1.

Loading an object

Figure 1 - 3D Builder Start Screen

3D object can be loaded using 3 different methods. One can either

pick a model from the 3D Builder Library, load them from an
external file or create a new one from a Kinect v2 Sensor scan (see
3D Scanning).
Loading an object from a file can be done by pressing the Load icon.
3D Builder currently supports the following file formats:

3MF (load and save)

STL(load and save)

PLY(load and save)

OBJ (load only)

VRML (load only)

2. Camera Movement
Action
Rotate Camera

Mouse
Left button drag

Touch
1 finger drag

Camera pan

Right button drag

2 fingers drag
3 fingers drag (with zoom
lock)

Camera zoom

Mouse scroll

Pinch and stretch

Focus

Double Click

Double Tap

3. Selection Control

Figure 2 - Maximized Selection Control

Control

Description
Pressing this icon will
restore or minimize the
selection tool.
Select all objects in the
scene.
Deselect all objects in the
scene.

Shortcut
N/A

CTRL + A
CTRL + D

4. Object Transforms

Figure 3 - 3D Builder Toolbar

Control

Description
Move mode: dragging one of the arrow
will move the object in the selected
dimension.

Shortcut
R

Rotation mode: dragging one of the

arrow will rotate the object around one
of the 3 axis whose origin is at the
center of mass of the object.

Scale mode: dragging the arrow will

scale the object following the direction
of the arrow.

W (keeps the
aspect ratio on)

Q (removes the
aspect ratio)

Note: rotating the camera can change

the side on which the arrow is
displayed. This can be very useful to
scale an object in a desired direction.
Edit the value of a move, a rotation or a
SPACE
scale.
Note: Pressing the unit measure in
Note: Arrow keys
scale mode will switch it to percentage. can also be used
to change object
transform
parameters.
Undo
CTRL + Z
Redo

CTRL + Y

5. Object Mode

Figure 4 - Toolbar with the object mode activated

Control

Description
Object Mode: activate/deactivate
the object mode.
Clone: create a duplicate of the
selected 3D object.
Delete

Shortcut
N/A

Settle: allows the user to position

and lay the selected 3D object flat
on the print bed.
Group

N/A

Ungroup

CTRL + SHIFT + G

CTRL + SHIFT + C
CTRL + X

CTRL + G

Center View: center the camera on CTRL + O

the selected 3D object.

6. File Mode

Figure 5 - Toolbar with the file mode activated

6.1 File Mode: General controls

Control

Description
File: activate/deactivate the file
mode.
New scene: deletes every object
on the current scene.
Add a Piece: displays a bottom
bar with additional options.
Save: save your 3D model to a
3MF, STL, OBJ or PLY.
About this model: allows the user
to change the information
regarding the model.
Report a problem.
Settings: includes the possibility
to change units and 3D
rendering.
7

Shortcut
Right Click
CTRL + N
CTRL + L
CTRL + S
CTRL + B
ALT + ENTER
N/A
CTRL + T

6.2 Materials
When the File Mode is active ( ), the material tool appears (Figure
6) the
he user can then add materials to the material tool by pressing +
and pick his material from the material selection (Figure 7). Then the
user can select the object and press a material from the list to apply it.

Figure 6 - 3D Builder Material Tool

Figure 7 - Material selection

Figure 8 List of materials that can be applied

7. Edit Mode

Figure 9 - Toolbar with the edit mode activated

7.1Edit Mode: General controls

Control

Description
Emboss: enters the emboss mode which allows the
user to emboss texts or contour to the selected 3D
object.
Plane cut: enters the plane cut mode which allows the
user to cut the selected 3D object.
Simplify: reduces the number of triangles used to
render the selected 3D object.
Smooth: averages the surface of the selected 3D
objects to smooth it.
Subtract: suppress anything that is currently
intersecting with the selected 3D object.
Intersect: keeps the intersection of multiple selected
3D objects.
Merge: creates one object by merging multiple
selected 3D objects.

7.2 Emboss

Figure 10- Toolbar with the emboss mode activated

Control

Description
Text Emboss: allows the user to input
the text to be embossed.
Contour Emboss: allows the user to
create an embossment based on an icon
or a file.
Note: contour emboss works best with
simple binary icons.
Plane Projection: optimize the
embossment for a plane surface.
Cylindrical Projection: optimize the
embossment for a cylindrical surface.
Spherical Projection: optimize the
embossment for a spherical surface.
Accept: applies the embossment to the
3D object.
Cancel: exit the emboss mode.

10

Shortcut
N/A
N/A

Z
X
C
ENTER
ESCAPE

7.3 Plane cut

Figure 11 - Toolbar with the plane cut mode activated

Control

Description
Move Mode: allows the plane to be
moved in one dimension.
Rotate Mode: allows the plane to be
rotated.
Keep Top: cut the object and keep
only the part on top of the plane.
Keep Bottom: cut the object and
keep only the part below the plane.
Keep Both: cut the object and keep
both parts.
Accept: applies the plane cut to the
object.
Cancel: exits the plane cut mode and
discards the operations.

11

Shortcut
R
E
Z
X
C
ENTER
ESCAPE

8. 3D Scanning
This section describes the 3D Scanning options available on 3D Builder for
Windows 8.1. On Windows 10, a brand new 3D scanning application with new
features will be available soon!
8.1 General controls
When the scan icon
is pressed, a user can perform 3D scans using a
Kinect v2 sensor for Windows. To perform a scan, the user must satisfy the below
requirements:

64-bit (x64) processor

Dual-core 3.1-GHz (2 logical cores per physical) or faster processor

USB 3.0 port dedicated to the Kinect for Windows v2 sensor (Intel and
Renesas controllers)

4 GB RAM

Graphics card that supports DirectX 11

Windows or Windows Embedded 8 or Windows 8 or 8.1

The user can set the Size detected by the sensor (Figure 12) and the resolution of
the scan (Figure 13). After each modification of settings or before starting to scan
the sensor has to be reset. Once enough data is collected press complete to open the
scan in the 3D builder editor.

Figure 12 - 3D Scan option: Size

Figure 13 - 3D Scan option: Detail

8.2 Tips for better scans

The quality of a scan is affected by 3 major factors:

The quality of the GPU: a high-end GPU will allow for higher frame-rate
and will produce better scans. Optimal results are obtained with 20fps or more.

The quality of the lighting: a setting without any visible shadows will
produce the best results. The more diffuse the light is the better the colors will be
captured.

The background: the distance between the background and the object to be
scanned should be maximized, this avoids having artifacts from the background to
be captured by the sensor. Additionally, non-reflective background works better as
reflection will create noise around the scan.
Scanning can be performed in two ways, either by moving the Kinect v2 Sensor
around the scanned subject. Or by fixing the Kinect v2 Sensor and rotating the
scanned subject. The second option has proven to provide the most optimal results
when scanning big objects.
12