Document Purpose

This document is aimed at professional 3D artists who need to create optimized assets for the Mimeeq Configurator platform. It assumes working knowledge of 3D modeling but provides specific guidance on web optimization, performance requirements, and Mimeeq's technical standards.

Model Extensions and 3D Asset Requirements

Supported File Formats

The Mimeeq App currently supports importing 3D models in the following formats:

• .glb (preferred format)
• .obj
• .stl

Below is a table showing the key features of each format:

Any model can be easily exported to these formats through external software or even browser-based converters.

Beyond File Extensions: Topology Matters Most

While the Mimeeq App accepts several file formats, the internal structure of your 3D model is what truly determines performance and visual quality in the configurator.

Quad Topology: Ideal for Web Configurators

Quad-based models offer significant advantages:

• Cleaner, lighter geometry that loads faster
• Better real-time performance on websites
• Smoother visual appearance
• Easier to modify and animate
• Superior texture mapping capabilities

Quad models are typically created in professional 3D modeling software:

• Blender (.blend)
• 3ds Max (.max)
• Maya (.ma, .mb)
• Cinema 4D (.c4d)

CAD Models: Challenges for Web Display

CAD models (Computer-Aided Design) are optimized for manufacturing precision rather than visual display:

• Extremely detailed and resource-intensive
• Slower loading times and reduced performance
• Often have problematic texture mapping
• Can produce unnatural-looking organic shapes
• May display visible artifacts requiring significant cleanup

CAD models typically come from engineering software like:

• AutoCAD (.dwg)
• SolidWorks (.sldprt)
• Inventor (.ipt, .iam)
• CATIA (.CATPart, .CATProduct)
• Fusion 360 (.f3d)

There are also few common neutral file formats used for exchanging 3D model data between different CAD systems:

• STEP files (.step, .stp)
• GES files (.iges, .igs)

Technical Guidelines for 3D Modeling

Optimizing Mesh Complexity for Performance

Although there's no strict polygon limit to load the model, it's crucial to maintain reasonable complexity in your models. We recommend optimising your configurator scene to keep with the below variables:

Please note that these limits apply to each loaded configuration state. While the total available assets may be significantly larger, the system employs lazy loading and automatically cleans unused meshes and materials as users interact with the configurator.

Although modern devices, particularly laptops, can handle up to 2 million polygons and modern phones up to 1 million, there is generally no need for such heavy models. Usually, the issue lies in models not being properly optimized rather than hardware limitations.

Surpassing this threshold may lead to several issues:

• Significant performance degradation: Higher polygon counts require more processing power, impacting rendering speed, especially on lower-end hardware.
• Longer loading times: Heavier models increase file size and strain loading resources, reducing responsiveness.
• Increased crash risk on mobile: Mobile memory is more limited, making them more prone to crashing or freezing under high load.

Best Practices

Organize geometry to minimize material switches.

For example, if you have a chair model with multiple wooden parts using the same material, combine them into a single mesh rather than having separate meshes for each leg, seat, and backrest. This reduces draw calls from 4+ down to just 1.

• Use instancing for repeated elements
• Batch similar meshes together
• Avoid unnecessary mesh splits that create additional draw calls

Remember that each draw call requires GPU processing time, so minimizing them directly improves rendering performance and overall application responsiveness.

General Modeling Best Practices

We recommend taking a rational approach to your modeling strategy. As this is a dynamic field where capabilities continuously evolve and modern devices offer increased processing power, optimization remains an important consideration.

• Prioritize detail in prominent, visible areas - only apply subdivisions where they enhance visual quality
• Do not model elements that would not be visible or are irrelevant (like screw holes)
• Break large models into modular components that can be loaded independently
• Consider using instances in your model for the better optimization (Mimeeq app supports instances)
• Consider developing a Low Poly version of the model to optimize for mobile and AR applications. Mimeeq app features a high poly-low poly matching system, enabling appropriate model display across different scenarios.
• Keep your topology clean, avoid n-gons and triangulated polygons

Ambient Occlusion

Why is it worth to use Ambient Occlusion maps

Ambient Occlusion (AO) maps serve a vital role in 3D configurators by enhancing depth and realism in digital products. These specialized grayscale texture maps effectively simulate light interaction with surfaces in close proximity, thereby creating subtle shadows in crevices, corners, and areas where objects intersect. Since web browsers typically cannot process ray tracing calculations due to their computational intensity, which would significantly impact performance, AO maps function as pre-calculated shadow overlays that are applied to 3D models, creating the illusion of shadows without intensive real-time calculations. This efficient lighting simulation approach ensures optimal performance while delivering a convincing level of visual authenticity.

Below you can see a comparison with and without AO Maps:

UV Channel Management for AO Maps

At Mimeeq, we support two separate UV channels in our configurator - one dedicated to materials and another specifically for AO maps. When implementing multiple UV channels, the first channel (uv channel 0) handles the diffuse, normal, and other material textures, while the second channel (UV Channel 1) is dedicated to the ambient occlusion map.

This separation allows for:

• Independent Scaling: Each UV channel can have individual scales, allowing precise control over how textures and shadowing are applied
• Material Flexibility: Supports applying multiple materials to a single object without compromising ambient occlusion effects

Mimeeq baking script

Creating Ambient Occlusion maps is typically a manual and time-consuming process, especially challenging when dealing with numerous configurable items. Each product variation can require hours of work to properly "bake" these shadow maps. Mimeeq Studio has solved this problem by developing specialized scripts that automatically generate these maps based on the Blender file structure and naming conventions. This automation reduces production time while maintaining consistent quality across all product configurations.

• Our specialized Blender script automatically generates the appropriate UV layouts
• The .glb models are exported with both UV sets properly configured
• The accompanying CSV file links the .glb model with its corresponding AO .jpg
• Our app automatically processes these files, linking them correctly

To understand how to prepare your file for Mimeeq Scripts purposes, please read [this document].

Textures requirements

When preparing textures for a 3D configurator application, striking the right balance between visual quality and performance is essential. Based on industry best practices:

For optimal performance in browser-based configurators:

• We recommend to use 512×512 px or 1024×1024 px or 2048×2048 px ratio textures
• Preferable format is .jpg, We recommend using JPG format unless PNG is required for specific cases like engraving, it is often better to use .png if there are a large amount of transparent pixels.
• Aim to keep individual texture file sizes under 1MB. The smaller, the better without the quality loss. 250kb for a material texture is usually enough.
• Use appropriate compression formats to reduce file size while maintaining visual quality
• Create seamless textures that tile infinitely without visible seams or breaks

Mimeeq Automatic Compression System

When uploading files to Mimeeq's media library, all textures are automatically processed as follows:

Original Files

• We preserve your original file format (e.g., if you upload an 8K texture, we maintain it in that format)
• While 8K textures are supported, they are not recommended for optimal performance

Automatic Compression

• For each uploaded texture, we automatically generate compressed versions at the following resolutions:
• 4096px (4K)
• 2048px (2K)
• 1024px (1K)
• 512px
• Our compression system uses carefully tested settings that balance file size and visual quality for the best performance.

Default Settings

• All products default to 1024px (1K) texture resolution for desktop
• Even if you upload a 4K texture, the system will use the 1K version unless otherwise specified

Default Texture Size Configuration

Customizable Resolution Control
Texture resolution can be controlled at multiple levels:

• Standard configurators (desktop and mobile separately)
• Modular configurators (desktop and mobile separately)
• By texture type (material textures, ambient occlusion, shadow textures)

These settings are optimized to provide the best balance between visual quality and performance across different devices and usage scenarios.

Additional Texture Guidelines

• Recommended formats: .jpg (preferred), .png when transparency needed
• Target file size: Under 1MB per texture (250kb typically sufficient)
• Texture dimensions: 512×512px, 1024×1024px, or 2048×2048px ratios
• Create seamless textures that tile infinitely

3D Asset Requirements Cheat Sheet

File Formats Quick Guide

Key Model Specifications

Texture Guidelines

• Optimal Resolutions:
  
• Desktop: 1024x1024px
  
• Mobile: 512x512px
• File size: <1MB (aim for 250kb)
• Format: .jpg preferred

Performance Optimization Checklist

• Combine meshes with same materials
• Use instancing for repeated elements
• Break large models into modules
• Organize geometry to minimize draw calls
• Keep topology quad-based
• Mark static meshes appropriately

UV Channel Setup

• Channel 0: Materials, diffuse, normal maps
• Channel 1: Ambient Occlusion maps

Best Practices at a Glance

• Prioritize visible areas for detail
• Skip modeling hidden elements
• Use modular components
• Create seamless textures
• Implement AO maps for realism
• Avoid unnecessary mesh splits

Quick Tips

• Keep materials under 50 per scene
• Batch similar meshes together
• Use texture atlasing when possible
• Minimize transparent materials
• Optimize heavy CAD models before import

Updated on: 13/04/2025