Models Tab

The Models tab of the Palette has options for selecting and transforming models and their parts.



Model Tree

The model tree is near the top of the Models tab in the Palette. It contains the names of the models in the scene and the parts within each model.

  • In the list near the top of the Models tab, select the model set containing the models you want in the scene.
    Next to the model name, click to access the controls to duplicate , add , or rename the model.
    • A model set is a collection of one or more 3D objects.
    • Different model sets are separate, except when several sets contain the same model.
    • A given model set can be part of a custom configuration, but not part of the base configuration.
  • To select a model and display its parameters in the Models tab, do one of the following:
    • In the model tree of the Models tab, select the model.
    • Click Selection Tool > Model , and select the model in the scene.
      When you click the Models tab, the Selection Tool automatically changes to Model mode.

    When you select a model, it is outlined in yellow.

  • To select a part and display its parameters in the Models tab, do one of the following:
    • In the model tree of the Models tab, select the part.
    • Click Selection Tool > Part , and select the part in the scene.

    When you select a part, it is outlined in blue.

  • When you select a group, it is outlined in purple.

Object Parameters

Select a model, its root, or one or more of its parts to display and modify their parameters. A root node is a group of parts that you can move separately from the rest of a model – with the movement relative to a pivot point.

Parts have some parameters that entire models do not, and vice versa. Some parameters apply to parts and models.

The root node in a model has the same parameters as other groups.

The parameters are divided among the General, Transform, Texture Mapping, and Advanced subtabs.

The following table lists all parameters that affect models, groups, and parts.

General    
  Name Shows the name of the selected object.

Type over the name to change it.
  Opacity  
  Visible Select to show the selected object in the 3D Viewport. Clear to hide the object in the 3D Viewport.
Emissive shaders do not emit light into a scene when their parts are hidden.
  Disabled Hides the selected model or part. Lighting is not affected.

The object goes in a dormant state in the scene; you can only re-enable it by clearing Disabled.
  Faded Hides a model from the camera's view, but leaves it in the scene for lighting.
  Original Source Lets you relocate and reimport the CAD model if it is in a different location than when you initially imported the model.
Transform    
  Transform Provides two sets of parameters, one for numerically translating, rotating, and scaling the selected model or part, and one for pivoting it.

Use these parameters to control translation, rotation, and scaling:

  • Position XYZ. Translates the selected item in 3D space.
  • Rotation XYZ. Rotates the selected item in 3D space.
  • Scale XYZ. Scales the selected item by axis in 3D space.
  • Scale All. Scales the selected item proportionally in 3D space.
  • Reset. Resets the model and its parts to their original coordinates.
  • Freeze. Leaves the model in place and sets all transform values to neutral. For example, Position = 0,0,0 and Size = 1.0, and so forth.

Use these parameters to control pivoting:

  • Pivot XYZ. Translates the pivot point of the selected item.
  • Pivot Rotation. Rotates the pivot point of the selected item.
  • Reset. Resets the pivot point to its original coordinates.
  Position
  • Snap to Floor. (Model selected.)

    Moves the object so it rests on the floor.

  • Center. (Model selected.)

    Moves the object to the center of the XZ plane.
  Rotation Rotate, Rotates the selected object by 90º around the selected axis:
  • X+90
  • Y+90
  • Z+90
  Flip Reverses the object's orientation around the selected axis X, Y, or Z.
  Scale Auto Size, (Model selected.)

Sizes the object to best fit within the environment and locates the object at the world origin.
  Pivot Pivot Center,
  • Model, Group, or Part:

    Moves the pivot point of the selected model, group, or part to the center of its bounding box.

  • Environment

    Moves the pivot point of the selected item to the center of the environment.
Texture Mapping    
  Mode Options depend on selected Mode -
  • UV
  • Box
  • Planar
  • Spherical
  • Radial
  • Cylindrical
  • Perspective
Part/Normals Control. (Only available if a part is selected.)

Options in this section let you edit and rebuild the normal vectors on the selected part.

This process often solves flipped normals and badly formed normals that are common in Sketchup files and lesser quality data.
  • Rebuild Normals. Rebuilds and optimizes the entire part mesh, destroying and recreating all normals in the process.

    Select one of the following modes:

    • Faceted. Rebuilds normals with hard edges between the polygons. Set the Angle to choose how sharp of an edge to maintain.
    • Smooth. Rebuilds normals with a blended joint between polygons, yielding a softer surface description.
    Rebuild Normals destroys texture coordinates, removing any custom texture mapping that may have been imported. This mapping is visible if you select UV mode in the Texture section of the Appearance tab.
  • Repair Normals. Tries to repair existing normals without modifying the original vertices.

    The Faceted and Smooth modes do not have any affect when you select Repair Normals. The result is always smooth.

    Texture coordinates are not affected.

  • Select Part to Split

    Lets you extract individual surfaces from the part for greater flexibility with appearance assignment or animation.

Advanced    
  Corner Radius Adds a visual fillet or radius to parts with hard edges for visualization purposes. The edge produces a more realistic highlight without requiring a modeled radius.
  Symmetry Mirrors the selected object across the specified axis. This is useful for symmetric objects because you can import half the object (half the number of triangles) and instance their symmetric data.
  Part/Normals Control (Only available if a part is selected.)

Options in this section let you edit and rebuild the normal vectors on the selected part.

This process often solves flipped normals and badly formed normals that are common in Sketchup files and lesser quality data.
  • Rebuild Normals. Rebuilds and optimizes the entire part mesh, destroying and recreating all normals in the process.

    Select one of the following modes:

    • Faceted. Rebuilds normals with hard edges between the polygons. Set the Angle to choose how sharp of an edge to maintain.
    • Smooth. Rebuilds normals with a blended joint between polygons, yielding a softer surface description.
    Rebuild Normals destroys texture coordinates, removing any custom texture mapping that may have been imported. This mapping is visible if you select UV mode in the Texture section of the Appearance tab.
  • Repair Normals. Tries to repair existing normals without modifying the original vertices.

    The Faceted and Smooth modes do not have any affect when you select Repair Normals. The result is always smooth.

    Texture coordinates are not affected.

  • Select Part to Split

    Lets you extract individual surfaces from the part for greater flexibility with appearance assignment or animation.

  Vehicle Setup (Root or part selected.)
These parameters help you make an imported vehicle driveable:
  • Vehicle Facing. Select the direction (an axis) that the front of the vehicle is facing from the list.
  • Create Wheels from Selected Parts. After selecting all the rotating parts in the wheels of the vehicle, click this for the wheels to spin and rotate when driving.
    Calipers do not rotate; do not select them.
  • Create Calipers from Selected Parts. After selecting all the parts in the brake calipers of the vehicle, click this for the calipers to turn with the wheels as you turn them.
  Preview Options
These settings only take effect when the Viewport mode is set to Preview and a model is selected.

The following options are available in both SOLIDWORKS Visualize Professional and SOLIDWORKS Visualize Standard:

  • Enable Floor Shadows. Shows/hides floor shadows that are generated in realtime from the HDR environment image. You can control the intensity of the shadows with Shadow Intensity in the Scenes tab of the Palette.
  • Show Wireframe. Shows/hides the tessellated polygons in the selected part or model. Wireframe is a shading method in which a grid of lines represents the basic contours of the underlying model. This mode helps you see faces and surfaces that are hidden by overlying geometry.

The following options are available only in SOLIDWORKS Visualize Professional:

  • Reflect Other Models. The selected model reflects other models in the scene, with some impact to performance.
  • Reflect in Other Models. The selected model is reflected in all other models in the scene. This option complements the Reflect Other Models option.
  • Visibility. Controls the directional culling (selective removal from rendering) of one side (front or back) of the selected part mesh.
    How culling is performed depends on how the normals are aligned in the part.
    • All. Culls nothing.
    • Clockwise. Usually culls the backside of the mesh.
    • Counter Clockwise. Usually culls the front side of the mesh.
  Follow (Model selected.)

Causes the camera to follow the model you select in the menu.
  Symmetry Mirrors the selected object across the specified axis. This is useful for symmetric objects because you can import half the object (half the number of triangles) and instance their symmetric data.

Available only in SOLIDWORKS Visualize Professional

Baked Lighting

(Root or part selected.)

While in Preview render mode, you can still see most objects with high quality lighting baked in.

To use baked lighting:

  1. Click Selection Tool > Part .
  2. Select the parts to be realistically lit.
  3. Click Vertex or Texture lighting to bake raytraced lighting into the selected parts:
    • Enable Baked Lighting. Shows/hides baked lighting without removing it from the selected parts.
    • Vertex. Calculates ambient occlusion and applies the results to each vertex in the selected parts. This technique works well for high-polygon models. Options:
      • Accurate. Uses the color, intensity, and direction of light from the HDR environment image for accurate results.
      • Approximate. Calculates baked lighting based on the occlusion of other parts and objects in the scene.
    • Texture. Calculates ambient occlusion and applies the results to a texture, which is then mapped onto the selected parts. This technique works for simple geometry only. Options:
      • Normal/High. Normal generates a baked texture of 256x256 pixel resolution. High generates a baked texture of 1024x1024.
      • Accurate/Approximate. Accurate uses a more accurate but slower algorithm. Approximate uses a faster but less accurate algorithm.
    • Approximate Shadow Intensity. Controls the intensity of generated shadows if you selected Approximate.
    • Remove Baked Lighting. Removes baked lighting from selected parts.
Tessellation

(Available only when you select a part in a model that was imported from geometry that needs tessellation.)

Lets you re-tessellate the selected part.

Select the part to re-tessellate, set the tessellation value, and click Re-Tessellate.

If you select a part that was in a model imported from pre- tessellated geometry, such as .obj, Tessellation is not available.

To re-tessellate a part when the original model (prior to import) is no longer in the same relative location to the SOLIDWORKS Visualize project file, use the Original Source option to relocate and reimport the model.

Any NURBS based original CAD files can be re-tessellated. Polygonal CAD files cannot be re-tessellated. File extensions that support tessellation:
.sat .CATPart .par
.sab .iam .asm
.asat .x_t .psm
.asab .xmt_txt .stp
.model .x_b .step
.exp .xmt_bin .wire
.session .prt .iges or .igs