Overview Of Rendering In Solidworks

WHAT IS RENDERING?

Rendering or image synthesis is the automatic process of generating a photorealistic or non-photorealistic image from a 2D or 3D model using a computer program. The resulting image is referred to as the render. Multiple models can be defined in a scene file containing objects in a strictly defined environment. The scene file contains geometry, viewpoint, texture, lighting, and shading information describing the virtual scene. The data contained in the scene file is then passed to a rendering program for processing as digital images or raster graphics image files. The term "rendering" is analogous to the concept of an artist's impression of a scene. The term "rendering" is also used to describe the process of calculating effects in a video editing program to produce the final video output.

WHAT ARE  THE MAJOR CATEGORIES IN RENDERING?

    The two major categories of rendering: pre-rendering and real-time rendering. The striking difference between the two lies in the speed at which the computation and finalization of images take place.

• Real-Time Rendering: The prominent rendering technique used in interactive graphics and gaming where images must be created at a rapid pace. Because user interaction is high in such environments, real-time image creation is required. Dedicated graphics hardware and pre-compiling of the available information has improved the performance of real-time rendering.
• Pre-Rendering: This rendering technique is used in environments where speed is not a concern and the image calculations are performed using multi-core central processing units rather than dedicated graphics hardware. This rendering technique is mostly used in animation and visual effects, where photorealism needs to be at the highest standard possible.
  

WHAT ARE SOFTWARE RENDERING AND GPU RENDERING UNDER PRE-RENDERING?

"Software rendering" depends on the CPU to generate the screen elements. The problem is that the CPU is busy doing other "stuff" at the same time, which could slow down screen painting. So, in general, the software rendering will take a longer time than the GPU-based rendering.

"GPU rendering" hands-off much of the screen drawing to the Graphics card. In theory, this can be better/faster if you have a high-power graphics card for a few reasons:

• The GPU isn't as busy as the CPU, which is doing "everything" else
• GPU is optimized for graphics, CPU isn't (CPU has to do more calculations)
• many GPUs are designed to process graphics commands in parallel, CPU single threads them
• GPU has dedicated memory it does not have to share with other CPU-based apps
  

WHAT ARE THE Add-Ins / SOFTWARE USED TO PERFORM RENDERING IN SOLIDWORKS?

The rendering of a CAD model in Solidworks can be done by using the following software & the first two software are widely used for rendering.

• Photoview 360
• Solidworks Visualize.
• Onshape
• Keyshot
• Blender

PHOTO VIEW 360 :

PhotoView 360 is a SOLIDWORKS add-in that produces photo-realistic renderings of SOLIDWORKS models. The rendered image incorporates the appearances, lighting, scene, and decals included with the model. PhotoView 360 is available with SOLIDWORKS Professional or SOLIDWORKS Premium.

The above image is an example of the photorealistic render produced using the Photoview 360 Add-ins in Solidworks

SOLIDWORKS VISUALIZE :

SOLIDWORKS VISUALIZE allows you to leverage your 3D CAD data to create photo-quality content in the fastest and easiest way you can–from images to animations, interactive web content, and immersive Virtual Reality. Bring your products to life. SOLIDWORKS VISUALIZE is the “camera” for your CAD data!

The above image is an example of the photorealistic render produced using Solidworks Visualize.

THE WORKFLOW OF RENDERING USING PHOTOVIEW 360 :

• With a model open, click Tools > Add-In and add in PhotoView 360.
• Start a preview in the graphics area or open the Preview window to see how changes you make to the model affect the rendering.
• Edit appearances, the scene, and decals.      
• Edit lights.

• By default, lighting is off in PhotoView. With lights off, you can use the realistic lighting provided by scenes, which is usually sufficient for rendering. You typically need additional lighting in PhotoView to illuminate occluded spaces in the model.
• Edit PhotoView Options.
• When you are ready, perform a final render either now (PhotoView > Final Render) or later (PhotoView > Schedule Render).
• Make detailed adjustments in the Final Render Window.
  

THE WORKFLOW OF RENDERING USING SOLIDWORKS VISUALIZE :

• File> click New to open the new project.
  

• With a new project open, click File>  Import >Browse and upload the cad model.

• Have a preview in the Viewport or press ‘F’ to fit the model inside the Viewport to see the changes you make to the model doing the rendering.
• Edit Model, Appearances, Scene, Decals, and Cameras.
  

• Edit lights.

By default, lighting is based on the environment you choose in Solidworks Visualize. With lights off, you can use the realistic lighting provided by scenes, which is usually sufficient for rendering. You typically need additional lighting in Solidworks Visualize to illuminate occluded spaces in the model.

• Edit Camera.

By default, The Camera which is used in the 3D modeling can be imported and used in the Solidworks Visualize and new cameras can also be added using the add camera option.

• After making all the basic rendering prerequisites perform a final render using the render icon in the view palette. Where you can adjust the number of passes and resolution of render and final render prerequisites.