Gems and diamonds

Prepare gem layers and gem meshes in your CAD file so that each stone shows the correct cut.

The platform draws each gem with refraction, and it uses the cut of the stone to do this. Your file must show which stones have the same cut. The file must also keep the facets flat.

Before you start

• You have the model open in Rhino.
• The layers have clear names. Refer to Layers and names.

Put each cut on its own layer

Step 1 of 4

1. Make one gem layer for each cut. For example, put round stones on Gem 01 and pear stones on Gem 02.
2. Put stones of the same cut on one layer. The stones can have different sizes, rotations and positions.
3. If stones of the same cut need different materials, put them on different layers.
4. Use the same layer name for the same cut in all your files.

Different cuts on one layer

If a round stone and a baguette stone share one layer, the platform draws them with one cut. The baguette stones then look incorrect.

Keep the facets flat

A gem gets its sparkle from flat facets with hard edges. Smooth normals make the stone look soft, like glass.

Step 1 of 5

1. Select the gem meshes in Rhino.
2. Run the Unweld command.
3. Set the angle to 0.
4. Set ModifyNormals to Yes.
5. Do not weld or smooth the gem meshes after this step.

Metal meshes can stay smooth.

Keep each stone separate

Step 1 of 3

1. Keep each stone as a separate mesh.
2. Do not join a stone with a different stone or with a metal part.
3. Use block instances for identical stones. The file stays small.

The scene is also important

The sparkle also comes from the gem environment map in the scene. Set it in Playground.

Related pages

• Layers and names
• Gems look flat
• Diamond materials
• Checklist before upload