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Preparation of shopfloor environments

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Function

In Halocline Layout & Performance you have the possibility to import your shopfloor environment or hall architecture. This way you get a realistic image of your ( production ) hall including steel girders, windows or ventilation pipes.
In this article we will show you how to prepare your gITF file for conversion so that you can import your hall environment into Halocline afterwards.

Important:
This article serves as a guide to preparing the data before importing it into Halocline. The steps described are not included in the functionality of Halocline. They require the use of third-party software and knowledge of 3D modeling. Feel free to forward this article to the person who provides the hall environment for you.

 

Instructions

Which gITF version is supported?

Halocline Layout & Performance supports glTF files according to the glTF 2.0 specification ().

Which gITF formats are supported?

3D scenes and models as glTF can be exported in 3 ways, depending on the software used:

  • glTF Binary (.glb) → recommended format.

  • glTF Embedded (.glTF) → accepted format

  • glTF Separate (.glTF + .bin + textures) → not supported format

What features are currently supported?

Halocline Layout & Performance uses the glTFast plug-in (https://github.com/atteneder/glTFast). - Connect to preview)

An overview of features can be found here: https://github.com/atteneder/glTFast/blob/main/Documentation~/features.md.

Note:
Currently, the so-called Draco Mesh Compression (https://github.com/KhronosGroup/glTF/tree/main/extensions/2.0/Khronos/KHR_draco_mesh_compression) - Connect to preview is not yet supported.

Which applications, tools, plug-ins include gITF support?

CAD applikations

3D-Modeling

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How do I prepare the data for import into Halocline?

glTF is a standardized file format for 3D scenes and models. It is supported by many CAD and 3D modeling applications (possibly with plugins). Thus, you can convert and adapt the desired hall models in the future in-house or via a service provider and use them directly in Halocline Layout & Performance.

To ensure that the hall environment is represented as optimally as possible in Halocline Layout & Performance, you should consider the following points:

  1. Remove irrelevant layers, objects, annotations and textures
    All objects that are exported to the glTF file must be rendered. Therefore, the first step is to remove all irrelevant objects (these can also be layers, block instances, annotations or textures) or to export only the required objects.
  2. Convert CAD data with as low a resolution as possible

    Unlike most CAD programs, the real-time rendering engine used in Halocline Layout & Performance does not use mathematical representations (NURBS) that allow volumetric bodies to be generated from curves and surfaces, but triangulated, one-sided surfaces (occasionally also polygons). When converting a CAD model into a polygon model, a polygon mesh is generated on the surface based on selected parameters, which approximates the mathematical representation. The parameters passed then determine the resolution or density with which the polygon mesh is to be generated and the accuracy with which it is to be approximated.

    The simpler the generated polygon mesh is, the more performant it can be rendered later in Halocline.

  3. Merge related objects

    Each polygon mesh must be rendered separately. The less polygon meshes there are, the more performant it can be rendered later in Halocline Layout & Performance. It is often useful to merge objects that share one or more features. The following features can be among others:

    • Objects that use the same material(s),

    • objects that are located in a similar place,

    • objects that belong together (hierarchically) as an object group or structure,

    • a combination of the above characteristics.

After you have prepared the CAD file accordingly, you can now convert it as a gITF file. Pay attention to the following information about the conversion.

Which scale or unit of measurement do I have to choose for the export as gITF format?

1.0 Unit = 1.0 Meter

What should I additionally consider during the conversion, so that no complications occur?

If after importing the hall environment in glTF format flickering occurs, or corresponding areas are not displayed correctly, you can read here how to work around or solve this problem.

 

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