KeyShot 6 - Very Disappointed (Rounded Edge Feature/Performance) - FIXED!

[thefonzzz]

Hi there, hopefully someone can help here as I fear I've wasted a lot of money buying KeyShot 6!

I've been a KeyShot user for a few years now (v3 through v4.3 - missed v5) and just updated to v6.  What's happened?   

KeyShot 6 is giving me all sorts of problems - generally sluggish behaviour:

Slow free camera - even with no materials applied.
Slow update scrolling parts list/changing settings/applying materials.
Rounded edge feature - poor quality blends.
Render window - erratic re-sizing and appears slow.

I imagine all this is related so tried a few things:

Imported same model (STP) into KeyShot 4.3 - none of the above problems.
Disabled 'Graphics Effects' in Advanced Preferences (I read this while searching on here) - no change.
Tried other models (STP) that had worked fine in KeyShot 4.3 - all give problems as above in v6.

Luckily I still have access to KeyShot 4.3 as version 6.1 is unusable at the moment.

Difficult to show problems of a 'sluggish' nature but this comparison on the Rounded Edge feature is clear to see on the attached screenshots (4.3 on left, 6.1 on right).

My system is unchanged from my time using 4.3 and this version still runs very happily:

Dell Precision T5600/Dual Xeon E5-2620 2.0Ghz 6 core processors (24 cores total)/32Gb RAM/Windows 7

[guest84672]

Can you share the step file?

[Rex]

In regards to the Rounded Edges issue - are you importing with "accurate tessellation"? Please try this to see if it makes a difference.

Thank you

[thefonzzz]

Thanks for your replies - my apologies, I was out on holiday last week.

I updated to KeyShot 6.2 today, and have tried checking 'accurate tessellation' but no improvement 

I have attached the STP file I used for my example, but to be honest all STP files I've used previously in v4 without issue present the same problems in v6.2.  Luckily I can still use v4 as this v6.2 is not up to the job.

I wonder if the import filters have been changed since v4?

[guest84672]

Thanks for sharing. The STEP file works fine for me. We will look into the rounded edge issue.

[thefonzzz]

Thanks for checking - when you say the STP file is fine do you mean the rounded edge feature works fine as well on your setup?  I don't have a problem with the geometry itself.

In my example the rounded edge is set to 0.5 and it's clear to see the bad quality it displays in v6.2.

[thefonzzz]

Just to add, I tried importing the same model as an IGS file and get the same issue - just looks a bit different.

STP first, then IGS..

[guest84672]

I was referring to the performance. But I noticed the rounded edge issue as well and forwarded to development.

In the meantime, why don't you model the fillet instead?

[thefonzzz]

Ah right - good that it's not just me.  Might indeed be a bug..

I can model the fillets, but this product is only one part of an assembly that contains many more products.  It can be time-consuming and sometimes tricky to model hundreds of blends in an assembly - this is why the rounded edge feature is (was) so cool.

Hopefully the development guys can find a solution - in the meantime I'll carry on using good old v4.3.

[HaroldL]

You're not the only one to have issues with Keyshot's rounded edges. I turned in a support ticket back in March with the same problem, it looked like the rounded edge alternated between the tessellation facets along the edges. The reply from Support was that "rounded edges do not work well" for my model and that, to his understanding, it was a "technical limitation in the method used." Support did say that he "will check with the responsible developers if they can optimize on it."

Since rounded edges acts on the whole model I find that it is best to apply fillets on all the appropriate edges in modeling software before sending it to Keyshot. That way you have more control on which edges get rounded that the size of rounding.

Ideally, one should be able to select between the entire model or selecting an edge or edges and apply the rounding. (Wishlist idea)

[thefonzzz]

You're not the only one to have issues with Keyshot's rounded edges. I turned in a support ticket back in March with the same problem, it looked like the rounded edge alternated between the tessellation facets along the edges. The reply from Support was that "rounded edges do not work well" for my model and that, to his understanding, it was a "technical limitation in the method used." Support did say that he "will check with the responsible developers if they can optimize on it."
..

Wow that's astonishing!  I remember Luxion making a big deal of this feature during the KeyShot 4 promotions and this was one of the main reasons we upgraded from KeyShot 3.  It's a huge time saver and has worked brilliantly for me all this time - I wouldn't want to be without it.

One of the reasons I upgraded to v6 was to make use of the 'shift lens' feature to straighten verticals, as I wasn't happy with how some renders looked within blocks of text in sales brochures (which exacerbated the angled verticals of some views).  This feature works well but as I can't use the rounded edge feature in v6 I won't be able to make use of it.  I tried applying materials (and rounded edges) in v4.3 and then opening the BIP file in v6 to use the shift lens feature, but the poor quality rounded edges appear within v6 even through they weren't 'created' in that version 

I think Luxion have dropped the ball here - how can a feature that worked perfectly in a previous version now be unusable?  It's not down to model files as I've proved they work as expected in v4.3, so it must be a bug in how the software now interprets the model and applies the feature.  Surely this is an oversight they must fix?? 

Do you know if the feature worked properly in KeyShot 5?  I never used that version.

[thefonzzz]

Here's a simple example of the rounded edge feature in use on a simple thread..

I know this is not a 'true' thread, but you get the idea 

Thread with no rounded edge applied              |              Rounded edge (KeyShot 4.3)                |                Rounded edge (KeyShot 6.2)

[thefonzzz]

Quick update on this.  I've been told the rounded edge issue will be fixed in the next update.

[HaroldL]

That's good to hear. As I mentioned in another post, because KS applies rounded edges to the entire model, I try to put them in on the CAD model. That gives me more control over location and size. IF I use KS rounded edges I try to limit sizes to no more that .005" [.013 mm] otherwise there are weird results.

[guest84672]

Yes - it is fixed in the latest build. If all goes well it will be released later today.