Virtual Learning Factory Toolkit
  • Virtual Learning Factory Toolkit
  • VLF Knowledge Base
    • Factory Data Model
      • OWL Classes
      • SPARQL Queries
      • SPARQL Updates
    • Instantiation of Factory Models
      • Assets
        • Assets in Spreadsheet
        • Assets in JSON
        • Assets in Ontology
      • 3D Models of Assets
        • 3D Models for Virtual Reality
      • Statechart
      • Animations
      • Data Repositories
        • Local Repository
        • Remote Repository
  • VLF Tools and Libraries
    • OntoGui
      • Modules
        • Control Panel
        • Individual Manager
        • System Design
        • Utilities
      • Personalization
    • OntoGuiWeb
      • Modules
        • Control Panel
        • SPARQL
        • Graphs OWL
        • Utilities
        • Asset Design
        • System Design
        • System Control
        • Performance Evaluation
        • MQTT Sync
        • Virtual Environment
        • Graphs Eng
        • StateChart
      • Personalization
    • jsimIO
      • How to start
      • JMT Overview
        • JSim
          • Model generation
          • Launch of the simulation
          • Reporting
        • Bibliography
    • VEB.js
      • Functionalities
      • Input/Output files
      • Integration with other software tools
      • Advanced Users
    • ApertusVR
    • MTM
      • How to start
      • Formalise the process
      • Prepare input data
      • Execution and results
    • MOST
      • How to start
      • Formalise the process
      • Prepare input data
      • Execution and results
    • RULA
      • How to start
      • Formalise the process
      • Prepare input data
      • Execution and results
    • OCRA
      • How to start
      • Prepare input data
      • Execution and results
  • Use Cases
    • Automated Assembly Line
    • Assets and Animations
    • Modelling of Factory Assets
      • Modelling of an Assembled Product
      • Modelling of a Workstation
      • 3D Modelling of a Workstation for Virtual Reality
    • Process Modelling
      • Modelling an Assembly Process
    • Modelling of a manufacturing system
      • Modelling in OntoGui
      • Modelling a Job Shop using OntoGui
      • Modelling of a Flow Shop using OntoGui
      • Modelling a Hybrid Flow Shop using OntoGui
      • Modelling an assembly system using OntoGui
    • Performance evaluation using jsimIO
      • Performance evaluation of a manufacturing system
        • Performance evaluation in Jsim
        • Performance evaluation of a Flow Shop using Jsim
        • Performance Evaluation of a Job Shop using JSim
        • Performance evaluation of a Hybrid Flow Shop using Jsim
        • Performance evaluation of an assembly system using Jsim
      • jsimIO Assembly
      • jsimIO Automatic
      • jsimIO Production
  • Classworks
  • Advanced Features
    • JMT model
      • Automatic generation of a JMT model
      • Automatic generation of animations
    • Enabling technologies
      • Node-RED
        • Node-RED tutorial
      • RDF libraries
Powered by GitBook
On this page
  • GLTF + Standard Materials
  • GLTF + Standard Materials using SolidWorks Visualize
  • GLTF + PBR Textures
  • GLTF + PBR Textures using Blender
  • Further resources

Was this helpful?

  1. VLF Knowledge Base
  2. Instantiation of Factory Models
  3. 3D Models of Assets

3D Models for Virtual Reality

Previous3D Models of AssetsNextStatechart

Last updated 3 years ago

Was this helpful?

3D models, defined according to what described in the section , are not ready to be used in a VR environment. In fact, specifications related to materials and the behavior of light for rendering are required.

Several file exist to support VR. The recommended option is , an open standard developed and maintained by the . It supports many features, i.e., geometry, appearance, hierarchy, and animation. Many CAD environments are capable of directly export models in the GLTF format.

By default, the unit of measure in the GLTF standard is the meter.

In order to be ready for the use in a VR environment, 3D models of assets must be further elaborated to define materials and properties for the rendering. Depending on the expected outcome and the level of realism to achieve, two options are possible:

  1. GLTF + standard materials for basic 3D representation.

  2. GLTF + PBR textures for high realism.

GLTF + Standard Materials

Basic materials can be applied with regular rendering software such as and Visualize and later exported to GLTF.

GLTF + Standard Materials using SolidWorks Visualize

SolidWorks Visualize is a software supporting the definition of VR-ready models. When importing a Solidworks Assembly file (SLDASM) to Solidworks Visualize, a dialog pops up to select the desired grouping method to instantiate the hierarchy of the sub-components. This hierarchy must match the specifications described in the section related to , while providing the user the capability of applying different materials to the different sub-components.

For this purpose, the most efficient import setting option is by “Group/Aspect”.

It is recommendable, if possible, to use basic materials (e.g. opaque plastic materials), since more complex appearances (paint materials, translucent, etc...) may cause unwanted artifacts when the model is exported to the GLTF format.

Finally, the user can export the resulting models in either the GLTF or GLB formats.

GLTF + PBR Textures

GLTF + PBR Textures using Blender

The steps to obtain realistic VR models are the following:

  1. The setup of the material is performed through the Shader Editor interface, where each level of the texture is assigned to their specific nodes. It may be necessary to fine adjust some parameters if textures appear to be off scale.

The user can decide to export the resulting models in the GLTF, GLB, or GLTF with separate directories for texture resources. By right-clicking the root node of the model and choosing “Select Hierarchy” all the subcomponents downstream will be selected. The "Compression" option might be needed to reduce the size of the resulting models, though it can also create some unwanted result, so it's recommendable to check the exported models afterwards.

Further resources

Further information can be found in dedicated online resources:

Thus, drag and drop commands in the software environment can be used to assign materials to the components in the 3D viewer/hierarchy tree. Further information related to how assign materials can be found in the official .

is a technique enabling an increased level of detail by adopting high resolution textures applied to the GLTF models.

is a free and open-source 3D computer graphics software tool set.

Differently from other rendering tools, Blender does not natively include materials to be applied. Thus, materials have to be collected exploiting online sources such as , providing an extensive catalog of realistic looking materials that can be freely downloaded under a Creative Commons license. Each material can be downloaded either in JPG (lighter) or PNG format, with different texture resolution (from 1K to 8K). These settings will have a huge impact on the overall size of the final GLTF model, so it is important to make a trade-off between quality and size of the models. As a general rule of thumb, opaque materials with overall regular textures like metals, paints, and rubber can be downloaded with minimum resolution without showing clearly visible defects once applied to the model: the JPG/1K setting is valid in most cases. Complex materials ready for the PBR method are composed of a multilayer array of different textures (namely images) associated to different visual properties that will be eventually embedded in the model: Color, Displacement, Metalness, Normal, Roughness.

More details can be found in the use case .

Solidworks Visualize Manual
Physically based rendering
Blender
CC0 Textures
3D Modelling of a Workstation for Virtual Reality
Khronos Art Pipeline for glTF
THE PBR GUIDE
Blender 2.8 PBR Texturing for Beginners
3D Models of Assets
formats
GLTF
Khronos Group
3D model
scene graph
KeyShot
Solidworks
3D models of assets
Import settings in SolidWorks Visualize
Blender's interface for shader editor.