SOLIDWORKS 2022 What’s New – Visualize Scene Tab

The Scene Tab in SOLIDWORKS Visualize 2022 has been redesigned to better align with the new Shadow Catcher functionality.

The changes are primarily in the Floor Effects section of the Scene’s Advanced sub-tab.
The section name and it’s parameters have been renamed and reorganized.

Caustics are the light effects or sparkles that appear when light passes through solid, translucent objects or off reflective objects.

Visualize 2021

We clicked the Caustics checkbox in order to create floor reflections.
The Floor Roughness setting blurred the floor reflection.
The Floor Shadow checkbox enabled the floor shadow in the scene.
The Shadow Intensity slider lightened or darkened the floor shadow.
The Floor Caustics slider adjusts the level of caustics on the floor.
In 2021, when the Caustics option was enabled, the Floor Caustics slider was locked to the Floor Reflection and the Floor Roughness sliders.

Visualize 2022

We enable the Ground Shadow Catcher checkbox, this shows the floor shadow and gives access to the other, newly renamed, parameters, (which have the same functionality as previous versions).
The Shadow Intensity slider lightens or darkens the floor shadow.
The Reflection slider adjusts the level of a mirror reflection in the floor.
The Roughness slider adjusts the amount of blur in the floor reflection.
The Advanced Caustics (Global Setting) checkbox turns ON/OFF the caustics in the floor.
However, in 2022, we have independent control over each of the parameters.

And well, that’s about it for What’s New for the Scene Tab in Visualize 2022.

Just for fun, lets take a quick look at what the Caustics option does for a rendering in Visualize, shown here in version 2022.

In order for the caustics to appear, a strong light source is required, either from the Environment or from a Light. An emissive appearance does not activate the caustics in the floor. Also, both the Reflection and Roughness settings in the Ground Shadow Catcher section must be greater than 0. The greater the Roughness setting, the more caustics appear. The greater the Reflection setting, the caustics increase in intensity.

Our project starts with a model of an adult beverage. Thank you to my colleague Todd Myers for his very cool Rocks Glass model!
This project has an Environment, a backplate, and the floor reflections turned on.

Below is a video showing the effects of enabling Advanced Caustics (Global Setting) and adjusting the Reflection and Roughness settings.

And here is the final rendering:

Caustics, in all versions of Visualize, can produce some very cool effects.

I hope this part of the What’s New series gives you a better understanding of the new features and functions of SOLIDWORKS 2022. Please check back to the CATI Blog as the CATI Application Engineers will continue to break down many of the new items in SOLIDWORKS 2022. All these articles will be stored in the category of “SOLIDWORKS What’s New.”

Laura Nickerson
Application Engineer, CSWE
Computer Aided Technology

What is Design Innovation Month?

DESIGN INNOVATION MONTH 2021 – Live Events, Webinars, Virtual Showroom, Contests
Design Innovation Month is CATI’s massive “What’s New in 2022” event for SOLIDWORKS, 3DEXPERIENCE, and 3D printing & 3D scanning technology.  That’s six weeks of in-person events, live and on-demand webinars, demonstrations, in-depth blog posts, and prizes!  Best of all, it’s free of charge!  Check the DI Month Hub for all the details and to sign up for your nearest live event.