One of the most commonly asked questions we get from customers looking to get started with 3D is how to place an order.
Customers want to know exactly what reference information they need to prepare in order to get the best possible result and get a general view of the end-to-end process before they decide to commit.
Using Modelry universal 3D Modeling Request Importer, preparing and approving an order is simple. In this blog, we’ll walk you through all the steps showing how to request a 3D model.
What does the universal importer do?
Modelry customers can use our universal 3D modeling request importer to easily provide all the product reference information and imagery needed to prepare an order.
The universal importer allows customers to:
To start, you need to prepare a CSV and/or file folders according to the following structure and upload them via the order page.
Filling the information is simple. We suggest downloading the template provided on the page to get started. The template includes 5 fields: SKU, Name, Dimensions, Reference URL, and Specific requirements, as detailed below.
The only mandatory information to create a modeling request is the SKU number, which has to be added to the CSV, so it’s important to make sure the SKU numbers are correct.
For the rest of the fields, these can be added and reuploaded later.
If you have an order with existing requests and upload a CSV that contains new SKUs in new rows of the document, that action will create additional modeling requests for quoting.
When it comes to creating 3D models, the most important role of the customer is to provide enough quality information to our designers.
Where insufficient information is provided by the customer, our designers will do their best to improvise a solution for approval during QA.
To prepare your product reference files, all files should be separated into folders. And each folder should be named after the SKU number you want to use for your modeling request.
In this way, each product will have its own SKU with all the reference files contained in a folder named accordingly. So that if you have 5 products, you’ll create 5 folders (see image below).
For modeling requests created in the past, or when uploading a CSV at the same time as you are uploading folders, the SKU numbers will be used to match & attach the files to the corresponding modeling requests in the folder.
If you happen to upload a folder and the name does not match any of the existing SKUs, or if the SKUs in the CSV you are uploading do not match, a new modeling request draft will be created with the files and the SKU number as the only information.
There are four upload options:
After completing the steps in the importer, the customer will then be able to see all the requests that have been created and review or edit them via the user interface before requesting a price estimate.
As mentioned above, non-mandatory information can be added at a later stage in the modeling request card, without needing to go back and use the importer again.
Once everything is ready, the customer can request a price estimate and will be notified when the estimate is ready. To check on the status of price requests, go to see your pending orders in the left-hand side menu.
Have a question that wasn’t answered here? Feel free to reach out to support@cgtrader.com.
Paweł Nikiel is a 3D Software Engineering Lead at CGTrader. He brings over a decade of experience in the 3D tech industry, from developing VR & AR startups to building automated, corporate-level CGI pipelines. He's also a contributor to Khronos Group 3D Formats and 3D Commerce working groups. In his spare time, Paweł is an avid skier, hiker, and video games enthusiast.
