3D Models

3D Models

This section holds the CAD and 3D files for your product, with the information a customer needs to open them and know what they are looking at. In the digital twin this becomes the Provision of 3D Models submodel (IDTA 02026).

It is optional. Add it only if you have 3D files to share and a customer who wants them. Whatever you enter is inherited by every unit of this product.

Throughout this page, a ★ marks a required field. On the upload form it means the form will not submit without it. Inside a section it means that section will not appear in the exported file until it is filled. Where the app's label differs from the name in the standard, the standard's name is shown in brackets, for example Made with (SourceApplication).

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How this section works

3D models are filled in in two stages.

1. Upload. A short form gets the file and a few essentials in. Once a model has a file it is already Ready to generate, meaning it will appear in the export.

2. Enrich. After upload you land on the model's own page, split into sections. You fill these in at your own pace.

The key idea: you can start a section and come back later. Everything you type is saved. But a section only appears in the exported file once its required (★) fields are filled. Leave one blank and the app keeps your work and simply does not publish that section yet, telling you exactly what is missing. You never lose data, and you never publish a half-finished section by accident.

You do not have to fill every section. A model with just a file and a title is valid and exportable.

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Adding a model: the upload form

On the product, open the 3D models section and click to add one. If the tile is not there, add it from the Add information tile on the product overview first.

Field		What to enter	Example
3D file (DigitalFile)	★	The model file. STEP, STP, STL, glTF, GLB, IGES, IGS, OBJ, 3MF, DXF, DWG or PDF. Up to 100 MB. Format is detected from the extension.	PUMP3000.step
Title	★	A name for the model, at least one language. Filled in from the file name, so often you just check it.	Centrifugal pump PUMP3000
Status (StatusValue)	★	Released or In review. Comes pre-set to Released, so you rarely change it.	Released
Version ID		This file's version. Comes pre-filled with 1.0.	1.0, 2024-rev2
Description		A one-line note shown in the 3D models list.	Full assembly, external geometry only
Preview image (PreviewFile)	(★)	A thumbnail of the model, JPG, PNG or BMP, ideally under 512 by 512 pixels.	a screenshot

In practice only the file and the title need your attention. Status and Version ID arrive pre-filled.

About the preview image. The standard requires a preview slot on every model, so the app always includes one in the export. If you do not upload an image, that slot goes out empty. The upload form does not block on it, so it is not a hard stop, but a model published with an empty preview is a poor result. Treat it as required and always add one.

Two buttons:

• Upload saves the model and returns to the product.
• Upload and open advanced saves it and takes you straight to the model's page.

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The model page

After upload, the model has its own page. A chip at the top reads Ready to generate once there is at least one file. Below are the sections: File versions, Identity, Capability, Geometry and Compatible applications. Each optional section shows Add when empty and Edit once it has data.

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File versions

A model can hold more than one file, for example the same part as a STEP for engineering and an STL for 3D printing, or a newer revision kept next to the old one. Each file is a version here.

Add file adds another. Each file row has its own Edit, Download and, when there is more than one, Delete. A model must always keep at least one file.

Edit on a file covers the per-file basics, all optional:

Field	What to enter	Example
Title	The name for this specific file.	PUMP3000 housing
Status (StatusValue)	Released or In review.	Released
Version ID	This file's version.	2.0
Providing organisation (ProvidingOrganization)	Who supplies this file, plus its official name. Usually your company.	your company

Each file also has two buttons that open the editors described further down:

• Made with opens the source-application editor for this file.
• External links and related files opens the external-link and related-files editor for this file.

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Identity

How the model is identified and classified. All optional. Leave it alone if you do not classify files formally.

Classification. Choose a Classification system (ClassificationSystem), then give the class:

• VDI 2770 comes with a ready list of classes. Pick one and the class ID and name fill in for you.
• eCl@ss, IEC 61360 or Other let you type the Class ID (ClassId) and Class name (ClassName) yourself.

File identifier (FileId). A File domain (the system the ID belongs to, such as your PLM or your company) and a File ID (this file's number there). Both are filled in on upload, so replace them only if you have a real part or document number.

There is also a Notes (Description) field, an internal one-line reminder for yourself.

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Capability

What the model is good for, so a customer can judge whether your file suits their purpose before downloading it.

This section appears in the export only when Origin and at least one "Good for" are set. Less than that is saved but not published.

Field		What to enter
Origin	★	How the model was produced: Measure (optical), Measure (mechanical), Design (engineering) or Design (generative). A normal CAD model is Design (engineering).
Good for (ModelPurpose)	★	What the model is fit for. One or more of: Logistics, Simulation mesh, Virtual commissioning, 3D printing / slicer, Rendering.
Object type (ObjectType)		Component for a single part, Assembly for several parts together.
Not good for (NegModelPurpose)		Uses it is explicitly not suitable for, from the same list. For example a rendering model marked not good for simulation.
State		Lifecycle stage this model represents: Prototype, Pilot run, In series, or the internal stages Inter in / Inter out.

An Advanced fields panel adds optional CAD detail: Embedded info (EmbeddedInfo: data carried inside the file, such as PMI, reference points, kinematics, parametrization), and, if this is a reduced version of a fuller model, What was simplified, Reduced elements (ReducedElements: screw joints, inner parts, graphics) and Derived from (DerivedFrom).

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Geometry

The size and shape of the model.

This section appears in the export only when Representation is set. Without it your entries are saved but not published.

Field		What to enter
Representation	★	How the geometry is described: Solid body, Mesh, Wireframe, Surface or Point cloud. A STEP file is usually a Solid body; an STL is a Mesh.
Length unit (LengthUnit)		The unit the numbers are in: mm, m or in. Defaults to mm.
Bounding box (BoundingBox)		The overall size. Pick Min envelope or Max envelope, then the X, Y, Z dimensions, for example 320 by 180 by 240 mm.

An Advanced fields panel holds coordinate frames for the rare case where your CAD export provides them. Leave it blank otherwise.

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Applications

The software side of the model. Two parts, both reached from the Compatible applications section or a file's Made with button.

Source application (SourceApplication) is the CAD tool that created the file, edited per file. It is optional as a whole, but all or nothing: fill one field and the standard needs them all. The fields are App name (ApplicationName), Version (ApplicationVersion), Qualifier (ApplicationQualifier: what the app is, such as CAD or PLM), Vendor (OrganizationName), and the Vendor's legal name (OrganizationOfficialName). Fill some but not all and the app warns "Saved, but not published until you add: ...".

Compatible applications (ConsumingApplication) are the programs that can open this file. Add application for each. Every entry needs all five fields to publish: application name, version, what kind of app it is, vendor, and the vendor's legal name. A row missing any is marked Incomplete, saved but not exported, so you can finish it later.

Both have an Advanced panel for API access details, which most manufacturers can ignore.

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External links and related files

Reached from the External links and related files button on a file version. All optional, and most models need none.

• External link to the file (ExternalFile). If the same file can also be downloaded from your website or a customer portal, paste the URL. The identifier and host fields fill in from the URL for you.
• Related files. If this model is Based on (BasedOn) or Refers to (RefersTo) another 3D model, paste that model's reference (IRI).

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What is required, at a glance

To have this in the exported file	You must fill
The model itself	A file and a title.
A useful preview	A preview image (the slot is always exported; without an image it is empty).
Capability section	Origin and at least one Good for.
Geometry section	Representation.
A source application	All five of its fields, or none.
A compatible application	All five fields for that entry.
Identity, external links, file versions	Nothing is forced. Add what you have.

Everything you type is saved regardless. The rules above only decide whether a section is complete enough to publish.

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Tips

• Upload first, enrich later. A file and a title make the model exportable. Come back for Capability and Geometry when you have a moment.
• Always add a preview image. The standard demands the slot, so the only choice is a real thumbnail or an empty one.
• Set Representation and the bounding box. They are quick and they are what a customer most wants to know before downloading a CAD file.
• Watch the "not published" warnings. If a section will not export, the app names the missing field. Nothing is hidden.
• One model per real part or assembly, with file versions inside it for different formats or revisions, rather than many separate models.

For technical users

This section populates the Provision of 3D Models submodel (IDTA 02026-1-0). Each model is a Model3D with one or more File collections, each holding a FileVersion with its DigitalFile and a mandatory PreviewFile [1] (emitted empty when no image is supplied). Optional Capability and Geometry collections sit alongside.

Several elements are cardinality [1], which is why the app withholds a section from the export until they are set rather than shipping empty mandatory elements: Capability needs Origin and at least one ModelPurpose; Geometry needs Representation; each SourceApplication and ConsumingApplication needs ApplicationName, ApplicationVersion, ApplicationQualifier and the vendor's OrganizationName and OrganizationOfficialName. Value lists (ModelPurpose, State, EmbeddedInfo, ReducedElements) store the spec's canonical tokens; the UI only humanises them for display.