nVIZ Perceived Quality Plugin Version 2022.0

Documentation for other Versions

Installation

The software cannot be used as a standalone application. It is designed to be used as a plugin for Autodesk VRED.

Download and execute the nVIZ Perceived Quality Plugin installer.

The installation of the software requires administrator rights, please make sure the user has administrator rights before starting the installation. The installation requires configuration files specific to the customers PQ data process and the VRED version being used. When running the installer, you will be prompted to select either the “Manual Configuration Option” or the “Automatic Configuration Option” – see details below.

Manual Configuration Option:

After the installer has completed, you will need to manually copy the following files:
1st file : “nVIZ Perceived Quality.py”
2nd file: “nVIZ Perceived Quality.ui”
Source Directory: “C:\Program Files\nVIZ\PerceivedQuality\<PQ Plugin Version>\ …”
Target Directory: Autodesk VRED provides two paths for maintaining plugins. Please identify the directory where you want to keep the nVIZ Perceived Quality Plugin. The paths are displayed in the VRED terminal window after launching VRED:

3rd file: “xlsximport.config”. The plugin supports the Excel-import of gap/flush values, part transformations and arbitrary combinations. The definition of which data to read from the Excel file and the interpretation of the gap/flush nomenclature are defined in the config file.
Source Directory: “C:\Program Files\nVIZ\PerceivedQuality\<PQ Plugin Version>\Config Files\<Customer Name>\ …”
Target Directory: “C:\Program Files\nVIZ\PerceivedQuality\<PQ Plugin Version>\ …”

Automatic Configuration Option:

The automatic configuration option will prompt the user to select the company name and the VRED version. The following files will then be copied from their source directory to their target directory by the installer:
1st file: “nVIZ Perceived Quality.py”
2nd file: “nVIZ Perceived Quality.ui”
Source Directory: “C:\Program Files\nVIZ\PerceivedQuality\<PQ Plugin Version>\ …”
Target Directory: “C:\Program Files\Autodesk\<VRED Version>\lib\plugins\WIN64\Scripts\nVIZ\ …”

3rd file: “xlsximport.config”. The plugin supports the Excel-import of gap/flush values, part transformations and arbitrary combinations. The definition of which data to read from the
Source Directory: “C:\Program Files\nVIZ\PerceivedQuality\<PQ Plugin Version>\Config Files\<Customer Name>\ …”
Target Directory: “C:\Program Files\nVIZ\PerceivedQuality\<PQ Plugin Version>\ …”

Completing the installation

After completing the installation, restart Autodesk VRED or reload script plugins under
Edit > Reload Script Plugins

Temporary files for the plugin are created in the following directory:
“C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Local\Temp\nVIZ\PerceivedQuality\”

User specific preferences files for the plugin are created in the following directory:
“C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Roaming\nVIZ\PerceivedQuality\”

The installer does not create any shortcut on the desktop or in the start-menu because the
software needs to be used from within Autodesk VRED.

The software can be uninstalled directly from “Add or Remove Programs” utility
provided by Windows. The uninstaller does not delete the license file, so the
license file can be re-used in case of updating the software to a newer version.

License File

Please contact nVIZ to receive your license file. The license file needs to be copied to the directory:

C:Program Files/nVIZ/PerceivedQuality

Getting Started

After installation, the nVIZ Perceived Quality Plugin can be launched from the context menu like any other VRED module – right mouse click on the Main Tool Bar or on the Quick Access Bar:

To restart with an empty data base of the PQ Plugin at any time, go to the VRED main menu > Edit > Reload Script Plugins

Step 1: Import Gap/Flush Measure Data from Excel File

The starting point for a Perceived Quality review is the import of the gap/flush data stored in an Excel file. Typically this Excel file is generated from CAD and 3DCS data.

After successful data import, the gap and flush data is listed in the left tree widget. If the Excel sheet for combinations is filled in, the imported combinations will be listed in the combinations tree widget, grouped in ten groups based on the first digit of the combination ID.


Step 2: Check/Assign Part Names and Cache the Panels

Next, we need to make sure that all part names from Excel will be found in the VRED Scene Graph and we need to cache all the panel vertices in memory for the morphing operations.

As long as you have red lines, the plugin cannot create the panel cache, i.e., you cannot continue. You then have three options to continue:

Option 1: Make the part names in the VRED scene graph correspond to the Excel file.

Option 2: Remove the red gap/flush lines from the list:

Option 3: Assign the correct parts:

If all parts are found in the VRED Scene Graph, i.e., all lines green, the plugin will create a cache with all panel vertices for morphing. This process will take some time. The progress is shown in the three progress bars at the bottom of the plugin.

If the process succeeds, you will see a success message in the VRED terminal window:

Besides creating the panel cache, the Plug-In will also create a number of preset gap/flush variants (according to the checked options in the preferences).

Step 3: Verify the Gap/Flush Data

Step 4: Morph a Gap or Flush Variant

The morphed gap/flush variants will be added to the History on the right-hand tree widget. Click through the history states for real-time A-B comparison.

User Manual

Gap/ Flush Data

Cache Panels Function

After every Excel import or database open function, the Plugin needs to check that all part names can be found in the VRED scene graph. If all parts are found, it needs to extract the positions of all vertices and cache them in memory for the morphing operations.

Gap and Flush Variants

For automatic creation of gap/flush variants with the Cache Panels function: before executing Cache Panels, go to the preferences and check the check boxes. To add gap or flush variants after caching the panels, select the preset variant you want to add from the Deformations Variant Presets combo box (select All Checked Variants to have multiple variants added) and use the Add Gap/Flush Deformation Variants explained above.

The plug-in will automatically generate a sceneplate to display the latest morphed gap/flush/combination variant. Toogle the sceneplates in the VRED main menu and use the VRED sceneplate editor to adjust the sceneplate settings.

Measure Points

To see or to edit the measure point values, expand any gap/flush variant and the individual measure points and their values will be displayed in the columns “Nominal”, “Maximum”, “Minimum”, “Value”, “Ratio” and “Morph Radius”. The last three columns (=yellow values) can be directly edited with a right click on the value.

After editing the data, repeat the morph operation to see the difference.

Further editing options are available with a right click on the measure point ID.

Part Transformations

Besides the panel deformation variants discussed above, the PQ Plugin also allows to add panel transformations to simulate effects like the tolerances of the mounting points for the hinges of the doors, bonet etc.

Combinations of Gap/Flush/Transformation Variants

Combinations a required to study areas where multiple gaps end at one point, e.g. headlight-bonnet-fender. Also to study worst case scenarios, e.g., minimal gap with maximum flush. By default, the combinations tree widget is organized in ten groups for e.g. front, left-hand, rear, …

When importing combinations from an Excel file, the combinations will be placed into the groups based on the first digit of the combination’s ID. If no combinations are imported, right click a group > Add Combination to create a new combination.

To add gap/flush variants to a combination, simply drag a variant from the gap/flush tree and drop it on a combination in the combination tree.

Presentation Workflows

The presentation widget allows you to build a scene graph of group nodes and children for a well structured presentation workflow. Right click in the widget to add group nodes, then drag&drop the group nodes onto each other to create multiple parent-children levels.

Rename the groups for a readable structure and then drag&drop the gap/flush/transformation variants from the very-left widget and the combinations from the second-left widget onto the group nodes.

After building the presentation structure, you can morph and cache any parts of the graph for a swift presentation to management. The variants available in cache for instant access are highlighted in blue.

NB: The presentation cache will be saved with the project file!

History For Real-time A-B Gap or Flush Comparison

All morphed states are stored in the history list for real-time A-B comparison of the different gap/flush/transformation/combination variants. By clicking through the list, you can toggle the states.

As VRED models usually consume a large amount of memory, make sure that you have sufficient memory available on your PC for the history. The size of the history cache (number of states cached) can be set in the preferences.

Preferences