MUNICH, Germany, Nov 11, 2021 – German material digitization solution provider Vizoo announces the launch of their new product physX: an online physics database offering drape simulation data compatible with various 3D CAD tools.
Digital product creation (DPC) is a key challenge of this decade for companies in the fashion sector. For the last few years 3D fashion has shifted from a niche application to global adoption.
physX database overview
3D CAD solution providers offer the right tools for creating designs and prototypes of garments. When striving for realism and perfection, digital materials are a key factor to achieve this goal. In regards to the digitization of true-to-life materials for DPC, the capturing of visual material parameters is well established – with Vizoo being the leading provider of such technology in the fashion industry.
However, a real 3D fabric consists of not only visual properties but also physical drape parameters. Today, the measurement of the latter is one of the biggest bottlenecks. Most 3D CAD providers offer their proprietary measurement devices and techniques. However, currently none of this acquired data is interoperable. On a smaller scale this does not really constitute a problem, but looking at the big picture it provides a dilemma: a scaled process requires the 3D materials to be digitized at the fabric supplier. Unfortunately, this requires fabric suppliers to measure fabric physical properties multiple times, once for each 3D CAD software their clients are using. Considering that a single measurement takes around 60 minutes, the process is high in time and effort.
“Looking at the problem at hand, we quickly realized that just putting another measurement device on the market will not solve it,” Martin Semsch says, CEO and co-founder of Vizoo. “Every 3D software is using different input parameters as well. It all comes down to the issue that there is no central point of translation of data, from each measurement device to the 3D CAD tools. PhysX will solve this.”
physX is a cloud-based platform, containing an ever-growing number of measurements for 3D simulation. Independently of which 3D software a user is working with, physX provides the required drape data for a fabric. Currently the data is available for the Browzwear applications as well as CLO3D, but will soon support other tools as well. With its user-friendly interface, people can easily search and filter for fabrics using properties like construction, composition and weight. In addition, a rendered preview of the simulated results even allows for an intuitive visual selection of measurements.
As user experience is extremely important to Vizoo, the platform is directly accessible from inside the Vizoo xTex software. This workflow is based on the well-established U3M 1.1 format (a file format holding visual and physical parameters) which makes material creation possible in just a single application.
Rebekka Hasenauer, product owner of Vizoo physX says: “For a 3D fashion designer, asset creation is a tedious and time-consuming task, and often breaks the creative workflow. Accessing physX enables the designer to ideate any garment drape without waiting for the fabric to be digitized.”
“With the development of physX, we will remove another hurdle to scale the 3D process and facilitate material digitization at the fabric suppliers,” Renate Eder, CCO of Vizoo, mentions. “To offer wider compatibility we are working to support further 3D CAD applications. Moreover, in 2022 an API will make it possible to access the database from 3rd party software and platforms.”
Starting November 2021, the physX platform is available on an annual subscription basis as an add-on to the xTex product family or as an independent Web-based application.
About Vizoo
Vizoo is the number one supplier of solutions for the physically accurate digitization of material swatches. Since 2013, automotive, apparel, footwear, home fashion brands and their suppliers have relied on Vizoo’s xTex system to digitize their material processes and create digital twins of physical material samples. To date, the company has developed an extensive network of more than 300 customers and is distributing their systems to more than 40 countries globally.
