In PiXYZ vocabulary, the Product Structure designates the scene tree, or scene hierarchy.

It is displayed in the Product Structure (Tree) window, positioned by default at the left side of GUI.


When a 3D model is imported in PiXYZ STUDIO, the Product Structure reflects the hierarchy that was designed in the CAD/3D solution that produced the imported model.

When a scene is exported from PiXYZ STUDIO (see Supported File Formats), the Product Structure is kept as presented in the GUI (if the format support the Tree concept).


NOTE                In this documentation, and in PiXYZ STUDIO functions, the Product Structure is more commonly called Tree.


About occurrences

The Product Structure is composed of one node type only, called occurrence (it is an occurrence tree).

In PiXYZ STUDIO, an occurrence is the fundamental object of a Scene and its Product Structure, and is similar to the gameObject concept in Unity3D.

An occurrence is by default an empty node, that does not contain any geometry. It does not accomplish much by itself, but it acts as a container for components, which implement the real functionality (see below).

Occurrence ID

An occurrence is identified by a unique numerical identifier, called ID.

The occurrence ID can be found in the Inspector panel, or by mousing over the occurrence in the Product Structure panel (toolip).


   

Occurrence properties

An occurrence carries properties, that can be viewed and used through the Inspector panel, or using scripting.

There are 3 types of properties in PiXYZ:


  • Default Properties
  • Additional Properties
  • Custom Properties


See About Occurrence Properties

Occurrence components

An occurrence can receive components (just like in Unity3D), to modulate its behavior.

There are 5 component types in PiXYZ:


  • Part
  • Light
  • PMI
  • Visual Behavior
  • Interaction Behavior


See About Occurrence Components

Occurrence types

Depending on the components it carries, an occurrence is designated by a different name in PiXYZ STUDIO GUI and documentation:


  • An occurrence with a Part component is a Part occurrence, more commonly called Part.
  • An occurrence with no Part component, and having other occurrences as children, is called an Assembly occurrence, or Assembly.
  • An occurrence with a Light component is a Light occurrence, or Light.
  • An occurrence can have a PMI component, allowing to display PMI information (PMI can be displayed from the Variants panel, where all scene PMI and views are listed).
  • An occurrence with an Interaction Behavior component, or a Visual Behavior component, has a specific behavior in PiXYZ viewer, meant to be used in VR mode with PiXYZ REVIEW.

Prototypes & Instantiation

Instantiation is managed through a concept called Prototype.

A Prototype is an occurrence that can be referenced by other occurrences, allowing to create instantiation behavior.


See About Occurrence Prototypes