Can I also use dynamic 3D models?

What are dynamic models?

K3 provides several frequently used dynamic models right out of the box. These are 3D models that interactively adapt to the user’s inputs, for example:

• a tabletop’s width and length,
• a front door’s width and height,
• a wedding ring’s diameter and number of stones.

To use them:

• Open your configurator’s editor.
• Click
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  in the sidebar.
• Click
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  .
• In the dialog that appears, select one of the models and click the corresponding “+” icon.
• In the dialog that appears, set the default values for the model’s parameters. Each dynamic model has different parameters. These default values are usually overwritten later.

This adds the model to your model collection. You can now use it in Regeln, just as explained above for static models.

You can certainly add the same dynamic model multiple times, so you can name the model differently. For example, you could have a red and a blue dimension chain.

In addition, you can modify other properties of the dynamic model, such as the length of a dimension chain. To do this, you usually click on

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behind the selected model. A dialog box opens where you can enter the position and other details. If the model accepts additional parameters, these are also listed here. The parameters usually also accept Berechnungen, which makes the models truly interactive and dynamic. For an example, see hier.

For dynamic models that actually generate geometry—Box, Extrusion, CSG, and Part—you’ll also find the Casts Shadows and Is Shaded checkboxes in this dialog, just as with an uploaded Modell. For models where shadows don’t make sense—such as light sources or dimension chains—the checkboxes are not available.

What dynamic models does K3 support?

Box

The “Box” is simply a rectangular prism whose size can be changed.

You could also achieve this behavior simply by using a static model of a rectangular prism. In contrast, the box has these advantages:

• You can round off the edges.
• The texture can remain constant: For example, if you want to display a panel with a wood grain and change its length, the grain texture will be stretched during normal scaling. That looks unrealistic. If you change the “length” of the box instead, the texture remains in its original state.

Dimension Chain

For dimensioning, we have a eigenen Artikel.

Extrusion

Here you can define a path in 2D—including by performing calculations—and then "extrude" this path, i.e., use it as a base from which a solid is constructed.

This is useful for profiles of all kinds as well as for complex shapes.

The path is defined by a list of points that can be connected as follows:

• move: no connection
• line: a straight line
• arc: a circular arc that connects seamlessly to the previous line and passes through the target point.
• spline: When multiple points are connected in sequence in this way, a cubic spline—that is, a curved connection—is created.

For extrusion, you can either simply specify a length or a list of three-dimensional points. These then define a path along which the extrusion takes place.

CSG

The CSG model is used to cut a part out of a model (Constructive Solid Geometry).

To do this, two groups of models are selected:

• The "base models" are used for cutting
• The "models" are used as cutout shapes

tip

Model selection in these two cases works as follows:

• Only models that have a key are displayed.
• All models with this key that are actually rendered in the scene according to the rules, and only those, are used.

Finally, you can specify an operation:

• sub: Almost always used; this is the subtraction described above. _ add: Adds the two models together.
• intersect: Displays the intersection of both models.

Part

Here, you can select one or more (static!) models. Their internal structure, consisting of nested submodels, is then displayed. You can select multiple of these submodels, and only those will be displayed.

This way, you can package several of your models into a GLB file and then select them using this model and view them individually.

Background Image

This model displays a photo as the background of the 3D scene. A typical scenario: The customer uploads a photo of their house and aligns the product with it to see how it would look in their home.

In the model’s dialog box, you can set the following:

• Image Feature (Customer’s Photo): the image feature through which the customer uploads their photo.
• Static Background Image: a fixed background image. It is used as long as no image feature is specified or the customer has not yet uploaded anything.
• Hide Background Models: If this condition is true, only the actual product is displayed while the photo is being shown. The scene’s backdrop—base plate, drop shadow, surroundings—is hidden, so that the product stands out clearly against the photo.

The customer then sees brief instructions in the image property: upload a photo, rotate the product with the mouse or finger, zoom and move it, and finally download a screenshot of the view. You can customize and translate all of this text using Systemmeldungen. The alignment is saved with the configuration.

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The background image is not available in the augmented reality view—there, the customer’s actual surroundings appear behind the product anyway.

Dynamic Lighting Models

In addition to physical objects, various light sources can now also be integrated into the scene as dynamic models. These enable realistic lighting scenarios directly in the configurator, including shadows and ambient light.

Supported Light Sources

Model Type	Description
Point Light	Emits light evenly in all directions from a single point. Supports shadow casting.
Spotlight	Directs light in a cone shape toward a target. The target position is freely adjustable.
Directional Light	Simulates parallel light, such as sunlight. The light source itself is not visible.
Ambient	Uses HDRI ambient maps to illuminate the entire scene.
Sky	Generates a procedural sky with adjustable sun position and atmosphere.

Properties and Control

All light sources support configurable properties such as color, intensity, shadow casting, and, where applicable, target position. The values can be controlled via numerical expressions or anchors.

A specific editing tool is available for each light source, which is activated in model editing mode. Visual aids (e.g., light cones, target points, directional arrows) are displayed to facilitate alignment.

HDRI Environments

For ambient lights, you can upload your own HDR or EXR image. This is used as a light source and, optionally, as a background.

• Supported formats: .hdr, .exr
• Displayed as a preview directly in the upload field
• Background blur is configurable

Notes on Use

• The new light sources are not automatically visible in augmented reality views.
• Casting shadows increases graphical complexity and may affect performance.
• The light models can be linked to rules (e.g., visible only under certain configurations).