SimLab Soft have added and improved a lot of features in SimLab Composer.

Below is some of our top new features and updates, but there is many many more updates and features you can explore them by visiting 8.1 Product Page on the website.

New Features:

• VR Workbench: Clipping Plane, Teleportation Points, Light/Shadow Baking, SimLab VR/Desktop Viewer on Mac
• 3D PDF: New highlighting option to distinguish 3D objects that are associated with actions, New option for stopping animation on scene navigation.
• WebGL/HTML: Highlighted 3D objects containing actions, Animation stops on camera movement.
• Rendering: Region Rendering, Roughness Map, 360 Images,Alpha Channel Emitter, SimLab HDR Creation, Pass Light
• SimLab Showroom: Ability to join SimLab Community, Ability to upload and download models, Ability to vote for favorite models, Showroom app is now available on Mac (macOS greater or equal to 10.12). The ability to export to SimLab VR Viewer app for mobile.
• Mobile: SimLab VR Mobile Viewer App

All of this in one package so you can enjoy our tools and succeed in your business. You can try it for free for 21 days or you can upgrade for free if you're a current user of SimLab Composer 8.0

Are you running windows 10?

When you right click on the composer windows do you run with graphics card so you can select a graphics card to run with?

This is really strange.

Are you getting this even before opening a model? with Simple ground?
Do you have an anti virus slowing the machine?

Ashraf

this is strange, the first time i hear about that.

We have a good user base with different machines.

Are you getting the delay in Simlab composer action or when running a VR experience?

Yes, this is a new version so you should get a new 21 days of free trial.

If you faced any issue with trial, email license@simlab-soft.com they will help you with that.

Samples can be found as part of SimLab Composer.

Install SimLab Composer from the following link

After installing SimLab Composer, start SimLab VR Showroom, it includes different samples that you can view using HTC Vive, Oculus Rift , or using the Desktop viewer.

The following tutorial shows how to add and view models to the Showroom

@ntxdave said:

BTW: On the animation, can you animate subcomponents/subgroups?

Yes you can do that.

Following example shows something done for a simple system

SimLab Composer 8 was released, 21 days free trial is available here

The following tutorial shows how to create a VR experience from your SketchUp model.
https://youtu.be/UCDCoohdZ8U

The latest release of SimLab Composer 8.0.7 adds supports for Oculus Rift.

As of this release, VR experiences created using SimLab Composer can be Viewed using HTC vive, Oculus Rift, or the Desktop Viewer

Latest version can be downloaded from the following link

Check the following extension.

It enables SketchUp to import solidworks parts and assemblies.

In this post I will do my best to give you a quick preview of SimLab VR for SketchUp, and answer the questions:

What is VR?
What hardware do I need to run?
How can I create a VR experience from SketchUp?
Is it really good for me?
How much will it cost me?
Lets start

What is VR?
What hardware do I need to run?

VR (Virtual reality) is used in many different ways by different groups, it means basically to be able to experience being inside the 3D model or place in a virtual world and to view it as if it was real.
Samples of those experiences include:

1. Virtual reality on the Desktop using HTC Vive, or Oculus rift where you can experience and interact with the 3D model
2. Virtual reality on the mobile
3. 360 images, in this case you get a ghost view of the model you can view it in 3D but you cannot interact with it.

Each type is useful for specific cases, the first one is the best quality experience, the other two are useful for moving the experience for the masses, for users who do not have a VR specific device.

SimLab Composer 8 supports today supports two modes:

1. HTC vive full user experience
2. Desktop based view mode for users with no HTC vive set

Next week we should have support for Oculus Rift

SimLab Composer 8.1 should add support for 360 images and VR mobile viewer, which allows rendering something like the following image

How can I create a VR experience from SketchUp?

SimLab Composer makes it very easy to create VR experiences for your SketchUp model.
Please check the following tutorial to understand the process.

Is VR really good for me?

The short answer is YES, in the short term it will be a good competitive advantage.
In the long run it will be a must for all 3D model users.

As an Architect it will allow you to sell more designs, and to get complete understanding on the space you are designing.

As interior designer it will get you more work.

Following are sample experiences that shows the value of VR

How much will it cost me?

If you are ready for the top interactive experience, we advise you for SimLab Composer VR edition, the perpetual license costs you $399.

If all what you need it so export your sketchup model, to walk inside it, and experiment with material and lighting, you can get SimLab Composer Lite for free, it also includes free real time rendering.

Ready to start your VR experience, SimLab Composer can be downloaded from the following link

Note: VR experience is currently only support on Windows, sorry our Mac users, we are working on it.

Ashraf Sultan
SimLab Soft

At SimLab Soft we just released the first technology preview of SimLab VR framework.

In this preview we are sharing the end user experience.

The installer includes:

• 1- SimLab VR Showroom (for selecting the 3D model to interact with)
• 2- SimLab VR viewer (to use with HTC vive)
• 3- SimLab Desktop viewer (for users with no access to HTC vive)

The first preview can be downloaded from the following link

In two weeks we will launch Technology preview 2 of SimLab VR framework, which will allow the user to share her/his own SketchUp models with others.

Following is the experience to expect if you have HTC Vive

The tutorial for the Desktop viewer can be found below

Your feedback is very important to us.

Ashraf

The viewer is something that runs on the local machine.
It can work on one of two modes:

1- VR, in case you have the HTC vive, and want to run in VR mode
2- Desktop mode, which simply does not require any extra hardware

Files are located locally

We are working on giving the user the option to store them in a web location to make it easier for the user to share files with others, or to distribute models to clients, but our plan is to keep this optional for the user.

This viewer is a stand alone EXE, its quality and details are on a different level than 3D viewers of the web.

That being said, we will have a WebGL export option for models so you can post them on web if needed,
it is the same model with same animation, but it is not going to have the quality that is shown in the viewer.

Showroom is simply the place to organize the catalog of your models, showroom is the application that will be opened by the user you want to share models with.

From Showroom the user can start the viewer.

VR is revolutionizing model navigation, assembly instructions, selling products, serious training and much more.

SimLab Soft team evaluated existing VR technology hardware and software, and based on that we decided to build SimLab VR framework, because we believed we can provide something great for users, something that saves money, and extends user’s reach in marketing, while taking advantage of the many years we invested in the development of SimLab Composer.

Believing that we can provide a unique solution was the beginning of SimLab VR framework.

SimLab VR framework should work for you.

• No matter what CAD application you are importing your model from
• No matter what experience you want to create for your users
• No matter how small is your budget to start utilizing VR

Why should I use SimLab VR framework?

• When building the framework, our focus was on ease of use, so even a user new to 3D, should be able to create an amazing VR experience.
• SimLab VR framework from day one will support a large number of 3D formats.
• SimLab VR framework is a complete solution that covers the process of preparing, adding interaction, adding animation, viewing, and distributing VR models.
• Component based design, SimLab VR framework is delivered as a set of components that are designed to work together without forcing this on you, it is easy to pick the components you need to make it match your perfect workflow.
• SimLab VR framework will be available in two editions lite edition which will be free, giving you the functionality to share VR models with others, and the professional version that gives users the ability to add animation, and advanced user interaction to the model, which will be affordableeven for individuals and small companies.
• Built on top of SimLab Composer to benefit from the technologies that were developed, optimized, and stabilized over many years.
• Open communication, we decided to share the development plans of this project to allow users to share requests and to be able to plan accordingly

What hardware do I need for SimLab VR?

For VR you need a good machine with new Video card, good processing power and memory. To get the most of this Technology preview you need to have HTC vive.

If you do not have that, do not worry, you can use the desktop viewer that will provide you with great interaction on the desktop and which you will be able to share with customers who do not have the HTC vive.

This desktop viewer also can be used as a great tool to speed up the process of adding interactive capabilities to any 3D model.

Components of SimLab VR framework

SimLab VR Viewer: This is the viewer that is used to interact with the VR model, the viewer can be run in two modes, VR mode, and Desktop mode.

SimLab VR Showroom: Showroom was created to make it easy to share models with users, and to build showroom catalogs, soon showroom will add optional network capacities to facilitate delivering models to stores and end users.

SimLab Composer: With 10 years in development, SimLab Composer is the best tool to import and to add VR interaction capabilities to 3D models, the new VR workbench includes a collection of the tools needed to bring your 3D model to life.

What is next?

Next week we will start sharing the first technical preview of SimLab VR framework, in this preview, we will give users access to SimLab VR showroom, and the new VR viewer.

When ready, the technical preview will be available in the following link.

The team of SimLab Soft is very pleased to make top quality, real time rendering functionality available for more users by releasing SimLab Composer light.

SimLab Composer light is a new edition of SimLab Composer that can be used to create top quality rendered images. SimLab Composer lightcan be used commercially.

Great functionality is included in SimLab Composer Light:

• The user can create rendered images up to full HD
• Has access to a large selection of top quality rendering material
• Ability to save/load 3D scenes
• Access to the advanced material and geometry management in SimLab Composer

And the user gets all this automatically without even contacting SimLab Soft to get a license.

Students and educators can contact SimLab Soft to get a free 2 years educational license for SimLab Composer Pro or Mechanical from the following link.

The success of SimLab Composer light depends on you, let us hear about the great work you were able to accomplish with SimLab Composer light.

SimLab Composer on Windows and Mac can be downloaded from the following link

Check the following tutorial to see how you can utilize SimLab Composer Light

Technology is moving forward to make more and more of our activities wireless, but the problem is that we are not there yet.

Wires and wire planning is an important aspect of our world. That is why we added a new wire creation capability in SimLab Composer, the process is very simple:
1- Create the wire path
2- Select if you want to control tangent at start and at end
3- Select the cross section of the wire to be created

This process allows you do add wires to existing models without the need to revert to a full 3D design application.

A quick tutorial showing the process of creating 3D wires SimLab Composer is available below.

Are you ready for testing? Get your 21 days free trial of SimLab Composer from the following link.

SimLab Soft updated all SketchUp plugins to add support for SketchUp 2017.
For a full list of 3D plugins supporting SketchUp 2017, please check the following link

With the latest release of SimLab Composer 7.2.3 we wanted more users to have access to the real time rendering capabilities of SimLab Composer.

When installing the new release from the following link

• Start SimLab Composer
• When faced with the licensing dialog click Demo, you do not even need to request a trial license.
• Import your SketchUp (2017 and prior are supported)
• Add elements with any of the file formats supported by SimLab Composer.
• From material library, drag and drop rendering material.
• Click F4 to start real time rendering
• When you like the results save the image as JPG, PNG with or without background.

Results can be used for educational and none commercial work.
If you are using this commercially, a pro license is needed.

The following video shows how easy it is to start using SimLab Composer to render your SketchUp files.

With the release of SimLab Composer 7.2, a new feature was added to allow the SketchUp designer to add linear, angler, and radial measurements and annotations.

Those measurements can be extorted to end users as 3D PDF files.

21 free trial on SimLab Composer 7.2 on Windows and Mac can be downloaded from the following link.

Free SketchUp integration plugin for SimLab Composer can be found here

New material and rendering output tutorials are now available.

View and let us know your feedback.

Material tutorial

Rendering output tutorial

New exterior and interior rendering tutorials are now available.

View and let us know your feedback.

Interior rendering

Exterior rendering