I have several thousand different variations to our solar mounting structures we manufacture. I am updating our website to show an image of exactly what you are getting when you buy it. These are not color changes, they are all structural size changes (6", 8", 10" pole; different number of panels; different types of panels; standard, heavy duty, extra heavy duty). One of my guys has done an awesome job of figuring out dynamic components so he can rapidly modify the original file and then do a “save-as” to generate the new files (but it is still terribly tedious). Then he is uploading each variation to the 3D warehouse so we can link to the 3D model from the website and show dimensions, etc using the “iframe-embed” code. Now I am trying to figure out what to do for the static images (front view; back view) for the website. We made scenes for each view in the original file, so all the files have the same scenes. I started out just exporting a .jpg but after some digging I realized a rendered file would look a lot better… now what is the best workflow and which rendering program (there are LOTS of them!) should I use to get this done, or is it even practical! Not scared to purchase some software (something relatively inexpensive anyway), but not sure which to purchase!
I also have Onshape and considered doing it from there but I wanted a pretty simple and lightweight file so I don’t crash my customers graphics cards trying to view the 3d model… plus Sketchup is always awesome, and the 3D warehouse has the iframe embed option built in.
www.mtsolar.us is our old site, the new site is nearly done but still in development. Some of the models are already uploaded to the 3D warehouse under MTSolar
I have looked at SketchFab and some other similar platforms, I am trying to dive into the pricing model on shapediver now… it looks like it is some variation of a “pay per view” model and I am concerned the cost would get a bit high going that route with several thousand models and quite a bit of web traffic… once I have the models done in Sketchup I don’t have to pay any on-going fees or subscriptions for the web portion. I will keep looking at that option though, the cost might be worth the rendering pain if it is too hard to get the renders done.
I hear you. I like your concept and am curious to see what other ideas the Community has to offer as it sounds like either A. a lot of up front work on your end…or B. a high cost to host via another platform/system.
A few more thoughts: To get the variations to show up properly I am going to have to model each config separately whether I upload to other software or use Skechup native, so thought I might as well use Sketchup so my customers could use it for a sales tool to the end user anyway… (We sell to the installer/contractor not the homeowner as a general rule) Even if I use SketchFab or shapediver I am going to need to have the model to upload… the 3D model view they offer is AWESOME but I am not sure my application warrants that awesome of a model… I would like my still shots to have a bit more rendering than just the native Sketchup output though, so hence the question!
There is still the option to manage your 3DWarehouse page as a ‘featured catalog’, with options to upload in bulk (drag and drop the skp files and a spreadsheet with info) @psaal or @TheGuz?
