FURNITURE VISUALISATIONS – OPTIMUM RENDERING

With WOODEXPERT you can create a furniture model with complete technical documentation and pricing, preparation of processing for NC machines and packing. The full identification is supplemented by visualisation that is most commonly used for marketing purposes. A good visualisation is the best to show all the characteristics of a piece of furniture, such as the texture, shape, colour or proportions, and on such basis the client makes a decision to purchase the product.

Furniture designers and design engineers often withdraw from supplementing the documentation with furniture visualisation. Why? The reason for this is time: texture import and adjustment, scene, lighting and camera settings, long rendering and iteration computing time.

WOODEXPERT is a program dedicated to professional design of furniture and preparation of its production; however, it is not used to create catalogue visualisation of furniture. Use SOLIDWORKS Visualize as an aid to create realistic and fast rendering. I decided to check if the real high quality is achievable in the short term using an intuitive work environment? Let’s see!

We have started working on visualisation by giving WOODEXPERT a separate look on parts of the model. The creation of such layers will make it possible to distinguish between the materials in the process of their assignment in Visualize.

I save the project and launch SOLIDWORKS Visualize. I do not need to change file extensions or versions. Upon opening I see my model right away and, what is important, the program shows an actual preview, so that the effect of final rendering is already seen from the model.

Setting the shot is very simple: simply select a frame with the mouse and scroll; you do not have to set cameras. All necessary parameters are located on the right side in split tabs. Let’s begin with assigning materials.

The “Appearances” tab contains materials. I select a type and shade and drag directly onto a previously created layer of the model: in this case it is a top.

In the “Views” tab I can start adjusting the texture parameters. Texture mapping modes allow for the selection of wood graining direction. For example, planar and perspective modes are available.

The “General” tab allows you to set the light refractive index on the model: the furniture does not look flat and the texture is even more highlighted.

In the next “Texture” tab you can set the colour intensity of the furniture as well as the texture rotation at any angle.

After setting the texture on the model, you can set the background, lighting and final furniture shot.

The “File libraries” tab contains, among others, ready-to-use lighting scenes that you have to simply drag onto the model window. More scenes can be downloaded from the cloud.

After selecting the scene, you can edit the furniture settings in the perspective. By moving the slider, you can adjust the angle as best as possible.

The last step includes the rendering settings. Visualize allows you to set parameters yourself or use dedicated profiles. I will use the “High resolution” profile.

When selecting settings, I have constant control of all the parameters: resolution, rendering quality and size of the final file.

Here’s the visualisation I have received after approx. 5-minute rendering:

What are my observations when working in SOLIDWORKS Visualize?

– intuitive interface

– smooth operation during model positioning

– possibility of precise determination of texture parameters

– ready-to-use lighting environments

– actual preview during the process of assigning materials to the model

– wide range of extensions of imported files

– fast and smooth rendering

Visualize is a great solution for people who want to prepare attractive furniture visualisations, e.g. for corporate catalogues.

Ewa Gaczorek, WOODEXPERT specialist