A Practical Guide to CAD Data Preparation for Visualization
Converting engineering CAD models into meshes suitable for rendering, animation and real-time use.
Imogen Clarke
Where most projects go wrong
The usual mistakes:
- Importing full assemblies untouched
- Faceted curves in close-up renders
- Guessing units
- Losing track of CAD revisions
What good looks like instead
- Agree tessellation quality with the CAD team
- Remove hidden internal geometry
- Check scale and orientation on import
- Rebuild materials for rendering
- Keep a link back to the source CAD version
Why it matters
CAD data is built for manufacturing, not rendering, and raw imports are heavy, faceted and hard to texture.
The specs that matter
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Tessellation | CAD surfaces are converted into triangles at a chosen quality |
| Detail | internal parts are often unnecessary for visuals |
| Units | CAD models often arrive at unexpected scale |
| Materials | CAD materials rarely translate to rendering materials |
Knowing when to hand it over
Tip: Bring in help when engineering models must become marketing visuals.
Where this comes from
- Autodesk — Data exchange
- Khronos Group — glTF 2.0 Specification
The figures and practices above come from the sources listed.
Working on something like this?
We take on 3D Design & Development work for teams who want it done once, properly. Tell us what you are building and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right studio for it. Start a project.
Where to go next
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