PANEL: CAD to Commerce: Building a 3D Experience

For complex, highly configurable products like cars, boats, bicycles, or appliances, interactive 3D experiences are extremely effective tools to promote customizable features and drive sales. Fortunately, There are nearly always CAD, REVIT, DWG or other product engineering files available, so creating an interactive 3D rendering should be fairly straightforward, right? Not so fast. Transforming CAD source files into a 3D commerce experience can be a bumpy road. Source files are often disorganized, lacking hierarchy or even names. A single file often contains multiple variants. The artist needs to define materials, UV texture, and tessellation, while streamlining the model by removing hidden surfaces and small parts. Re-meshing is often required. What’s more, beyond these content creation challenges, you need to consider how to protect underlying IP; deliver an asset over the web that performs smoothly and doesn’t bog down end-user devices; and accurately and consistently represent the fine details and features that differentiate the product.

In this session, members of the Khronos 3D Commerce Working group will share key insights into the purpose and process of creating a 3D experience. We’ll unpack the work involved in transforming CAD files into a commerce-ready interactive product, including strategies for preventing design theft and optimizing assets for web delivery.