Installing and Configuring AEM 3D

Log onto the host where AEM is installed.

• If this is a Windows Server deployment, log onto the server as Administrator.
• If this is a MAC or Windows desktop, make sure you have administrator privileges.

Use the link appropriate for your operating system to download FBX SDK version 2016.1.2

• Windows
  http://download.autodesk.com/us/fbx_release_older/2016.1.2/fbx20161_2_fbxsdk_vs2010_win.exe
  
• OS X
  http://download.autodesk.com/us/fbx_release_older/2016.1.2/fbx20161_2_fbxsdk_clang_mac.pkg.tgz
  

Install the FBX SDK to the same disk drive or partition where AEM is installed.

Do one of the following:

• If this is a Windows Server deployment, log on to the server as Administrator.
• If this is a Mac or Windows desktop, make sure you have Adminstrator privileges.

Ensure that you have a supported browser available to access AEM.

See System requirements.

Using a support browser, log on to AEM with Administrator privileges.

In AEM, click the AEM logo to access the global navigation console, then click the Tools icon and navigate to Administration > Deployment > Package Share.

On the Adobe page, use your Adobe ID credentials to log on to your Adobe Creative Cloud account.

On the Adobe packages page, locate version 2.0.0 of AEM-6.3-DynamicMedia-3D feature pack, then download it.

In AEM, click Tools > Administration > Deployment > Package Manager.

Locate the downloaded feature pack, then click Install.

 In the Install Package dialog box, expand Advanced Settings, then set Access Control Handling to Merge.

Click Install to begin installation of the package.

The file sample-3D-content.zip is placed in the Assets root folder. See Validating the setup of AEM 3D for additional information.

In AEM, click the AEM logo to access the global navigation console, then click the Tools icon and navigate to Workflow > Models.

On the Workflow Models page, hover over the DAM Update Asset workflow, and when the check mark appears, select it.

On the toolbar, click Edit.

On the DAM Update Asset screen, in the AEM floating panel, click the Plus icon to the right of Workflow to expand the list. Select Process Step in the list.

Drag Process Step and drop it at the appropriate location which is typically at or near the end of the workflow.

Double-click the newly added process step.

In the Step Properties dialog box, under the Common tab, in the Title field, enter a suitable description for the process such as Process 3D content.

Click the Process tab.

From the Process drop-down menu, select Geometric 3D Object Service, then select the Handler Advance check box.

Click OK to return to the DAM Update Asset page.

Near the upper-left of the DAM Update Asset page, click Save.

(Optional) Adobe recommends that you increase JPEG quality to reduce JPEG artifacts when you preview rendered 3D images. To do so, do the following:

1. In AEM, navigate to Tools > General > CRXDE Lite.
2. On the CRXDE Lite page, in the left panel, navigate to the following location:
   /etc/dam/imageserver/configuration/jcr:content/setting
3. In the lower-right pane, set the value of the property jpegquality to 95.
4. Near the upper-left corner of the CRXDE Lite page, click Save All.

Restart AEM. Following restart, Dynamic Media is automatically enabled if it was not previously. You can now upload 3D content and have AEM process it.

Continue with Validating the setup of AEM 3D.

In AEM, click Tools > Assets, then download sample-3D-content.zip, and expand the downloaded file.

Make sure you are in Card View to view upload and processing feedback in the remaining steps.

Create a folder named test3d to receive test content.

Upload all files from sample-3D-content/images to the test3d folder.

Wait for the upload and processing to complete. You may need to refresh your browser.

Upload the three .fbx files from sample-3D-content/ to the test3d folder.

Do not upload the .ma model files yet.

In the Card View, observe the message banners that are shown on the 3d asset cards.

Each asset proceeds through several processing steps. When the Creating Preview... processing step completes, the card is updated with a thumbnail image. When final processing is completed, the banner is replaced with the NEW indicator. 

Expect very high CPU utilization while 3D processing is in progress. Depending on available CPU capacity it may take a substantial amount of time to complete all processing.

You will now learn how to resolve file dependencies.

On the "Unresolved Dependencies" banner for the stage-helipad.fbx card, click the Exclamation Point icon to navigate to the asset's properties and open the Dependencies tab.

Click the Folder/Magnifying Glass icon to the right of the file name to open the asset browser and resolve the dependencies as follows:

Click Save and Close to finish processing the asset and return to the Card View, respectively.

When processing is complete, you see the following in Card View:

On the test3d page, click the logo-sphere.fbx card to open the model in detail view.

Near the upper-right corner of the logo-sphere.fbx page, click the Stage Spotlight icon to expand the drop-down menu, then select stage-spotlights.fbx.

From the Stage Spotlight drop-down list, select stage-helipad.fbx.

Using the left mouse button to adjust the view. The background and model lighting changes to reflect the new stage selection.