💡 This feature is available to users on our Pro and Scale plans. If you don't have access to this feature but think it would be valuable, please reach out to your Success Manager to discuss options.
Adding models to the viewer
When viewing a 3D model, you can access this tool by clicking on the ‘Model Merge’ icon in the right sidebar. From there, select the 'Add file' option.
Alternatively, you can also add files by:
right-clicking on a 3D model in the Drive and choose the 'Merge Models' option from the menu.
clicking the + button at the top of the Merge Models panel.
In the selection modal, you can select one or more 3D files from the current workspace.
The available files and folders will be collapsed by default. These can be expanded to select the desired revision. By default, selecting the file name will select the latest version of that file.
If there is a file that was already added to merge project, it will be indicated by an ‘Added’ tag.
Pre-existing merged model files can’t be added.
Managing added files
After files have been added to the viewer, they will be listed under in the 'Merged parts' heading in the Merge models panel, with the original model labelled as the 'current file'. Clicking on a file will highlight it in the viewer.
Additional actions are available via the more (…) button that shows when hovering over a file in the list.
Show / Hide handles - toggle the positioning handles of the selected part on or off.
Open in split view - open the selected part in split view with the current file.
Remove from viewer - remove the selected part from the viewer.
Revision updates
If any of the files included in the merged file have an updated revision, the revision icon will become enabled and show a blue indicator to inform the user of the updates.
Positioning the models
A selected part can be positioned relative to the other parts, using the usual translation and rotation handles. Additionally, a selected part can be precisely positioned using the new ‘Position model’ section in the merge models panel.
All the usual 3D viewing tools will be available in the 3D toolbar while merging the models. However, feedback cannot be added while merging models. This can be done after the merged model has been saved as a new asset.
Saving a merged model
When you are happy with your merged model, you can save it as a new asset by clicking the save icon at the top of the merge model panel. The icon will be active if changes have been made since the last save.
Note: Shattered assembly files and files with configurations can be added to a merge model, however they cannot be saved. The save icon will be unavailable.
After clicking the save option, a modal will appear giving the option to save the merged model as a new file or as a new revision of the current file. You will also be able to name the new file and choose which workspace folder to save it in.
Working with a merged model
After saving, the merged model will become a reviewable asset in the Workspace Drive. It can be added to a review and interrogated like any other 3D model.
However, the following actions cannot be performed on a merged model:
the file can no longer be modified (i.e. adding and removing the various parts).
the file cannot be merged with any other files.
the file cannot be downloaded.
a bill of materials (BOM) will not be generated for the file.
Deleting associated files
When deleting files from the Drive, the system will check if that file has been included in any merged models. If it has, you will be presented with a pop up telling you which file it has been associated with, and asking for clarification on what to delete.
Delete this file only: This option will delete the file from the drive, but will preserve it in the merged model file.
Delete this file and the merged model file: This option will delete this file from the drive, and the associated merged model file.
