Unreal Engine Comes to CAD

Issue #971 

  

by Ralph Grabowski with Marc Petit Marc Petit, general manager of Unreal Engine Enterprise at Epic Games, talked to upFront.eZine as his company prepared to launch Unreal Studio. This software is a new pipeline for importing 3ds Max and 3D CAD models from 20 sources into Unreal Engine. As a real-time rendering engine, Unreal is gaining popularity for commercial applications, such as virtual and augmented reality. (Mr Petit is the former senior vp for Autodesk Media & Entertainment.) - - - Ralph Grabowski: Why should CAD users care about Unreal Engine? Marc Petit: Traditional CAD software vendors focus on graphics, but we do much more than graphics. People look at a game engine as a fast renderer, but we also handle audio, animation, AI [artificial intelligence], physics -- all useful in CAD. We do interactive computer graphics in real time -- fast, and efficient, and cheap. No render farms are needed, no render licenses.  The interactivity drives engagement, such as walking through a new building at your own pace [using animation or VR], instead of at the speed of a video made by someone else. In MCAD, it is used to view motions and to collaborate through VR, such as Holodeck from nVidia used by car companies. A year ago, we created an enterprise team after learning that 10% of architectural firms in a 2016 survey were already using Unreal for architectural visualization. We learned also that the #1 hurdle was the difficulty in getting CAD content into Unreal. So at Siggraph last year, we showed the Datasmith plug-in that extracts high-fidelity content from CAD or 3ds Max into Unreal. It is being beta-tested by 15,000 users.  Unreal Studio On March 6, we launched an open beta of Unreal Studio for AEC and MCAD. It has four pillars:  Workflow for connectivity with SketchUp, Revit, and so on Assets, such as 100 materials and customizable templates using visual scripting that explore models and so on Learning tools Support It will remain free and in beta until November 1, after which it will be $49 per person per month. Grabowski: What do the types of beta testers tell you about the kinds of CAD users who are interested in Unreal Studio for CAD? Petit: Some 70% are in architecture, the vast majority are small firms and individuals. For them, it is important to be fast and produce photo-real images, using a lightweight format.  There are also many large firms investigating Unreal Studio, because VR is already a key deliverable for them. Architects use VR to lock down the design early, and it's important in explaining construction processes. We work with all VR systems. Importing an MCAD model into Unreal Studio Grabowski: Are any CAD vendors using Unreal Engine? Petit: There is TwinMotion from Abvent, which is built on Unreal, and we are talking with others. Companies like Autodesk and Dassault Systemes can be territorial. But we can integrate data from many sources, because aggregation is one of our strong points.  Grabowski: How does Unreal work on Android and iOS devices? Petit: Push a button to make it available for any platform, including phones. It could also export to games platforms, but that is irrelevant for AEC. Grabowski: This may be an old question, but why is the Unreal Engine free? Petit: Technology should be accessible. Epic Games does its own games, but also provides game engine technology. We care about making technology available, and so the source code is available on the Internet. On the games side, we make money when you make money. The engine is free, but we charge a 5% royalty on games sold.  But we don't want 5% of the cost of the building! So we have Unreal Studio for architects and mechanical designers. Unreal Engine is used for games and for not-games. There are five million users of Unreal Engine, mostly in games, but now in other areas too. I'm proud about the first movie made entirely in Unreal Engine, the animated Allahyar and the Legend of Markhor movie. Plus some TV shows like Reboot and Zafari. It is used in AI and drug discovery, architectural visualization and product visualization. We are passionate about driving interactive experiences across all industries. www.unrealengine.com/studio [The hardware recommended for developing with Unreal Engine is a 2.5GHz quad-core desktop with 8GB RAM and a DirectX 11 graphics board.]   CAD File Support Unreal Engine natively supports FBX and glTF workflows. It imports native files in the following formats. In most cases, UVs are automatically generated by Unreal Studio. Rhino 3D supported extension: .3dm Imports: Rhino surface models and scenes; includes basic color extraction and meta data. SolidWorks supported extensions: .sldasm, .sldprt Imports: SolidWorks part and assembly files; includes basic color extraction, hierarchy, and meta data. Inventor supported extensions: .iam, .ipt Imports: Inventor assembly files; includes basic color extraction, hierarchy, and meta data. CATIA supported extensions: .catpart, .catproduct, .cgr, asm, .neu, .prt Imports: CATIA formats;is includes basic color extraction, hierarchy, and meta data. Also directly imports NX files, Creo parts and assemblies, CADDS, I-DEAS, Parasolid, and Robcad. Supported extensions: .gbf, .unv, .x_t, .rf, .fbx, .gitf, .iges, .step, .jt, .sat, and .3dxml. A plug-in is included for 3ds Max. SketchUp is to come.   TwinMotion and Unreal Because TwinMotion is the company closest to CAD that is built on Unreal Engine, I thought it would be useful to see what Abvent touted as the benefits at twinmotion.abvent.com/en/: Walk, drive or fly through your projects in real-time. Export any type of high quality media in seconds, instead of waiting hours for conventional software to do the job. Compatible with VR headsets HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Gear VR, Twinmotion 2018 allows you to explore your model in real-time, from the early design phase to the final project review. Twinmotion 2018 is the only software on the market capable of producing in real-time not only stereoscopic images, panoramas and videos of the highest quality, but also 360° videos. BIMmotion is a self-executable (mono or stereoscopic) file that can be shared free of charge, which integrates the project you have imagined, allowing everyone to move in 3D, freely or according to a pre-defined path. This online service allows you to directly upload the images, panoramas and videos calculated in Twinmotion to be shared, combined and organized in a project. MOBILE CAD for Android and iOS   ARES Touch offers 150+ CAD features to read, modify, and annotate DWG drawings on tablets and smartphones. Visit www.graebert.com/arestouch to learn more. Viewing and measuring features of ARES Touch are FREE for all users. ARES subscribers gain premium features like editing and photo annotation. Get a free 30-day trial of ARES Touch's premium features when you activate your free trial of ARES Commander at  www.graebert.com/arescommander  Sponsor: Okino Graphics == Okino's PolyTrans|CAD Software for Professional 'Load & Go' 3D Conversions ==    For over three decades, mission-critical 3D conversion software from Okino of Toronto has been used effectively by tens of thousands of professionals. We develop, support, and convert between all major CAD, DCC, and VisSim formats. CTO Robert Lansdale and his team tailors each package to the specific conversion requirements or problems of each customer. Popular CAD data sources we support include SolidWorks, ProE/Creo, Inventor, AutoCAD, Revit, Navisworks, DGN, IGES, STEP, Parasolid, and JT. DCC data sources are Cinema-4D, 3ds Max, Maya, FBX/Collada, and many more. Popular CAD data sources include SolidWorks, ProE/Creo, Inventor, AutoCAD, Revit, Navisworks, DGN, IGES, STEP, Parasolid, and JT. DCC data sources are Cinema-4D, 3ds Max, Maya, FBX/Collada, and many more. Perfected over three decades, we know 3D data translation intimately, providing you with highly personalized solutions, education, and communication. Contact CTO Robert Lansdale at [email protected]  http://www.okino.com The Rest of the News LEDAS integrates the kernel from C3D Labs into their LEDAS Cloud Platform. As a result, LCP provides data storage and management, 3D visualization, communication, collaboration. And C3D provides modeling, 2D/3D constraints, visualization, conversion. ledas.com/group/press_releases/ - - - Bricsys announces that it annual user and developer conference will be held this year in London, England, October 23-24. www.bricsys.com/en-intl/conference/ - - - Detroit-based ONU made available its 3DLite cloud-based 3D platform to convert and optimize CAD files in FBX format for 3D Web, AR, VR, and mobile. Its other functions include Drag'n drop to convert native CAD files Reduce model density by 10x Advanced defeaturing  Web links to view in any browser Free and paid versions are available after registration at onu1.com/3dlite/ - - - IronCAD updates its integrated Multiphysics for IronCAD FEA extension with new automatic tie/glue function for assemblies that may contain gaps and overlaps, such as for welding or thermal expansion/shrinkage. www.ironcad.com/design-extensions - - - I always thought an editor's job is to seek stories few know about. At Newsweek, however, the editor's job has other requirements: Set aggressive page-view quotas Be committed to search engine optimization Review writers' daily, monthly pageviews - - - Both Discovery Live and Spaceclaim from Ansys already use Polygonica polygon modeling from MachineWorks, and now a new agreement means that Ansys will use Polygonica "more broadly" in its software. www.polygonica.com - - - BigRep and BASF are joining forces to develop even more industrial 3D printing materials. https://bigrep.com - - - "Bike-sharing startup GoBee Bike is giving up and shutting down in all French cities where it operates" due to vandalism and riders not bothering to return bikes after arriving home. - - - Stratasys is pleased that its Q4 revenues increased 2% to $179.3 million YoY[year over year], but it still is losing money with a net loss of $10 million. FY[fiscal year] 2017 revenues were down 0.6% to $668.4 million, and losses down 64% to $30.5 million. The company projects 2018 revenues of $670-$700 million and more losses. www.stratasys.com - - - Siemens PLM Software had Chad Jackson write them an ebook about CAD on mobile devices. As Siemens has mobile apps, I assume the answers are Yes, and Yes to the two questions they pose on the Web site (see figure below). Registration required before downloading the 10-page PDF from www.plm.automation.siemens.com/global/en/topic   Also from Siemens PLM is the new Valor IoT Manufacturing Analyticsadd-on for monitoring electronics manufacturing operations. It's part of theValor Manufacturing Solution, which in turn comes to Siemens through the Mentor Graphics acquisition. www.mentor.com/pcb-manufacturing-assembly - - - TrueCAD is the latest CAD program based on IntelliCAD. truecad.com/truecad-features.php - - - When you have a February wedding, you just might encounter snow. Photography by my professional photographer daughter at www.artandtheaerialist.com - - - For late-breaking CAD news, follow upFront.eZine on Twitter at @upfrontezine. Thank You, Readers! Thank you to readers who donate towards the operation of upFront.eZine: Avontus Software Corporation Should you wish to support upFront.eZine through PayPal, then the suggested amounts are like these: $25 for individuals > paypal.me/upfrontezine/25 $150 for small companies > paypal.me/upfrontezine/150 $625 for for large companies > paypal.me/upfrontezine/625 Should Paypal.me not operate in your country, then please use www.paypal.comand the account of [email protected]. Or mail a cheque (US$ or CDN$ only, please) to upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd., 34486 Donlyn Avenue, Abbotsford BC, V2S 4W7, Canada.   Notable Quotable "A facile analogy can all too easily be mistaken for fact, particularly when it appeals to professional vanity."     - Nicholas Carr, "Supple Mind"

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