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TodCast #7: Complex Animation Movements Made Easy!
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TodCast #8: Using Merge and Explode to Simulate Flex
Parts aren’t always designed to be rigid. The challenge is that when you design parts to flex, it can be difficult to show. In his latest “TodCast”, our 3DVIA Composer technical guru Tod Cruikshank offers a few handy tips and tricks for using Merge and Explode commands to animate the appearance of part flexibility.
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TodCast #9: Environment Maps, Tips and Tricks
I saw a question on the 3DVIA Composer user forum the other day about modifying environment maps. In Composer an environment map is used more as a reflection map rather than a full imaged based lighting map. Think of it as a virtual sphere that an image is mapped onto and the image is then reflected back in your materials. The reflection will vary depending on many of the attributes in the actual material chosen but by changing the map you can vary your reflections. Since modifying the maps may not be compleatly obvious , I figured that it would make a great idea for a TodCast. With that in mind, here are a few tips and tricks that might help to get just that reflection you are looking for. ~Tod
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100 Podcast / TodCast Episodes!!
Over the past few years, we have been showcasing some cool samples and passing along some interesting tips and tricks… and with the posting of TodCast #9, this marks our 100th 3DVIA Composer video in this series!!
Which one is your favorite?
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TodCast #10: Faking Geometry Deformations, Tips and Tricks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3TpM02kUV8
You can’t do deformations in 3DVIA Composer… or can you?
True you can’t physically deform objects other than scaling but you can get by with quite a bit by faking it.
Recently a customer wanted to simulate a variable belt drive power system in 3DVIA Composer. This episode will give you some tips and tricks to help you do just that. You may even pick up a few other animation techniques and tips while you’re at it.
Enjoy Faking Geometry Deformations
Tod
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TodCast #11:High Res Silhouette with Line Control
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TodCast #12:Nested Bom Basics
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TodCast #13:Basics of Scenarios
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TodCast #14:Quick Tips Technical Illustration- Ghosted Lines
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TodCast #15 Filters are Your Friends
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3DVIA Composer – V6R2013x Certification Exam
Recently, 3DVIA Composer team has released a new 
certification exam that has been updated to V6R2013x. This certification focuses on 3DVIA Composer and offers customers, partners, DS employees, and students the opportunity to achieve accreditation in this area. To be properly prepared it is recommended that test takers have at least 3-months of work experience using 3DVIA Composer. Prior to taking the certification exam it is also recommended that test takers complete 20 hours of Companion training that is offered through the following link; 3DVIA Composer Essentials Companion. This exam consists of approximately 50-70 questions that range in difficulty and all are multiple choice questions. The certification exam is delivered in a secure proctored testing environment at any Pearson VUE site. The length of the entire exam is 60 minutes in length however an additional 15-minutes is granted for those that don’t speak English as a native language. To achieve success on the 3DVIA Composer (V6R2013x) certification exam a minimum score of 70% is required. The topics on the exam are randomly assigned but can include questions in the following areas, including File Properties, Display, User Interface, Author Properties, Animation, Geometry, Transformation, Composer Player, and Terminology. It is important to note that the exam is currently only offered in English. usi
It should also be noted that the previous certification exam was especially difficult and did have very low pass rate. Using the feedback that was given the 3DVIA team improved the entire exam and formatted the questions to be much more concise. Additionally, throughout the whole test more emphasis was also placed on how 3DVIA is used in “everyday” practice and much less on specific functions often not used. If you are interested in taking this new certification exam please visit http://www.3ds.com/education to find out more information.
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TodCast #15 Filters are your Friends
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqrZkKXG9Yc
Filters are your friends for time saving searches and isolating the actors you need.
These filter tips and tricks should help make you more productive and life just a bit easier leaving more time to enjoy your real friends. Filters are terrible at conversation anyway.
Tod
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TodCast #16 Easy Flow Techniques
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_IoN-WSvMw
Previously I showed some flow techniques that relied on exploding geometry and animation techniques Recently a customer asked if there were simple ways to show flow, show Pressure Change and show Gas tanks filling up without having to rely on modifying the geometry even if it was all one piece or not even having geometry and, not using Key frame animation. Here are a couple of simple techniques that just might do the trick.
Enjoy,
Tod
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TodCast #17 Multiple language using Meta-properties and Intelligent Views
Today’s diverse workforce’s presents unique challenges when creating assembly and service procedures. Not everyone speaks or understands the native language. This challenge is also true for global sales and marketing content – how do you efficiently create compelling content in multiple languages? 3DVIA Composer’s powerful linking and intelligent views capabilities provide an easy solution. Enjoy!
Tod
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High quality illustrations without sacrificing 3D performance
Here is a short example of how you can take high performance 3D tessellated geometry, and use it to produce high quality 2D technical illustrations. And watch the ending for a nice surprise. 
Garth
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TodCast #18 Additional Language Options with Styles and Meta-Properties
After my last Podcast a user asked me if there was a easy way to just change the language in a whole document and publish to that language. Here are a few tips to make that easy.
Enjoy Additional Language Options with Styles and Meta-Properties
Tod/Goat
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Implementing 3D Models in PowerPoint
As part of this post for today, I will be reviewing the necessary steps for using 3DVIA Composer files within Microsoft PowerPoint 2010. This process can use a number of formats directly however for the purposes of this post I’ll focus on the most common .smg. Fundamentally by setting this up allows the presenter to interact with a 3D model in the midst of a presentation. Before I go through the steps to set this up I believe that it is important to mention a housekeeping measure for file management that could help in working with this setup. When linking the .pptx to the .smg file (or supported format), each program looks in a specific location to find the referencing file. To make it easier to find the referencing file and also when sending these kinds of presentations outside of your organization, it is my recommendation that the .smg file (or supported format) is saved in the same folder as the .pptx.
Before you can import a .smg file directly it is important to either have 3DVIA Composer installed or you will need to install the 3DVIA Composer Player. Installing either program should automatically initiate the RegisterAll.bat found in the following location; C:\Program Files\Dassault Systemes\3DVIAComposer\X.XX\Bin. This batch file registers the 3DVIA Composer Player ActiveX control within PowerPoint and allows users to import .smg files with relative ease. To begin importing content you will need to turn on the Developer tab within PowerPoint, this is done by selecting the “More Commands” pull-down from the Customize Quick Access Toolbar. After the PowerPoint Options dialog has opened select the “Customize Ribbon” option from the left-hand side of the dialog. Next by adding a checkmark to the Developer tab under the Customize Ribbon (Main Tabs) column will allow this tab to remain open by default. To wrap up this up simply select Ok and exit back into PowerPoint.
Next with the Developer Tab ready for use, simply select it and find the “More Controls” button found on the Controls pane. Right at the top of the More Controls dialog the 3DVIA Composer Player ActiveX option should be highlighted and available for use. After selecting OK the cursor will change, and the user will be allowed to select the size of the viewing window for this presentation. If it is important to play the inserted content at full screen, make sure the Presenter’s View is enabled in PowerPoint to make it easier to exit out of the full screen view.
The last piece is to connect the ActiveX window with the .smg file, this can be accomplished by selecting the outer boundary of the window and right-clicking. The right-click menu will give the “3DVIA Composer Player ActiveX Object” option and provide two additional functions; Edit and Properties. For the purposes of this post, I will focus on the setup and configuration of the Properties function for the 3DVIA Composer Player ActiveX Object. After selecting Properties option from the right-click menu the 3DVIA Composer Player ActiveX Properties dialog will open, simply select the ellipses button in the upper right corner and browse to the .smg file (or supported format) that you want to import. Before selecting OK be sure to select any other options on the General tab that you want to include such as Ground, Ground Shadow, Anti-aliasing on idle, or any of the other available settings. 
Also take note of the “Pack 3DVIA Composer document” checkbox, this function takes the referencing .smg file (or supported file) and packs it into the .pptx file removing the referencing file altogether. I should add that this also increases the size of the .pptx accordingly. Finally, before selecting Ok to insert the .smg, take a moment and review the Layout tab as it includes a number of options that control whether the toolbars are displayed for use during the presentation. Personally, when I add 3DVIA Composer content to PowerPoint I generally turn off all the toolbars so that the focus can remain on the product. Once you have confirmed all of these settings simply select Ok and place the .pptx in Slide Show mode…..and Voila, you now can easily present your 3D models from 3DVIA Composer in a PowerPoint presentation.
Dominick D. Gallegos
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Create Mobile Presentations Using 3DVIA Spotlights & Your 3DVIA Composer Content
Today I’d like to show you how you can present your 3DVIA Composer content combined with images, videos, documents and other supporting materials in a mobile setting using your iPad or iPhone and a 3DVIA Spotlight. This post is a quick look at the workflow for publishing your 3DVIA Composer files to 3DVIA.com, adding supporting materials and then creating a mobile 3DVIA Spotlight presentation.
3DVIA.com is an online storage spot for your 3DVIA Composer content published as 3DVIA.com model files. You then add your supporting files to the 3DVIA.com models. The 3DVIA Spotlight you create contains the 3DVIA.com model files you choose and allows you to present your content wherever you have a WiFi connection. Many questions about 3DVIA.com can be answered by viewing the FAQ.
The extensive example shown above on the iPad combines 3DVIA.com files and related company materials to create a 3DVIA Spotlight presentation. To view it follow this link and then email the 3DVIA Spotlight link to yourself by clicking on the “Send to…” and then the “Share With” tools.
On your mobile device check your email for the invitation and click on the link to the 3DVIA Spotlight. The images, videos and documents will be viewable. In order to view the 3D models, you will need to sign up for a free account on 3DVIA.com and download and install on your device the 3DVIA Mobile HD app from the Apple App Store for $4.99. Be sure to go to the 3DVIA Mobile HD app settings and change the model size limit to “Unlimited”.
Other good examples can be found on the Featured 3DVIA Spotlights page.
Creating your own 3DVIA Spotlight presentation also starts by signing up for a free account on 3DVIA.com. A Basic free account gives you 2GB of online storage space, lets you publish your 3DVIA Composer content to 3DVIA.com and then create and edit a 3DVIA Spotlight. Once you have activated your 3DVIA.com account you can publish your 3DVIA Composer files directly from 3DVIA Composer to 3DVIA.com.
You can also create an account directly from 3DVIA Composer (red ellipse) during the publishing process.
During publishing you have the choice to upload just the 3DVIA Composer model or the whole 3DVIA Composer Experience (green ellipse).
(model by mserafim)
Including the 3DVIA Composer Player allows the viewer of the model on 3DVIA.com to click on the 3DVIA Composer icon and open the 3DVIA Composer Player or 3DVIA Composer Player Pro directly from the model page. This gives them direct access to the interactive materials you’ve already created in 3DVIA Composer.
Once your 3DVIA Composer model is published, it will have its own page on 3DVIA.com, which is where you add the content that you’ll use to make your mobile presentation. The model page on the left shows a just-published model and the one on the right has a description, rendered images, a document and a link to a video.
When your models on 3DVIA.com are ready, follow the process outlined in the Making Great Spotlights document. Clicking the link will automatically download it for you.
If you have questions you can contact me directly. Click on the “Send a message” on my 3DVIA.com home page.
Don Swavely
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3DVIA your iPod #83: “Toolbars and Shortcuts”
In this episode, Tod shows us the flexibility of the 3DVIA Composer user interface and how to customize it to maximize productivity to the way you like to work.
Like toolbars? Watch and learn how to create custom toolbars.
Like keyboard shortcuts? See how to set them up and really turn on the afterburners when it comes to getting work done quickly.
“Find your fast” is not just for 3DVIA Virtools and 3DVIA MP… when it comes to fast, 3DVIA Composer becomes super-fast when you customize the interface to your preferences. It’s one of the reasons we have such great ease and fun of use: nothing beats performance and a crisp, clean user interface.
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3DVIA your iPod #85: “Alignment Tools”
 httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbalSg4_mQE
Did you know that you can merge multiple assemblies into one Composer project? And did you also know that there are alignment tools to help you get your parts located where you need them? And how about some other powerful tools for moving, aligning, and adjusting component positions?
Check out this week’s video tip! (And if you have a good internet connection, hit the “HQ” button and watch the video in full screen mode.)
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