NDEVR Materials
Understanding Visual Settings
When you load a model in the NDEVR engine — whether it’s a 3D scan, CAD part, or imported design — the engine decides how it should look. Color, transparency, shading, reflectivity, even whether the inside is visible — all of that comes from something called a material.
But you don’t need to assign these settings one by one to every surface. Instead, NDEVR uses an inheritance system, which is just a smart way of saying: Settings flow from the top of the model down to the smallest pieces automatically.
Understanding the 3 material options — made simple
Every model in the NDEVR engine can decide how it should look using one of three methods:
- Use a specifically assigned material
- Inherit the material from a parent model
- Inherit the material from the parent layer (great for bulk styling)
This gives you a lot of control, without needing to manually set visual properties on every part.
Real-World Scenario
Imagine you’re reviewing a construction scan:
| Model | Material Mode | Specified Layer | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entire building | 1️⃣ Specify | Global Layer Override | Set to grey |
| ├── Room 101 model | 2️⃣ Inherit from parent model | – | Also grey (inherited from building) |
| │ └── Electrical conduit | 3️⃣ Inherit from layer | Safety Layer (yellow) | yellow (inherited from layer) |
| │ └── Floor surface | 2️⃣ Inherit from parent model | – | Grey (inherits from Room 101 → Entire building material) |
| ├── Piping | 1️⃣ Specify | Mechanical Layer (green) | Set to blue |
| │ └── Pipe Junction | 2️⃣ Inherit from parent model | – | Also blue |
| │ └── Pipe bracket | 3️⃣ Inherit from layer | – | Green (inheriting indirectly from mechanical layer) |
You didn’t have to manually select a look for each item — the inheritance system handled it.