photoview 360 tutorial 2011

Introduction to Solid Modeling Using SolidWorks 2011 PhotoView 360 Tutorial

PhotoView 360 is an add-in package that allows for photorealistic rendering of solid models in the

SolidWorks software environment. It allows the user to add photorealistic materials, finishes, and labels

to the models, and to place the models in a variety of stock or custom

environments. While some of this (materials, labels, etc.) can be

accomplished using only the DisplayManager, true photorealistic rendering

capabilities require the PhotoView360 add-in. The photorealistic renderings

can be used to provide virtual images of finished product designs before the

products have ever been manufactured. For example, a photorealistic

rendering of the door assembly model (from Chapter 6 of the textbook) can

be seen in Figure 1.

The PhotoView 360 add-in can be used to render either part or assembly

models. In this tutorial, the rendering shown in Figure 1 will be creating using both techniques.

Part 1: Photorealistic Rendering of a Part Open the solid model of the Hatch part, created in Chapter 6 of the text (shown in Figure 2). From the

SolidWorks main menu, select Tools: Add-Ins, and enable the PhotoView 360 add-in, as shown in

Figure 3. Click OK.

The main menu will now have a PhotoView 360 entry, as shown in Figure 4. In the

textbook tutorials, the Task Pane was disabled. However, when working with

PhotoView 360, the Task Pane can be quite useful.

Enable the Task Pane from the View menu, as shown in Figure 5.

The Task Pane will now appear on the right hand side of the screen.

The first step in the rendering will be to apply a material property to the appearance

of the hatch part.

Figure 1

Figure 2 Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5


From the PhotoView 360 menu, select Edit Appearance, as shown in Figure 6. In the Task Pane,

expand the entry for Appearances by clicking the plus sign, as shown in Figure 7.

Expand the Organic entry, and then the Wood entry. Click on Satinwood, as shown in Figure 8; the

various types of Satinwood will be previewed in the Task Pane. Double-click on the polished

satinwood entry, as shown in Figure 9.

Click the check mark in the PropertyManager on the left side of the screen to apply the material, as

shown in Figure 10.

Photorealistic rendering can take significant computing time and resources; however, our rendering can

be previewed in an interactive lower-quality graphics window prior to final rendering. To do this, select

Preview Window from the PhotoView 360 menu, as shown in Figure 11. Click OK in the message

window that appears, as shown in Figure 12.

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 1 Figure 2

Figure 3


The preview window will appear, as shown in

Figure 13.

If desired, we can place the rendered model into a

stock scene. To do this, select Edit Scene from the

PhotoView 360 menu, as shown in Figure 14. In the

Task Pane, click on the Basic Scenes entry under Scenes, as shown in Figure 15. Scroll through the

entries, and click on Office Space (Figure 16).

Note the change in the preview window. Click the check mark in the PropertyManager to apply the

scene.

Decals can now be added to the part. A standard library of decals is available; in addition, custom

graphics files can be created and used as decals as well.

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

Figure 16


Begin by rotating the model into the approximate position shown in Figure

17. The decals will be applied to this large flat surface.

Select Edit Decal from the PhotoView 360 menu (Figure 18). Scroll down to

the Warning decal from the library, shown in Figure 19, and click. In the

Decals PropertyManager, click on the Mapping tab (Figure 20).

Select the large flat face as the surface to which the decal

will be applied (Figure 21).

The decal will be previewed in the preview window; if it

appears upside-down, click the Mirror Vertically entry in

the Size/Orientation box of the PropertyManager to

change it (Figure 22).

In the modeling area, use the Resize handle (Figure 23) and Move handle (Figure

24) to size/locate the decal area as shown in Figure 25.

The decal will be previewed as in Figure 26.

Figure 17

Figure 18

Figure 19 Figure 20

Figure 21

Figure 22

Figure 23

Figure 24

Figure 25


Click the check mark in the PropertyManager to apply the

decal.

Custom decals can be created as well. Using a graphics program such as Microsoft Paint, create a label

such as the one in Figure 27 (in terms of scale, the label shown is 750x250 pixels, but it could also be

resized in PhotoView 360 later). Save it as a

bitmap (*.bmp file) in a convenient location.

To apply this custom decal to the model,

select Edit Decal again from the PhotoView

360 menu. In the Decals PropertyManager,

click the Browse button (Figure 28), and

browse to the file location for your custom

label. Double-click your custom filename,

and it will appear in the PropertyManager

(Figure 29).

As with the previous label, click the Mapping tab, select the large

flat surface, and mirror/move/resize your custom label until it

appears as shown in the preview window in Figure 30.

Figure 26

Figure 27

Figure 28

Figure 29

Figure 30


To improve the appearance, we can modify the appearance of the label to make

the white label background transparent, allowing the wood surface to show

through. This can be accomplished by using a mask. Click on the Image tab in

the PropertyManager, and click on Selective color mask in the Mask Image

options, as shown in Figure 31. Select the Pick Color tool (Figure 32). Using the

Pick Color tool, click on the white background area in the Decal Preview, as in

Figure 33; this will select the color white to be “masked out” as transparent in

the final rendering. Click the check mark to close the PropertyManager.

The preview window will appear as in Figure 34. Save the

part file, which will now include the changes to the

appearance.

A final high-quality photorendering can be produced for use

in other documents, or for printing. To produce the final

high-quality rendering, select Final Render from the

PhotoView 360 menu, as shown in Figure 35.

The high-quality image will be rendered

in the Final Render window, as shown in Figure 36. The file can be saved as an image

file, using the Save Image button in the upper-right corner (Figure 37).

Close the Final Render window, the preview window, and the part file. This modified file will be used in

the next tutorial as part of a photorendering of the door assembly.

Figure 31

Figure 32 Figure 33

Figure 34

Figure 35

Figure 36

Figure 37


Part 2: Photorealistic Rendering of an Assembly Assemblies can be photorendered in two ways. In one technique, photorenderings of each of the part

files can be created (as in the previous tutorial); the resulting

assembly file can be photorendered using these part file

appearance properties. Alternatively, the appearance properties

for the photorendering can be added directly to the assembly. In

this tutorial, we will use each of these methods. We will create a

photorendering of the door assembly created in Chapter 6 of the

text, as shown in Figure 38. We will use the appearance and

decals added in the previous tutorial for the hatch component, but

will add the appearance information for the hinges and screws

directly to the assembly.

Begin by opening the Door.sldasm assembly file created in

Chapter 6, as shown in Figure 39. Open a preview window from

the PhotoView 360 menu. Notice that the appearance properties of the

hatch component (wood texture and decals) have propagated to the

assembly. Zoom in on a hinge in the assembly window. Note that the

preview window will be updated to this new zoom level.

We will now add a brass appearance to the hinges. Expand the Metals

entry, and click on Brass, as shown in Figure 40. Appearances can be

dragged from the list directly onto parts in the assembly window as

follows: Click and hold on the polished brass entry in the Task Pane, as

shown in Figure 41. With the mouse button still held, drag the

appearance onto one of the hinges in the assembly window (not the

preview window), as in Figure 42.

In the context toolbar that appears, select the part option, as shown

in Figure 43. This will apply the appearance to all instances of the

Hinge part, and the preview window will be updated.

Figure 38

Figure 39

Figure 40 Figure 41 Figure 42

Figure 43


The screws can be photorendered using this technique; however, we will

demonstrate an alternative technique in this tutorial. In the

FeatureManager, select all instances of the screw component (using the

CTRL key to allow for multiple selections), as shown in Figure 44. Select

Edit Appearance from the PhotoView 360 menu. The eight instances of the

screw component should be listed in the PropertyManager, as shown in

Figure 45.

In the Task Pane, select Brass from the list of metals, and click on the sandblasted brass material. The

screws will be rendered, and the preview window will update. To see this in detail, you may zoom in on

the hinge in the assembly window; the preview window

will be updated accordingly, and the rendering of screws

can be seen in detail, as shown in Figure 46.

Zoom out to the previous level. Add a Scene if desired, and

zoom/pan in the assembly window until the image appears

as desired in the preview window (shown in Figure 47, with

the Courtyard Background from the Presentation Scenes

selected). Save the assembly, if desired. A final rendering

could now be produced and saved, using the same

procedure as in the previous tutorial.

Figure 44

Figure 45

Figure 46

Figure 47

photoview 360 tutorial 2011

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