Geometry and Appearance

The geometry represents the visual appearance of the component. The coordinate system used in Simumatik is Z up, which means the X-Y plane represents the floor. We recommend building components considering this, so components that usually are placed on the floor, such conveyors or robots, are standing on the Z axis. For other components, as general equipment introduced inside cabinets, sensors or actuators, the recommendation is that they should be facing the X axis and standing on the Z axis. In addition, for components that are dynamic, the recommendation is that the origin matches their center of mass. For static components it is also valid to position them so they are positioned over the floor plane (Z=0).

It is important to consider that the complexity of the geometry will have a direct impact on the computer performance. Most of the computers won’t have issues to compute the server side but may struggle with the 3D rendering if no dedicated graphic card is available. The detail level must strike a balance between quality and usability.

Visuals

It is possible to use basic geometrical figures such as box, cylinder, sphere, etc or an asset (GLB file) to represent the visual geometry. One link can have more than one visual.

For components of class A, B or D, which do not require physics it is recommended to use several visuals and use their attributes to animate them (move, rotate, change color, etc…)

Material

In case of using basic geometries the color or texture of the visual can be changed with this element. Texture files should be PNG format. Try to avoid using complex textures that may have a negative impact on the performance.

User action

User action is a variable that allows detecting when a user has clicked on a visual. The variable will be true while the mouse is pressed and can be connected to a behavior to animate or change the behavior of the component.

GLB Model Simplification

Here are some recommendations that can be followed to create optimized GLB assets using Blender:

• Simplify the model to only include the necessary parts (remove screws, nuts etc.).
• Make sure that there is only one node in the .glb file. Several nodes can be combined by selecting several nodes and pressing CTRL + J.
• Apply the decimate modifier in Blender to reduce triangle count.
• Use the gltfpack tool to further optimize the model.
• Open the model in an online glTF Viewer and take a look at the report to check its consistency.