XO3D Studio · Service
Technical CGI.
XO3D creates engineering-accurate technical product animation and CGI directly from CAD data. Mechanism animations, exploded views, assembly sequences and pre-manufacture imagery for products that don't exist physically yet.
Selected clients
Sony work via ImageNova. Ferrari and Burberry work via KCD.
XO3D's most distinctive position
Make the engineering understandable before the product is built.
At XO3D, Technical CGI makes a complex product understandable. We work from your CAD files (STEP, IGES, SolidWorks, Rhino, Inventor) and engineering references to make 3D CGI films and stills that show how a product works, what is inside it and how its parts relate, often before the physical product exists. Each sequence is chosen for the question your audience needs answered, and anything the source does not settle is flagged for your team to approve rather than assumed. The aim is that a technical product stops looking like a specification and starts looking like something worth wanting, without anything being overstated to get there. The complete timing and approval route is covered in our pre-manufacture visualisation workflow. Every project starts with 3D modelling from your CAD; for the still form of the technique, see how exploded views work.
Who this is for: product and engineering teams explaining a mechanism, preparing a trade-show demonstration or creating a launch campaign before stock arrives. Bring the current product files, the audience's questions and the decisions your engineering team needs to approve. Our briefing guide sets out the inputs and review responsibilities.
Not sure CGI is the right route for this product? Read CGI vs product photography.
A technical film
One system, explained in 36 seconds.
From source evidence to a readable sequence.
A technical film is only as clear as the evidence behind it. On the AUAR project each stage had its own job.
- Establish how it moves. AUAR supplied videos of its prototype working in the factory, earlier versions of the robot and stills of how it looked. These were movement and appearance references for rigging the robot arm in Cinema 4D.
- Agree the story and the order. The supplied model, movement references and brand guidance informed the storyboard. The film has two story beats: the system deployed from its container, then building a timber panel.
- Review composition and sequence in grey. Every shot was composed in a grey pass first, so camera and staging could be checked before any finish went in.
- Apply the final finish. Materials and lighting were added once camera and staging were locked.
These are production stages, not a certified mechanical simulation. The grey pass decides camera and composition; dimensions come from the supplied model. See the full set of AUAR process material.
What it delivers
Product detail, clearly explained.
Mechanism animations
How the product works, visualised. Switches, hinges, valves, motors, interfaces. Motion is built from the approved source and movement references, then shown in cinematic CGI for sales and marketing. Training use is possible, but it needs an approved procedure, a defined audience and technical review: a cinematic movement is not operating instruction by default. The film's job is to make one mechanism clear to the people who need to understand it.
Exploded views & assembly sequences
The product taken apart in animation, showing internal components, build sequence and engineering complexity. For investor decks, sales decks and supporting technical material; training use follows the same approved-procedure rule as mechanism films. Complexity shown deliberately reads as engineering confidence rather than as complication.
Investor & roadshow visuals
Pre-manufacture imagery for investor presentations and Series A roadshows. Engineering credibility for due diligence teams. Commercial ambition for the C-suite. Both from the same build.
Crowdfunding campaign visuals
Kickstarter and Indiegogo backers judge a product before it exists. CGI from CAD data can show what the product is, how it works and what is in the box, as long as every frame matches the design you intend to ship. Decide which question each image answers before it is made.
See the approach in the AUAR MicroFactory, Petalite, Plumis Automist and Dermalux Compact MD work. Where the brief is an exploded view or a cutaway on its own, commission exploded view and cutaway animation directly. For the basics, see what product CGI is.
Choose the technique by the question it answers.
A technical sequence is chosen for what the audience needs to understand, not because more separated parts look more advanced. Start from the question, then pick the reveal.
| The audience asks | Technique | Example |
|---|---|---|
| How does it work? | Mechanism or system animation: the parts move as they do in use. | AUAR: the robot cell deploying and building a panel. |
| What is inside? | Cutaway or cross-section: the housing opens or turns transparent to show internal parts. | Commission it on its own as exploded view and cutaway animation. |
| How do the parts relate? | Exploded view: components separate in a set order, then reseat. | Squire: the order taken from engineering data. |
| What changes over time? | Sequence or process animation: steps shown in order, such as assembly, deployment or a cycle of use. | AUAR: from container to working system. |
Component order
Curious Agency briefed XO3D to make exploded animations of two Squire locks, the Inigma and the Boron. The order in which the parts separate was built from Squire's engineering data, so the sequence follows how the lock is put together rather than an attractive arrangement. Each lock has its own sequence because the two are built differently. The film is a visual explanation of the parts, not a security test.
Source files we work from
What we need from your engineering team.
Technical CGI projects at XO3D begin with CAD or engineering source. The formats below are the usual starting points, with STEP the preferred route. What a file brings across depends on the actual export, its linked references and the software version, so we review the pack you supply and may ask for a neutral export or extra references. Receiving CAD does not by itself fix a tolerance or guarantee a detail. If your format is not listed, ask us.
Movement references matter too. For the AUAR robotic MicroFactory, client-supplied footage of the factory prototype and earlier robot versions provided movement and appearance references for the detailed Cinema 4D rigging.
| Format | Software | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| STEP (.stp, .step) | Universal CAD interchange | Preferred starting route. Carries geometry and usually the assembly structure. Send it with a named revision and one known dimension. |
| IGES (.igs, .iges) | Universal CAD interchange | Common alternative to STEP. Workable in most production pipelines. |
| SolidWorks (.sldprt, .sldasm) | SolidWorks | Native files can carry assembly structure and appearance data. How much comes through depends on the version, linked references and the export, so we may ask for a STEP export as well. |
| Rhino (.3dm) | Rhinoceros | Common in industrial and product design. Usually workable; we check the file before relying on it. |
| Inventor (.ipt, .iam) | Autodesk Inventor | Native engineering files for mechanism and assembly work. A neutral export may be requested. |
| OBJ, FBX, 3MF | Generic 3D formats | Workable as a fallback when CAD source is not available. |
Alongside CAD, the production team typically needs: material and finish specifications, the engineering drawing pack, any physical samples you can supply, and a brief covering the commercial situation the imagery has to serve.
Where the film will appear, its aspect ratios, language versions, audio and who carries out the technical review are agreed in the brief. Delivery formats are set out on our production specifications page.
When the design changes mid-project.
Technical products often change while the CGI is being made. Affected assets go back to the relevant review stage. To scope a change, we need to know:
- which CAD revision changed, and what changed in it;
- which shots or stills use the affected part;
- which approved reference or earlier sign-off it replaces;
- who on your team confirms the new version.
This is the information needed to assess a change, not a promise that a change has no effect on time or scope.
Accuracy held
Material, finish and colour.
Geometry from CAD is the easy half. On an engineered product the harder half is the surface, because a technically correct model wearing the wrong finish still reads as a render rather than as the thing you are manufacturing.
Materials are developed from available references for the specific product. A close library material can be refined; a finish with no close match is built from scratch. Anodising, powder coat, brushed grain direction, soft-touch polymer and machined aluminium each behave differently under light, and CAD appearance data describes none of it. Brand and product colour is matched to your physical sample, Pantone, RAL or brand codes, material specification or approved reference photography, kept consistent across every angle, lighting setup and output format, and carried through the finishing grade rather than traded away for a look. Where you can supply a physical sample or a finish swatch, the render is compared against it directly before look development is signed off. The full standard, including what it deliberately does not claim, is set out in product truth, and the checkpoints are on how we work.
Sectors served
Where technical accuracy is a creative requirement.
- EV & Cleantech
EV charging, energy infrastructure, clean technology
Engineering-credible imagery for sectors where the technical credibility of the product is part of the commercial story. The Petalite EV charger work is one delivered example.
- Medical & Health Tech
Clinical devices, health technology, medical equipment
Imagery that earns trust in a regulatory context and desire in a consumer one. See the delivered Dermalux Compact MD work.
- Industrial & Engineering
Industrial equipment, precision instruments, complex mechanism products
Mechanism animations, exploded views and dimensionally accurate visualisation for products where the engineering is the story.
- Automotive & Mobility
EV, micro-mobility, automotive sub-systems
Cinematic automotive language applied to engineering subject matter. Web Excellence Award-winning Flash Motors campaign sits in this group.
FAQ
Common questions about Technical CGI.
How accurate is the imagery compared to the engineering?
What if our CAD is incomplete or in revision?
Can you do internal-mechanism visualisation?
Is the output suitable for technical documentation?
Should we commission a technical explainer or a product launch film?
How do you decide the order of an exploded product animation?
Start the conversation
Got a product still in development?
Send us the brief and the CAD pack. We will tell you whether Technical CGI is the right approach and how we would scope it. Pre-manufacture briefs are often the most interesting work we take on.
