Collaborate on 3D Files and Store Files in One Secure Location with Modelo

In Part I of the cloud collaboration mini-series, we discussed how to review and markup BIM and CAD files collaboratively, and in Part II we discussed how to keep all design review feedback organized. Now, in Part III we will finish off the series by discussing how professionals can collaborate on 3D files and store files in one secure location with Modelo.

File storage is a crucial component of any professional’s daily workflow. It’s no wonder that architects, designers, real estate agents and builders all use different types of documents, renderings, photographs and model files to communicate their vision. This means that different collaborators will use different platforms to collaborate on 3D files and store files, making room for misunderstandings throughout several stages of the design process.

File storage should be secure, convenient and accessible on all devices. Most importantly, if you’re looking for something it should be easy to find it, right? Instead of searching for files, have the confidence to know exactly where they are with Modelo.

What if there was an easier way to not only collaborate on 3D files online, but also to store 2D files along side 3D designs, such as panorama images, floor plans or renderings in one location? Enter Modelo’s Assets Folder. The Assets Folder is your new design sidekick because it’s extremely intuitive and convenient. Modelo is compatible with all file types, including .OBJ, .GIF, .PDF, or .PNG to name a few. You can even sketch on 2D assets right from your browser.

Collaboration in the cloud makes it easy for project stakeholders to access all valuable information in an all-encompassing platform that replaces the need for Dropbox or WeTransfer. Modelo gives you the confidence to store important documents, 3D models and all other project assets in one reliable location. Put simply, stay organized and be productive. Try it out for yourself and sign up for a FREE account today!

Virtual Reality Requirements when using Modelo on devices for professionals

Virtual reality in the building industry is helping to shape the future of design. Project stakeholders are instantly immersed in a realistic representation of your design so you can communicate your vision clearly. And ultimately, design decisions involving different disciplines can be made quicker with VR. Modelo fully supports mobile VR and we’ve outlined the requirements below to help you get started.

What you need to run VR on Modelo
In order to use the Modelo App for VR capabilities there are certain basic standards your phone or device must have. For one, if you have an iPhone you should have the iPhone 5s or newer. For Android users you should have at the least Samsung S5 or a comparable model. For any Android device you should be running at least Android 5.0 to run our app.

If you are using the internet, be sure to have a connection that is at least a 3MB/s download speed at the least. However, if you are using a cellular connection, you are going to need a 3G network to run our App and use VR.

Recommended Tech for Modelo App
For the best results, we recommend higher standards for your devices and internet connection. For one, iPhone users should have an iPhone 6 or higher in order to best experience Modelo’s VR capabilities.

For Android users we recommend a Samsung S7, or a comparable model that is running Android 6.0 or later for the best results. Additionally, your Internet connection should be running a 10MB/s download speed. For those using a cellular signal to run the Modelo app for VR capabilities, we recommend a 4G LTE signal to see the best results from our app. Finally, pair Modelo with a Google cardboard and you are all set to view complex 3D designs in VR from any location right from your phone.

Learn first-hand by signing up for Modelo today and viewing your design in VR.

How to Embed Panorama Images on Your Website with Modelo

As Modelo continues to grow and develop, we continue to add more features to our newly released panorama function. In this post, we will focus on generating a “Panorama shareable link,” the same concept as the shareable link of a model, as well as embedding a panorama image on your website.

First let’s dive into generating a panorama shareable link. When you feel that your model or panorama image is ready to share, you can easily generate a link, then email or message it to other project collaborators. Learn how to generate panorama shareable links below:

Step 1: Go to your project’s assets folder where you uploaded your panorama images. (unsure how to upload a panorama? Check out this post)

Step 2: Hover your mouse on one of the panorama images and you will see a share button

Step 3: Click on that share button, you will then see the shareable link in the pop up window.

Here is the link of this panorama image. I’ve been asked for a similar embed function for the panorama images. In fact, our team is implementing that into our coming release so stay tuned. As for now, there is an alternative solution. Here is how to do that step-by-step:

Step 1: Go to a model page, open the embed dialog, and then copy the embed code.

Step 2: Now let’s take a deeper look at this embed code since it consists of several parts. The major concept of iframe is basically putting a mini web browser window within another website. As you can see from the following, the URL after the “iframe src=” is where this link is referring to. Now if we replace this link with the shareable link of our panorama, it will then show the panorama instead of the 3D model. In addition, there are several other parameters you can change, like the width (normally you want to put 100% so that it’s responsive to the device’s dimension), height, model’s name and author.

<div class='modelo-wrapper'>
  <iframe src="https://app.modelo.io/embedded/R5IcJGDNm5?viewport=false&autoplay=false" 
             width="640" 
             height="360" 
             frameborder="0"
             mozallowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen allowfullscreen ></iframe> 
  <p style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; margin: 10px 10px 10px 0; color: #666666;">
    Revit Sample Project_Webinar 
    <span style="font-weight: normal;">
      By
    </span> 
    Phoebe Zhang
    <a href="http://www.modelo.io?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=embedfooter&utm_campaign=model%20embed%20footer"
        target="_blank" 
        style="display: inline-block; 
               margin-left: 6px; 
               padding-left: 8px; 
               border-left: 1px solid #e2e2e2; 
               color: #e8776f; cursor: pointer; 
               text-decoration: none;">
      Modelo »
    </a> 
  </p> 
</div>

Step 3: Replace the embed URL to the panorama shareable link and adjust the other parameters. Below is the final look (try clicking and dragging your mouse on the below window), and most importantly have fun!

Rotate panorama and click on orange hotspots for a guided tour Modelo »

File Optimization Tips For Uploading small size file to Modelo

One of the most hilarious moments in my work as a designer was when I was in a BIM coordination meeting via video conference with my structural engineer and project manager. We were on a discussion to verify the clearance above a ramp and the PM said “let me zoom into the Revit model and find out.” We watched him via screen share, taking each step of tedious mouse movement so painfully inside a gigantic Revit file: spin – zoom in – rotate – zoom in – pan – zoom out.

In the meantime, I did a quick calculation in my head and we used this estimate to continue the conversation. After maybe 10 or 15 minutes, when we were already on a different topic, I heard the PM on the other end yell “Got it! It’s 4.3 meters!” It was a very delayed response and it made everyone on the call burst into laughter. In short, Revit has become such a powerful tool in every stage of design and construction with the all powerful features added to the program, however speed is sacrificed.

At Modelo, our engineers have come up with an ultra-powerful convertor while retaining a stunning graphic quality. Our converter can convert a 300mb Rhino file down to 30mb without losing any geometric data or texture quality. This sophisticated process of optimization lets our users spin models in 3D faster and smoothly in a web-browser, without the need to even install anything. Large files that can barely move in Rhino or Revit can be smoothly manipulated in Modelo. It means no more waiting around for a large file to move, and rather to let your meetings be efficient and focused.

What’s more, Modelo converts your file in the background so you don’t need to prep your file differently before the upload. I want to share some tips with you to allow you to get your file to the smallest size possible.

If your model is in Rhino or SketchUp, keep the original file format, Modelo has native support for Rhino and SketchUp files. Files can be optimized better than if you export them to .obj or other formats.
Mesh your Rhino model. Use comment “Mesh” to convert all geometries to Rhino meshes. Delete everything else that is not mesh.
Reduce the number of layers. (the fewer the better)
No redundant texture maps. For example, duplicated materials or materials with different names but share same bitmap. Use as few textures as possible.Ultimately, we can to reduce a 700mb Rhino file down to 100mb, and it loads quicker and smoother in Modelo. I hope these tips help get you started on your journey in Modelo!

What is the Modelo Studio Planand what does it include? | Modelo Blog

Modelo’s individual package provides the user a lot of capabilities within Modelo’s platform, however for just $25 a month, you can take advantage of Modelo’s integral features that will save you time and money in the long run.

Modelo’s main purpose is to be a presentation and collaboration platform for 3D CAD designs. With the Individual Package, your collaboration capabilities are limited. When you upgrade to the Studio Package, you unlock many features that allow you as the designer to collaborate in an organized and meaningful manner. With our screenshot and markup tools, you can communicate your ideas to stakeholders directly on your design.

You can also assign tasks to people by tagging them in a comment in the design and effectively communicate directly in Modelo. With Modelo’s helpful collaboration features you will be able to save time through the creative process of your designs as it will be easy to make your own edits and take the comments of others simultaneously in one, organized online platform.

Additionally, upgrading to the Studio Package gives you access to many sharing features that gives you the ability to export your designs and the flexibility to share your designs. With our Studio Package you can bring your designs to your client and impress them in presentations by embedding your walkthroughs and 3D models. You can also embed your walkthroughs onto your website, which is sure to make a great first impression with our best-in-class rendering and smooth walkthrough design. Plus, you can upload a background image of your choice in Modelo to present to your clients.

Present 3D Models Confidently with Offline Mode at Modelo

Present 3D Models Confidently with Offline Mode

Creating beautiful and engaging presentations on 3D CAD models is one of our specialties here at Modelo, so naturally we have spoken to many firms throughout the AEC industry about their presentation processes. From the conversations we have had, there is a clear theme that executing successful presentations, especially in 3D environments, is one of the most challenging aspects of design.

At Modelo, we created and are constantly evolving our presentation features based on an understanding of the common challenges associated with presenting 3D CAD designs (Top 5 things architects can do to improve client presentations). One issue that thwarted many of our clients presentations before joining Modelo was simply unreliable Internet connection.

The design community would agree that there is nothing more frustrating than spending hours compiling a 3D presentation only to be embarrassed by the inability to connect. It can also be debilitating for designers to not be able to present their 3D models on the fly from any device at any time. We created our unique Offline Mode with these specific challenges in mind.

Offline Mode allows users to give full presentations on 3D models offline. Presentations no longer have to be scary events that take days of preparation, are susceptible to technical error, and ultimately fail to communicate the vision of the designers. With our Offline Mode, your 3D models will be ready to view at a rendering speed 45 times than that of your CAD software with the ability to incorporate walkthroughs, views, and attachments. This can all happen from any device at any time, regardless of an Internet connection.

Modelo’s Offline Mode is a perfect way to ensure that your presentation will roll out as planned. It is also ideal for collaboration and presentation between designers and clients who are regularly on the move and need a versatile way collaborate on designs. Welcome to the future of presenting 3D models. This is a paid feature for Business Plan customers. To learn more, contact us at hi@modelo.io.

How Modelo Can Help Your Organization Make More Money

An ongoing problem that has forever pained the AEC industry centers around the question, how can AEC organizations land more projects? The follow-up questions tend to pivot around how to strengthen client communication and client engagement earlier in order to build client relationships, reduce the margin of error in illustrating a client’s vision, and ultimately improve the overall first presentation. This all in the hopes of rising to the top and standing out among your competition to be awarded the all elusive design contract and receive that letter of intent.

As architects, there is nothing more important than early dialogue and active engagement with your client during the bidding process. AEC organizations must understand their client aspirations, their needs, and design a place that fits into those needs. With Modelo, client project communication throughout the entire design is centered in a web-based platform with clients and team members alike, accessible through any mobile device.

Modelo allows the client to very easily be immersed in a design and truly feel what that space is. It allows for the client to explore parts of the design at their own pace and at their own leisure. Client feedback is easily given in real-time and viewed by the entire project design team, allowing clients to engage from the beginning, rapport to be built stronger than ever before, and for interactive 3D architectural presentations to be delivered smoothly and directly in line with client expectations.

In presentation preparation, architects have to anticipate what the client is most interested in and spend a lot of time delineating the issues the architect thinks is important which usually leads to a prescribed fly through, the animation is run by the architect but can’t really deviate from that because CAD programs like Rhino, Revit, and SketchUp are very tedious to navigate and too time-consuming to change on the fly. If the client asks to see a view that isn’t prepared then you will be out of luck and the presentation will suffer.

By using Modelo, in seconds you will be able to create that special view the client requests during the meeting keeping he presentation flowing forward. In comparison, Modelo is very user-friendly which allows new 3D walkthroughs, views, and screenshots to be made in seconds, giving your clients presentations the most flexibility of any program currently on the market.

Simply put, Modelo improves your chances to win new clients and new projects by promoting enhanced client communication in the early stages which in turn builds rapport, as well as delivering beautiful initial design presentations. Having a leg up on your competition in the way you communicate and engage your client leads to a closer client relationship, a design in closer alignment with the client’s vision, and a clearer presentation which meets and surpasses expectations.

When put to use with Modelo, this simple formula will lead to an improved chance to win projects in a given year; Modelo = more projects = more money. Modelo’s originally unique and effective way to communicate and engage with clients is entirely new to the AEC industry and changing the standards for how companies engage their clients. The only way to truly understand is to sign up to Modelo for yourself, upload a model, and dive in to the software to familiarize yourself with the product.

Instantly Transfer 3D Files With Ease Using Modelo

Still using WeTransfer or Hightail? Try Modelo’s model sharing tool with quick preview.

Did you ever have to share a model for someone else to open it? Uploading and downloading may seem easy enough with WeTransfer, Hightail, Dropbox or Google drive, but do you ever wonder what your file looked like while waiting for it to be downloaded?

Sharing is even quicker and more intuitive to use in Modelo. When you have the model in Modelo, all you need to do is to click the share button and enter your recipient’s email.

Your recipient will instantly get an email to download. In the email, there is a button to download and a button to view. You can preview the model in 3D while waiting for it be downloaded.

The “View Model” button will lead you into a webpage where you can spin around in the model without opening any modeling applications, and without the need to install anything. A thumbnail image will also be included in the email for quick impression. No more waiting around and you can also view in your phone as well!

After you downloaded the model and made necessary edits in the file, you can uploaded the new model back into the folder by clicking “Upload Model” in the original emails. Now all the revisions and versions of the same model are securely organized in one place. You and your collaborators can access the same files at any time and on any device.

How to Keep All Design Review Feedback Organized | Modelo

In part one of “what does collaboration in the cloud mean,” we discussed how to review BIM files collaboratively. In part two, we’ll dive into how to keep all of your design review feedback organized by utilizing comment cards and even assigning tasks to colleagues in real-time.

Design review feedback is one of the most valuable pieces of a project’s direction and goals. Getting clear design review feedback is good, but being able to then store all of that design review feedback in one organized location is even better. Introducing Modelo’s comment cards.

With 3D comment cards, users are able to comment on any area of their 3D model (once uploaded to Modelo), and then add their feedback directly on the comment card. What’s more, project collaborators can then @mention each other in real-time to make sure their message is being delivered to the correct person.

No longer will feedback be a drawn out, confusing process, but rather a straightforward and positive experience with Modelo. Project collaborators can even take screenshots and create sketches to then save and share with other stakeholders to ensure the correct message is being passed along to the appropriate contact.

Make cloud collaboration a priority and effortlessly keep design review feedback organized. Watch more in the video below and impress your colleagues by signing up to Modelo and collaborating on 3D files in-the-cloud today.

Integrate 360º Panorama Images into Modelo Interactive 3D Presentations

In this post, I will show you how to use our newly released panorama feature to showcase your 3D building design with camera captured 360º panorama images.

First, to capture 360º panorama images you will need a special camera. These are not the panorama images that you can capture with your smartphone, but spherical ones that can be wrapped into a sphere so you can freely look around. There are many options for equipment in the market, but the one we used is Ricoh Theta S.

It’s very easy to setup and quite intuitive to use. There is even an app with which you can shoot the images and view them directly on your phone in real-time.

I brought it to our office last Friday for some panorama shooting. I started off with couple images in our office, like this:

And I soon decided to capture some surroundings. Our office is in Davis Square, Somerville, located on top of Boston Sports Club, as you can see in this image:

I decided to take a walk outside and shoot several shots around our office, including my favorite Ramen place in Davis Square.

When all the shots were taken, I still needed to create a 3D environment of our office. I then took a Google Maps screenshot and the office floor plan from our lease agreement and inserted them into Rhino.

With some quick modeling based on the above two images, I created our office room #300 in Rhino.

I downloaded the chairs and tables from Herman Miller’s website. They have all of their furniture in different 3D formats.

With the model and panorama images ready, I then went to Modelo and uploaded everything. The new panorama upload is a bit different from uploading other things in Modelo, like assets or models. Below is a step-by-step tutorial.

Step1 : go to your assets section and create a folder.

Step 2: click “Upload panorama” button

Step 3: choose “Upload spherical map” in this case and make sure you have the right folder selected.

Step 4: select the file you want to upload and click Upload.

After successfully uploading these panorama images, you should be able to see them like the below screenshot. The thumbnails of panorama images have a special icon in the top right corner.

Now when you click on the panorama images, you can view them in full 360 degrees.

After I uploaded all of the images to Modelo, I went back to the 3D page and created 3D comment cards that reflect the locations of where I shot the panorama images.

The last step: attach panoramas to 3D comment cards.

All done! Below is the final result in 3D. Click on the comment button and then click on the attachment to view the panorama. You can turn on the present mode in the 3D page so that you can turn panorama on and off and jump from card to card more freely. Note, we will have the present mode ready for shareable links in our next release.

Modelo office #300 By Qi Su Modelo »

This concludes the brief tutorial of how to integrate panoramas into Modelo’s 3D presentation, feel free to try it yourself. In the next Modelo tutorial, we will show you how to render cubic maps and combine them into presentations.