate in this challenge:
1. Be a Registered User of 3DVIA
3DVIA accounts are free, sign up here

2. Upload Your “3D Cell Phone” Model by Friday August 29nd
Starting on August 11th and running through August 29nd 2008, upload your best 3D Cell Phone to 3DVIA. Only new to 3DVIA and original work will be considered, 1 submission per user, NO team entries.

3. Tag Your 3D Model “3DVIAChallenge5″
Tag your model with the keyword 3DVIAChallenge5 - you must use this exact tag to enter.

View the Current Models Entered in this Challenge

>> How this challenge will be judged:

1. Voting on this challenge runs from September 1st through September 5th
On September 1st, we will post and announce the “finalists”…or the best 5 models as chosen by our 3DVIA staff. During the Finalists week, the 5 models will be judged on 3 categories by our 3DVIA Judges and by popular vote from our community.

The 3 Categories are:

Artistic Design- Eye catching design, the coolness of the model.
Technical Accuracy - Mechanical or realistic accuracy and detail
Modeling Efficiency - Polygonal construction, modeling skill.

Current 3DVIA Judges Panel:

Matthew Baron - 3D Enthusiast Judge
Juan del Rio - DCC Judge
Don Swavely - CAD Judge

Each category will receive a value from 1-10 from each Judge. Each model will receive the average value of all the judges votes combined plus the percentage of their community vote multiplied by 10 (ie. if you received 45% of the votes, you would get 4.5).

2. The Winner Will Be Announced September 8st
We will post the winner here on September 8st…and announce the next challenge.

View the Current Models Entered in this Challenge

Remember to comment on other users models and tell your friends to submit their own!