3D Designer is used to imitate authentic production structures such as embosses or 3D structured printing. The height and lighting controls allow for incredibly realistic simulations, and the rapid preview updates make this feature ideal for fault checking.

Simulation works from a greyscale layer which needs to be present in your design. This may be an existing texture from your library, or you can create one yourself using tools such as Continuous Tone, Gamma, Filters and the Patterns Library.

It is important to note that we strongly recommend having a dedicated GPU when using the 3D Designer Window. Whilst 3D Designer may work on integrated GPU’s, we do not guarantee any level of usability on this hardware. We have taken this decision to allow us to utilise the power of these GPU’s to improve the quality of the lighting in the simulation. To find out if your Mac® has an integrated or dedicated GPU, please go to  Menu > About This Mac®. Click on System Report, and select Graphics/Displays on the left hand side of the window.’ You will see the make and model of your GPU(s). If you have only one, and it is made by Intel, unfortunately you have an integrated GPU and may need to upgrade your hardware to have satisfactory performance whilst using 3D Designer. Please contact AVA Technical Support for further information.

Opening the 3D Designer Window

• Go to Window Menu > 3D Designer, and the following window will open:

Understanding the tools in the 3D Designer Window

When the 3D Designer Window is active, you will notice the Tools Palette automatically closes.  This is because all the tools you need whilst working in this window, are located at the top of the window:

• The Hand - used to scroll the viewing area determined by the 3D Designer Tool
• The Magnify Tool - Used to zoom in and out of the 3D simulation.  Simply click on the design to zoom in, and hold down ⌥ (option key) and click to zoom out. 
• The Origin Tool - used to change the viewing angle of the design
• The Lightbulb - used to change the lighting on the 3D simulation

Controlling what is visible in the 3D Designer Window

1. Toggle the Sidebar on to reveal the controls for making images and layers visible.
2. Switch on the eye icon to make the relevant layers visible in the 3D Designer Window. 

Controlling the height maps in the 3D Designer Window

Switch on the block to make that layer a height map.  Multiple layers can be used as height maps.

Controlling the gloss layers in the 3D Designer Window

Switch on the star to make that layer a gloss layer. 

When you have assigned a layer or multiple layers as gloss detail in your document, there are additional settings you can use to control how glossy the product appears:

• Gloss Intensity - describe how intense that glossiness is. 0 = a matt finish, and 4 = high gloss
• Material Roughness - describes the surface appearance of the product. A low value increases the amount of gloss seem on the product. A high value increases the roughness of the surface and therefore decreases the visibility of the gloss.

These options are located in the lower part of the Sidebar.