threepipe/README.md

ThreePipe

A new way to work with three.js, 3D models and rendering on the web.

ThreePipe — Github — Examples — API Reference — WebGi

ThreePipe is a 3D framework built on top of three.js in TypeScript with a focus on rendering quality, modularity, and extensibility.

Key features include:

• Simple, intuitive API for creating 3D model viewers/configurators/editors on web pages, with many built-in presets for common workflows and use-cases.
• Companion editor to create, edit and configure 3D scenes in the browser.
• Modular architecture that allows you to easily extend the viewer, scene objects, materials, shaders, rendering, post-processing and serialization with custom functionality.
• Simple plugin system along with a rich library of built-in plugins that allows you to easily add new features to the viewer.
• uiconfig compatibility to automatically generate configuration UIs in the browser.
• Modular rendering pipeline with built-in deferred rendering, post-processing, RGBM HDR rendering, etc.
• Material extension framework to modify/inject/build custom shader code into existing materials at runtime from plugins.
• Extendable asset import, export and management pipeline with built-in support for gltf, glb, obj+mtl, fbx, materials(pmat/bmat), json, zip, png, jpeg, svg, webp, ktx2, ply, 3dm and many more.
• Automatic serialization of all viewer and plugin settings in GLB(with custom extensions) and JSON formats.
• Automatic disposal of all three.js resources with built-in reference management.

Examples

Code samples and demos covering various usecases and test are present in the examples folder.

Try them: https://threepipe.org/examples/

View the source code by pressing the code button on the top left of the example page.

To make changes and run the example, click on the CodePen button on the top right of the source code.

Getting Started

HTML/JS Quickstart (CDN)

<canvas id="three-canvas" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;"></canvas>
<script type="module">
  import {ThreeViewer} from 'https://threepipe.org/dist/index.mjs'
  const viewer = new ThreeViewer({canvas: document.getElementById('three-canvas')})
  
  // Load an environment map
  const envPromise = viewer.setEnvironmentMap('https://threejs.org/examples/textures/equirectangular/venice_sunset_1k.hdr')
  const modelPromise = viewer.load('https://threejs.org/examples/models/gltf/DamagedHelmet/glTF/DamagedHelmet.gltf', {
    autoCenter: true,
    autoScale: true,
  })
  
  Promise.all([envPromise, modelPromise]).then(([env, model])=>{
    console.log('Loaded', model, env, viewer)
  })
</script>

Check it in action: https://threepipe.org/examples/#html-sample/

NPM/YARN

Installation

npm install threepipe

Loading a 3D Model

First, create a canvas element in your HTML page:

<canvas id="three-canvas" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;"></canvas>

Then, import the viewer and create a new instance:

import {ThreeViewer, IObject3D} from 'threepipe'

// Create a viewer
const viewer = new ThreeViewer({canvas: document.getElementById('three-canvas') as HTMLCanvasElement})

// Load an environment map
await viewer.setEnvironmentMap('https://threejs.org/examples/textures/equirectangular/venice_sunset_1k.hdr')

// Load a model
const result = await viewer.load<IObject3D>('https://threejs.org/examples/models/gltf/DamagedHelmet/glTF/DamagedHelmet.gltf', {
    autoCenter: true,
    autoScale: true,
})

That’s it! You should now see a 3D model on your page.

The 3D model can be opened in the editor to view and edit the scene settings, objects, materials, lights, cameras, post-processing, etc. and exported as a GLB file. All settings are automatically serialized and saved in the GLB file, which can be loaded into the viewer. Any plugins used in the editor can be added to the viewer to add the same functionality. The plugin data is automatically loaded(if the plugin is added) when the model is added to the scene.

The viewer initializes with a Scene, Camera, Camera controls(Orbit Controls), several importers, exporters and a default rendering pipeline. Additional functionality can be added with plugins.

Check out the GLTF Load example to see it in action or to check the JS equivalent code: https://threepipe.org/examples/#gltf-load/

Check out the Plugins section below to learn how to add additional functionality to the viewer.

License

The core framework(src, dist, examples folders) and any plugins without a separate license are under the Free Apache 2.0 license.

Some plugins(in the plugins folder) might have different licenses. Check the individual plugin documentation and the source folder/files for more details.

Status

The project is in alpha stage and under active development. Many features will be added but the core API will not change significantly in future releases.

Check out WebGi for an advanced tailor-made solution for e-commerce, jewelry, automobile, apparel, furniture etc.

Documentation

Check the list of all functions, classes and types in the API Reference Docs.

WebGi

Check out WebGi - Premium Photo-realistic 3D rendering framework and tools for web applications and online commerce along with custom modules and rendering solutions for e-commerce, jewelry, automobile, apparel, furniture and other retail applications.

Homepage — Docs

Contributing

Contributions to ThreePipe are welcome and encouraged! Feel free to open issues and pull requests on the GitHub repository.

File Formats

ThreePipe Asset Manager supports the import of the following file formats out of the box:

• Models:
  • gltf, glb
  • obj, mtl
  • fbx
  • drc
• Materials
  • mat, pmat, bmat (json based), registered material template slugs
• Images
  • webp, png, jpeg, jpg, svg, ico, avif
  • hdr, exr
• Misc
  • json, vjson
  • zip
  • txt

Plugins can add additional formats:

• Models
  • 3dm - Using Rhino3dmLoadPlugin
  • ply - Using PLYLoadPlugin
  • stl - Using STLLoadPlugin
  • ktx - Using KTXLoadPlugin
  • ktx2 - Using KTX2LoadPlugin

Loading files

ThreePipe uses the AssetManager to load files. The AssetManager has support for loading files from URLs, local files and data URLs. The AssetManager also adds support for loading files from a zip archive. The zip files are automatically unzipped, and the files are loaded from the zip archive.

viewer.load() is a high-level wrapper for loading files from the AssetManager. It automatically adds the loaded object to the scene and returns a promise that resolves to the loaded object, the materials are also automatically registered to the material manager.

If the purpose is not to add files to the scene then viewer.assetManager.importer.import() method can be used to import files from the AssetImporter. viewer.assetManager.loadImported()](https://threepipe.org/docs/classes/AssetManager.html#loadImported) can then be called to load the imported files after any processing. The viewer.load(), viewer.assetManager.addAsset() and viewer.assetManager.addAssetSingle() methods perform combination of import and loadImported.

3d models.

The 3d models are added to viewer.scene.modelRoot on viewer.load unless some option is specified.

const objectGlb = await viewer.load<IObject3D>('https://example.com/file.glb')
const objectFbx = await viewer.load<IObject3D>('https://example.com/file.fbx')
const objectObj = await viewer.load<IObject3D>('https://example.com/file.obj') // .mtl referenced in obj is automatically loaded
// ... load any 3d model file as an object

Here, we are casting to IObject3D type to get the proper type and autocomplete for the object. IObject3D inherits Object3D from three.js and adds some additional properties.

For JavaScript, the type can be omitted.

const objectGlb = await viewer.load('https://example.com/file.glb')

When loading models, several options can be passed to automatically process the model first time, like autoScale, autoCenter, addToRoot etc. Check AddObjectOptions and ImportAddOptions for more details.

Materials

The materials downloaded as PMAT/BMAT/JSON etc from threepipe, webgi or the editor can be loaded and registered with the MaterialManager using the viewer.load method.

Custom material types can also be registered by plugins(like dmat for diamonds), which can also be loaded automatically using the viewer.load method.

const pMaterial = await viewer.load<PhysicalMaterial>('https://example.com/file.pmat')
const bMaterial = await viewer.load<UnlitMaterial>('https://example.com/file.bmat')
// ... load any material file as a material

Casting to PhysicalMaterial or UnlitMaterial is optional but recommended to get the proper type and autocomplete for the material.

To assign the material on any object, set it to object.material

// find a loaded mesh in the scene
const object = viewer.scene.getObjectByName('objectName');
// assign the material
object.material = pMaterial;

To copy the properties without changing the material reference, use material.copy() or material.setValues() methods.

object.material.copy(pMaterial);

TODO: add examples for material load and copy

Images/Textures

Images can be loaded using the viewer.load method. There is built-in support for loading all image formats supported by the browser (webp, png, jpeg, jpg, svg, ico, avif) and hdr, exr, hdr.png formats for all browsers. More formats like ktx2, ktx, etc. can be added using plugins.

const texture = await viewer.load<ITexture>('https://example.com/file.png')
// ... load any image file as a texture

Casting to ITexture is optional but recommended to get the proper type and autocomplete for the texture. It inherits from three.js Texture and adds some additional properties.

To assign the texture on any material, set it to material.map

// find a loaded mesh in the scene
const object = viewer.scene.getObjectByName('objectName');
const material = object.material as PhysicalMaterial;
// assign the texture
material.map = texture;
material.setDirty() // to let the viewer know that the material has changed and needs to re-render the scene. This will also trigger fade effect if FrameFadePlugin is added.

Check out the image load example to see it in action or to check the JS equivalent code: https://threepipe.org/examples/#image-load/

Zip files

.zip files are automatically unzipped and the files are sent to re-load recursively when loaded with viewer.load. Any level of zip hierarchy is flattened. Loading files like .gltf with references to assets inside the zip file, any relative references are also automatically resolved. This is supported for file types like gltf, glb, obj, etc which support references to external files and has root set to `true in IImporter.

const objectGltf = await viewer.load<IObject3D>('https://example.com/model.gltf.zip')

If we know that the zip file contains a single gltf with all the assets, we can cast the result to IObject3D type.

To load multiple assets from zip files like multiple textures or materials, use viewer.assetManager.addAsset method which returns a promise of array of loaded assets.

const textures = await viewer.assetManager.addAsset<ITexture[]>('https://example.com/textures.zip')
const materials = await viewer.assetManager.addAsset<IMaterial[]>('https://example.com/materials.zip')

The auto import of zip contents can be disabled to get the files and blobs in the zip

const zip = await viewer.load<any>('https://example.com/file.zip', {autoImportZipContents: false})

TODO - add example for loading zip files.

txt, json files

Text and JSON files can be loaded using the viewer.load method and return strings and objects respectively.

const text = await viewer.load<string>('https://example.com/file.txt')
const json = await viewer.load<any>('https://example.com/file.json')

Data URLs

Data URLs can be loaded using the viewer.load method. The correct mime-type is required to be set in the data URL for finding the correct importer.

const dataUrl = 'data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAUA' // ... some data url
const texture = await viewer.load<ITexture>(dataUrl)

Local files, File and Blob

Local files can be loaded using the viewer.load method by passing a IAsset object with File or Blob object.

const file: File|Blob = fileObject // create a new file, blob or get from input element 
const text = await viewer.load<IObject>({
  // a path/name is required to determine the proper importer by extension. `file.name` can also be used if available
  path: 'file.glb', 
  file
})

The same can be done for any file type.

To load a Map of files(like when multiple files are dragged and dropped on the webpage) with internal references to other files, use viewer.assetManager.importer.importFiles method. Check the source for DropzonePlugin for an example.

Background, Environment maps

The background and environment maps can be set using the viewer.setBackgroundMap and viewer.setEnvironmentMap methods respectively. These accept both loaded textures from viewer.load and direct URLs. Files can be of any image format including hdr, exr.

await viewer.setEnvironmentMap('https://example.com/file.hdr')
await viewer.setBackgroundMap('https://example.com/file.png')

The same texture can be set to both by setting setBackground or setEnvironment to true in the options:

await viewer.setEnvironmentMap('https://example.com/file.hdr', {setBackground: true})

Check the HDR Load example to see it in action: https://threepipe.org/examples/#hdr-load/

SVG strings

SVG strings can be converted to data urls using the svgUrl string template function

const svgDataUrl = svgUrl`<svg viewBox="0 0 100 100" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"> ... </svg>`;
const texture = await viewer.load<ITexture>(dataUrl)

Threepipe Plugins

ThreePipe has a simple plugin system that allows you to easily add new features to the viewer. Plugins can be added to the viewer using the addPlugin and addPluginSync methods. The plugin system is designed to be modular and extensible. Plugins can be added to the viewer at any time and can be removed using the removePlugin and removePluginSync methods.

TonemapPlugin

todo: image

Example: https://threepipe.org/examples/#tonemap-plugin/

Source Code: src/plugins/postprocessing/TonemapPlugin.ts

API Reference: TonemapPlugin

TonemapPlugin adds a post-processing material extension to the ScreenPass in render manager that applies tonemapping to the color. The tonemapping operator can be changed by setting the toneMapping property of the plugin. The default tonemapping operator is ACESFilmicToneMapping.

Other Tonemapping properties can be like exposure, contrast and saturation

TonemapPlugin is added by default in ThreeViewer unless tonemap is set to false in the options.

DropzonePlugin

todo: image

Example: https://threepipe.org/examples/#dropzone-plugin/

Source Code: src/plugins/interaction/DropzonePlugin.ts

API Reference: DropzonePlugin

DropzonePlugin adds support for drag and drop of local files to automatically import, process and load them into the viewer.

DropzonePlugin can be added by default in ThreeViewer by setting the dropzone property to true or an object of DropzonePluginOptions in the options.

import {DropzonePlugin, ThreeViewer} from 'threepipe'
const viewer = new ThreeViewer({
  canvas: document.getElementById('mcanvas') as HTMLCanvasElement,
  dropzone: true, // just set to true to enable drag drop functionatility in the viewer
})

To set custom options, pass an object of DropzonePluginOptions type to the dropzone property.

import {DropzonePlugin, ThreeViewer} from 'threepipe'
const viewer = new ThreeViewer({
  canvas: document.getElementById('mcanvas') as HTMLCanvasElement,
  dropzone: { // this can also be set to true and configured by getting a reference to the DropzonePlugin
    allowedExtensions: ['gltf', 'glb', 'hdr', 'png', 'jpg', 'json', 'fbx', 'obj'], // only allow these file types. If undefined, all files are allowed.
    addOptions: {
      disposeSceneObjects: true, // auto dispose of old scene objects
      autoSetEnvironment: true, // when hdr is dropped
      autoSetBackground: true, // when any image is dropped
      autoCenter: true, // auto center the object
      autoScale: true, // auto scale according to radius
      autoScaleRadius: 2,
      license: 'Imported from dropzone', // Any license to set on imported objects
      importConfig: true, // import config from file
    },
    // check more options in the DropzonePluginOptions interface
  },
})

DepthBufferPlugin

todo: image

Example: https://threepipe.org/examples/#depth-buffer-plugin/

Source Code: src/plugins/pipeline/DepthBufferPlugin.ts

API Reference: DepthBufferPlugin

Depth Buffer Plugin adds a pre-render pass to the render manager and renders a depth buffer to a target. The render target can be accessed by other plugins throughout the rendering pipeline to create effects like depth of field, SSAO, SSR, etc.

import {ThreeViewer, DepthBufferPlugin} from 'threepipe'

const viewer = new ThreeViewer({...})

const depthPlugin = viewer.addPluginSync(new DepthBufferPlugin(HalfFloatType))

const depthTarget = depthPlugin.target;

// Use the depth target by accesing `depthTarget.texture`.

The depth values are based on camera near far values, which are controlled automatically by the viewer. To manually specify near, far values and limits, it can be set in the camera userData. Check the example for more details.

NormalBufferPlugin

todo: image

Example: https://threepipe.org/examples/#normal-buffer-plugin/

Source Code: src/plugins/pipeline/NormalBufferPlugin.ts

API Reference: NormalBufferPlugin

Normal Buffer Plugin adds a pre-render pass to the render manager and renders a normal buffer to a target. The render target can be accessed by other plugins throughout the rendering pipeline to create effects like SSAO, SSR, etc.

Note: Use DepthNormalBufferPlugin if using both DepthBufferPlugin and NormalBufferPlugin to render both depth and normal buffers in a single pass.

import {ThreeViewer, NormalBufferPlugin} from 'threepipe'

const viewer = new ThreeViewer({...})

const normalPlugin = viewer.addPluginSync(new NormalBufferPlugin())

const normalTarget = normalPlugin.target;

// Use the normal target by accessing `normalTarget.texture`.

DepthNormalBufferPlugin

todo

RenderTargetPreviewPlugin

todo: image

Example: https://threepipe.org/examples/#render-target-preview/

Source Code: src/plugins/ui/RenderTargetPreviewPlugin.ts

API Reference: RenderTargetPreviewPlugin

RenderTargetPreviewPlugin is a useful development and debugging plugin that renders any registered render-target to the screen in small collapsable panels.

import {ThreeViewer, RenderTargetPreviewPlugin, NormalBufferPlugin} from 'threepipe'

const viewer = new ThreeViewer({...})

const normalPlugin = viewer.addPluginSync(new NormalBufferPlugin(HalfFloatType))

const previewPlugin = viewer.addPluginSync(new RenderTargetPreviewPlugin())

// Show the normal buffer in a panel
previewPlugin.addTarget(()=>normalPlugin.target, 'normal', false, false)

Rhino3dmLoadPlugin

Example: https://threepipe.org/examples/#rhino3dm-load/

Source Code: src/plugins/import/Rhino3dmLoadPlugin.ts

API Reference: Rhino3dmLoadPlugin

Adds support for loading .3dm files generated by Rhino 3D. This plugin includes some changes with how 3dm files are loaded in three.js. The changes are around loading layer and primitive properties when set as reference in the 3dm files.

import {Rhino3dmLoadPlugin} from 'threepipe'
viewer.addPluginSync(new Rhino3dmLoadPlugin())

const mesh = await viewer.load('file.3dm')

PLYLoadPlugin

Example: https://threepipe.org/examples/#ply-load/

Source Code: src/plugins/import/PLYLoadPlugin.ts

API Reference: PLYLoadPlugin

Adds support for loading .ply (Polygon file format) files.

import {PLYLoadPlugin} from 'threepipe'
viewer.addPluginSync(new PLYLoadPlugin())

const mesh = await viewer.load('file.ply')

STLLoadPlugin

Example: https://threepipe.org/examples/#stl-load/

Source Code: src/plugins/import/STLLoadPlugin.ts

API Reference: STLLoadPlugin

Adds support for loading .stl (Stereolithography) files.

import {STLLoadPlugin} from 'threepipe'
viewer.addPluginSync(new STLLoadPlugin())

const mesh = await viewer.load('file.stl')

KTX2LoadPlugin

Example: https://threepipe.org/examples/#ktx2-load/

Source Code: src/plugins/import/KTX2LoadPlugin.ts

API Reference: KTX2LoadPlugin

Adds support for loading .ktx2 (Khronos Texture files.

KTX2LoadPlugin also adds support for exporting loaded .ktx2 files in glTF files with the KHR_texture_basisu extension.

import {KTX2LoadPlugin} from 'threepipe'
viewer.addPluginSync(new KTX2LoadPlugin())

const texture = await viewer.load('file.ktx2')

KTXLoadPlugin

Example: https://threepipe.org/examples/#ktx-load/

Source Code: src/plugins/import/KTXLoadPlugin.ts

API Reference: KTXLoadPlugin

Adds support for loading .ktx (Khronos Texture files.

Note: This plugin only adds support for loading .ktx file, and not exporting them in the bundled .glb. Use .ktx2 files instead of .ktx files for better compression and performance.

import {KTXLoadPlugin} from 'threepipe'
viewer.addPluginSync(new KTXLoadPlugin())

const texture = await viewer.load('file.ktx')

@threepipe Packages

Additional plugins can be found in the plugins directory. These add support for integrating with other libraries, adding new features, and other functionality with different licenses.

@threepipe/plugin-tweakpane

Tewakpane UI plugin for ThreePipe

todo: image

Example: https://threepipe.org/examples/#viewer-uiconfig/

Source Code: plugins/tweakpane/src/TweakpaneUiPlugin.ts

API Reference: TweakpaneUiPlugin

NPM: npm install @threepipe/plugin-tweakpane

CDN: https://threepipe.org/plugins/tweakpane/dist/index.mjs

TweakpaneUiPlugin adds support for using uiconfig-tweakpane to create a configuration UI in applications using the Tweakpane library.

The plugin takes the uiconfig that’s defined in the viewer and all the objects to automatically render a UI in the browser.

import {IObject3D, ThreeViewer, TonemapPlugin} from 'threepipe'
import {TweakpaneUiPlugin} from '@threepipe/plugin-tweakpane'

const viewer = new ThreeViewer({...})

// Add the plugin
const plugin = viewer.addPluginSync(new TweakpaneUiPlugin(true)) // true to show expanded the UI by default

// Add the UI for the viewer
plugin.appendChild(viewer.uiConfig)
// Add UI for some plugins
plugin.setupPlugins(TonemapPlugin, DropzonePlugin)

@threepipe/plugin-tweakpane-editor

Tweakpane Editor Plugin for ThreePipe

todo: image

Example: https://threepipe.org/examples/#tweakpane-editor/

Source Code: plugins/tweakpane-editor/src/TweakpaneEditorPlugin.ts

API Reference: TweakpaneEditorPlugin

NPM: npm install @threepipe/plugin-tweakpane-editor

CDN: https://threepipe.org/plugins/tweakpane-editor/dist/index.mjs

TweakpaneEditorPlugin uses TweakpaneUiPlugin to create an editor for editing viewer, plugins, model and material configurations in the browser.

import {IObject3D, ThreeViewer, TonemapPlugin} from 'threepipe'
import {TweakpaneEditorPlugin} from '@threepipe/plugin-tweakpane-editor'

const viewer = new ThreeViewer({...})

viewer.addPluginSync(new TweakpaneUiPlugin(true))
const editor = viewer.addPluginSync(new TweakpaneEditorPlugin())

// Add some plugins to the viewer
await viewer.addPlugins([
    new ViewerUiConfigPlugin(),
    // new SceneUiConfigPlugin(), // this is already in ViewerUiPlugin
    new DepthBufferPlugin(HalfFloatType, true, true),
    new NormalBufferPlugin(HalfFloatType, false),
    new RenderTargetPreviewPlugin(false),
])

// Load the plugin UI in the editor and tweakpane ui with categories.
editor.loadPlugins({
    ['Viewer']: [ViewerUiConfigPlugin, SceneUiConfigPlugin, DropzonePlugin, FullScreenPlugin],
    ['GBuffer']: [DepthBufferPlugin, NormalBufferPlugin],
    ['Post-processing']: [TonemapPlugin],
    ['Debug']: [RenderTargetPreviewPlugin],
})