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16-Pearl
February 10, 2015
Question

Texture

  • February 10, 2015
  • 15 replies
  • 5129 views
Renderers...

What's the diff between Bump, Color Texture and Decal ? - In a nutshell
please.

They all add images to surfaces.

Bump did not render. That was the only difference I could see.

Thanks,

WayneF
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15 replies

1-Visitor
February 10, 2015
i think layer precedent is:

Color is base layer
Bump is send
Decal is last

Decals can have an alpha channel that is inferred as "transparent" so you
can put Logos and what not on parts.

Bump maps are typically black and white/speckled images. I think the
darker the color, the deeper/taller the bump will be after rendering.
Inside the bump settings you can set "bump hgt" from -100 to 0 to 100. I
think it defaults to 100, i find that setting this around 10 or -10 looks
best after rendering.

I rarely use "color" maps are typically used to emulate things that are not
homogeneous in color, like brushed steel or galvanized steel, etc..etc..


Pete

On Tue, Feb 10, 2015 at 11:14 AM, wayne falco <->
wrote:

> Renderers...
>
> What's the diff between Bump, Color Texture and Decal ? - In a nutshell
> please.
>
> They all add images to surfaces.
>
> Bump did not render. That was the only difference I could see.
>
> Thanks,
>
> WayneF
>
wfalco16-PearlAuthor
16-Pearl
February 10, 2015
Ah...nice Peter. So - are you saying you use only textures on your
models - which to me makes a lot of sense. Are you referring to standard
color or "color texture"?
I am seeing that a part of the battle with rendering will be to have the
models be prepped with texture - correct?


1-Visitor
February 10, 2015
Wayne,

I have used all maps: texture, color and decal. In the previous message, i
was referring to color maps as color texture....A color texture, for
example could be used to emulate:

*Wood grain
*brushed steel
*Galvanize metals
*etc
*etc

Texture maps are only really utilized after committing to a render
operation. I think the models with textures are represented in the
graphics window with a "cloudy appearance" in normal Pro/E operations.
Once you render, the rendering engine will attempt to put "bumps" on the
part based on the speckle pattern.

The trickier settings i find are:
*playing with the lighting
*the reflective/shine properties of the color

I find rendering takes a lot of "denial and error"

Pete


On Tue, Feb 10, 2015 at 12:17 PM, wayne falco <->
wrote:

> Ah...nice Peter. So - are you saying you use only textures on your models
> - which to me makes a lot of sense. Are you referring to standard color or
> "color texture"?
>
> I am seeing that a part of the battle with rendering will be to have the
> models be prepped with texture - correct?
>
>
>
>
>
wfalco16-PearlAuthor
16-Pearl
February 11, 2015
Peter,
Commitment is a good choice of words. Management would wonder why it
just does not happen when one moves and clicks the mouse a few times.
I agree with the lighting difficulties and thank you for your comment
"rendering takes a lot of denial and error". Absolutely true. It's a
finesse thing. Although - having working in the lighting industry - I
bet there are some lighting engineers that can make a science out of it.
I've seen the Excel formulas.
Thanks!
Wayne


1-Visitor
February 11, 2015
Allegedly 3rd party software like Keyshot, or others can take some of the
pain out or rendering.

I find that Pro/E's built-in rendering seems a little weak.

Pete

1-Visitor
February 11, 2015
On that note, I wish PTC would put some extra effort and actually shipping
the software with a nice set of texture maps, appearance.dmt palletes,
material properties, etc....this type of stuff seems like easy stuff to
enhance the software package that does not require a software engineer to
create. It could almost be intern work.

Pete

wfalco16-PearlAuthor
16-Pearl
February 11, 2015
I am using Photolux. Eh....better than the standard offering - but not
by leaps and bounds.
I have tried Keyshot. Floored by the first rendering.
I actually like the idea of using a neutral rendering tool.


wfalco16-PearlAuthor
16-Pearl
February 11, 2015
Yes....it sorely needs more fun stuff for the render-er.
Even in Photolux - the scenes require doctoring before a decent
rendering can occur.
I am thinking once I have some setting I like I can capitalize by saving
the scenes for re-use.
That gives me a bit of an optimistic feeling?!?!


1-Visitor
February 11, 2015
A few years ago I downloaded a rendering program called, BLENDER. This is a free, open source rendering program that was originally released for LINUX, but has since been compiled to run under Windoze. The program can create animations and renderings and has generally received good marks for its rendering engine. Blender can read-in a large variety of file types including .obj files, which Pro/E can export directly.

I had limited success reading in Pro/E files and rendering them, so I gave up early on. I’m quite sure it’s just because I didn’t take the time to try and learn the software and was attempting to be a brute and slam it through. I haven’t tried since then and perhaps it can do a better job now. Don’t know. It may be worth a try. It’s free.

wfalco16-PearlAuthor
16-Pearl
February 11, 2015
Bob,
Yes, Blender is my next choice - as you say it is free. It does rank up
there.
Thanks!
Wayne