If you’re a 3D developer, you know all about the challenges of preparing CAD files for real-time applications. Having a seamless conversion and optimization process is what all 3D teams dream of. However, currently tedious and manual file optimization is a major setback for most 3D teams. Not only does manual optimization waste a significant amount of time, but it also consumes a lot of PC resources to get large CAD files real-time ready.

To solve these challenges, we’re excited to announce Meshmatic – a powerful tool that converts and optimizes CAD files in a matter of minutes! Read on to find out how. 

Automated CAD optimization with Meshmatic

While you may be used to spending countless hours manually optimizing your file, Meshmatic prepares your 3D model for real-time in just a few minutes. After you upload your file, Meshmatic efficiently tackles bottlenecks in your project. Let’s take a deep dive into what Meshmatic’s powerful tools do:

Outliner clean up

Complex CAD files can come with extensive outliners which are expensive for the processor. Meshmatic cleans up extra parents, extra nodes and empty nodes to lighten your file and make it more efficient for real-time.

Correcting non-manifold errors

Non-manifold geometry can complicate the use of some 3D tools and operations – like rendering, visualizing and 3D printing. While these faces are invisible to the user and visualization, they’re expensive to the graphic card and processor. Meshmatic automates deleting non-manifold geometry.

Generating new normals

Normals are needed to calculate reflections and for backface culling, processes that are both necessary for real-time visualization. Meshmatic corrects any errors in your normals to make sure your visualization project runs smoothly.

LOD generator

Reducing the level of detail (LOD) in your model is a common practice for 3D developers. Meshmatic generates 5 different versions of every mesh – with varying levels of details – to give you the option to select the resolution that is best suited for your project.  Meshmatic’s LOD generator is also compatible with Unity’s LOD importer.

Instantiate duplicate meshes

This is the core of Meshmatic’s powerful engine, and what makes the biggest impact in optimizing your project. Meshmatic uses sophisticated algorithms to find identical parts in your CAD file – based on volume, shape, and vertex count – and creates instances of them. Once instantiated, you’re left with a single copy of all repeated asset, saving a great amount of space in your project and speeding up your visualization immensely.

With so many powerful algorithms working hard to optimize your CAD file, you may be wondering just how long it takes for Meshmatic to optimize your file. The good news is that for an average CAD file size of 15GB, Meshmatic’s automatic optimization takes only a few minutes to run, saving you valuable time in your pipeline.

Input and output formats

Meshmatic can import and optimize files from various 3D file formats, including:

  • FBX
  • OBJ
  • CATIA
  • Sketchup
  • and most STEP files

STEP files from Blender, Autodesk Maya, and 3DS Max have been tested with Meshmatic and are compatible. Other STEP file formats are still under testing and will be fully supported in the near future.

Meshmatic can export files in the following formats:

  • FBX
  • 3DS
  • STL
  • Datasmith
  • OBJ

Real-time ready

Once optimization is complete you can easily download your optimized file.  Your file is now ready for real-time, and you can import it to your favorite design software and add textures, materials, animations, and really bring your project to life. By incorporating Meshmatic into your visualization, pipeline you and your 3D team can focus on what’s important: perfecting your visualization and delivering your project on time and on budget. 

Coming soon!

Meshmatic is now available, contact us to schedule a demo.