Preparing 3D assets for the Platform
In the Sayduck Platform, we use Draco compression which compresses the 3D data to almost 1/10 of the original size. However, when the product polygon count goes over 200k, low end mobile phones will start having difficulties with rendering these models.
This is why you should always keep your polygon count under this threshold and better yet, bring it as low as possible.
3D Data recommendations
There is no hard product data size limit, but in general you should aim to use the minimal amount of data.
Merge meshes/layers that share the same materials
10 geometries/meshes or less
200,000 polygons or less
For more information, check out Best practices (speed and performance)
Polycount
To check your product polycount, activate Polycount from the editor viewer settings. After this the polycount will be displayed on the top left corner.
Model Position
The 3D viewer will central to the object, but this is important for Augmented Reality. Products will not appear correctly on Web AR mode and exported USDZ if the product is not placed like this.
Model Position Center the model at World Space.
Model Orientation 0, 0, 0
Center the pivot point on the horizontal plane at the base of the model.
Make sure that the model is stationed on the horizontal plane, so that it doesn’t appear to float in the air or be underground.
Use -z for Y-up axis or -y for Z-up axis.
Axes
To check your product position, activate Axes.
Unwrap UV maps to 1:1 UV space
We recommend that UVs are packed inside the 1:1 UV space with no overlapping UVs. Many 3D modelling software offers automatic UV unwrapping, but for clean results, this has to be done manually. This is a common issue in CAD models.
For more information, check out UV Mapping.
Common uploading issues
Special characters in asset name
If your assets do not upload, remove special characters from the asset name such as ) ( .
Model uploaded with no layers
When uploading files with more than 25 meshes, the meshes will be either combined into a single mesh or the upload will fail.
To avoid this, you need to combine group layers into single meshes or export model in separate files. Always aim to have the least amount of meshes and materials for optimal performance.
Rhino https://discourse.mcneel.com/t/merge-layers/2917
Sketchup https://forums.sketchup.com/t/how-do-i-ungroup-all-and-merge-all-layers/14388
Blender: https://all3dp.com/2/blender-how-to-merge-objects/
Vertex normals
Using one-sided faces is common in AR and other OpenGl, meaning that the other side is transparent.
If there are transparent parts or darker spots on your mesh, check its Normals.
3ds max - Selecting desired faces>Right Click "Flip Normals" option
Maya - Mesh Display>Reverse
Smoothing groups
Smoothing groups are a way to make lower quality models look more detailed.
Find model too smooth or not well defined, check the smoothing groups.
3ds Max - Modify>Smoothing Groups>Auto Smooth
Maya - Mesh Display>Set to Face | Soften/Harden Edges
Texture does not look correct
When your uploaded textures do not work correct, enable the UV map editor setting. This setting will apply a clear texture on your model and will help you understand the issue. When the UV maps are unwrapped correctly the pattern will be the same size through out your model with no clear displacements.
Pack UVs to 1:1 UV space
For CAD models, make sure that your UV maps are packed to 1:1 UV space.
In the Sayduck Platform, we use Draco compression which compresses the 3D data to almost 1/10 of the original size. However, when the product polygon count goes over 200k, low end mobile phones will start having difficulties with rendering these models.
This is why you should always keep your polygon count under this threshold and better yet, bring it as low as possible.
3D Data recommendations
There is no hard product data size limit, but in general you should aim to use the minimal amount of data.
Merge meshes/layers that share the same materials
10 geometries/meshes or less
200,000 polygons or less
For more information, check out Best practices (speed and performance)
Polycount
To check your product polycount, activate Polycount from the editor viewer settings. After this the polycount will be displayed on the top left corner.
Model Position
The 3D viewer will central to the object, but this is important for Augmented Reality. Products will not appear correctly on Web AR mode and exported USDZ if the product is not placed like this.
Model Position Center the model at World Space.
Model Orientation 0, 0, 0
Center the pivot point on the horizontal plane at the base of the model.
Make sure that the model is stationed on the horizontal plane, so that it doesn’t appear to float in the air or be underground.
Use -z for Y-up axis or -y for Z-up axis.
Axes
To check your product position, activate Axes.
Unwrap UV maps to 1:1 UV space
We recommend that UVs are packed inside the 1:1 UV space with no overlapping UVs. Many 3D modelling software offers automatic UV unwrapping, but for clean results, this has to be done manually. This is a common issue in CAD models.
For more information, check out UV Mapping.
Common uploading issues
Special characters in asset name
If your assets do not upload, remove special characters from the asset name such as ) ( .
Model uploaded with no layers
When uploading files with more than 25 meshes, the meshes will be either combined into a single mesh or the upload will fail.
To avoid this, you need to combine group layers into single meshes or export model in separate files. Always aim to have the least amount of meshes and materials for optimal performance.
Rhino https://discourse.mcneel.com/t/merge-layers/2917
Sketchup https://forums.sketchup.com/t/how-do-i-ungroup-all-and-merge-all-layers/14388
Blender: https://all3dp.com/2/blender-how-to-merge-objects/
Vertex normals
Using one-sided faces is common in AR and other OpenGl, meaning that the other side is transparent.
If there are transparent parts or darker spots on your mesh, check its Normals.
3ds max - Selecting desired faces>Right Click "Flip Normals" option
Maya - Mesh Display>Reverse
Smoothing groups
Smoothing groups are a way to make lower quality models look more detailed.
Find model too smooth or not well defined, check the smoothing groups.
3ds Max - Modify>Smoothing Groups>Auto Smooth
Maya - Mesh Display>Set to Face | Soften/Harden Edges
Texture does not look correct
When your uploaded textures do not work correct, enable the UV map editor setting. This setting will apply a clear texture on your model and will help you understand the issue. When the UV maps are unwrapped correctly the pattern will be the same size through out your model with no clear displacements.
Pack UVs to 1:1 UV space
For CAD models, make sure that your UV maps are packed to 1:1 UV space.
Updated on: 29 / 12 / 2021