Digital collection
The family-owned company KADECO from beautiful East Westphalia has been offering its customers high-quality privacy and sun protection solutions for over 30 years. In 2019, redPlant Realtime Studios implemented various 3D configurators for KADECO’s extensive product portfolio. For this, not only a large number of 3D models of the products were created, but also numerous fabrics were prepared. To now provide this fabric portfolio with its own platform, where KADECO customers can be inspired or specifically search for fabrics, a digital fabric catalog, the KADECO Collection, was realized by redPlant Realtime Studios.
KADECO collections...
KADECO continiously reviews the fabric offerings of various manufacturers and selects materials to create its own KADECO collections for their products. The individual fabrics are presented in high-quality large fabric catalogs and made available to KADECO dealers for salec advice. There is a separate catalog for each product area, such as pleated blinds, roller blinds, or awnings
...go digital
The digital fabric catalog is an ideal complement to this traditional form of fabric presentation, with both standing out due to their unique advantages. While the physical catalog offers the opportunity to experience the look and feel of the fabrics in reality, the complex yet extremely user-friendly filtering system of the digital catalog allows for a much faster and more targeted search for fabrics. Ultimately, both options complement each other perfectly.
Two areas
KADECO divides its collections into fabrics for indoor and outdoor use. In the relatively larger indoor portfolio, you will find fabrics for pleated blinds, roller blinds, and more. The fabrics for various awnings traditionally belong to the outdoor category. When you open the digital fabric catalog, you select one of the two areas, as specific filtering options and specifications for the selected area will then be made available to you.
Clear fabric portfolio
Initially, the digital fabric catalog shows you all the fabrics of the selected area, so all fabrics for either indoor or outdoor use. These are presented in a clear tiled view, with each tile representing a fabric. The tile consists of a digital image of the fabric, the unique collection article number, the fabric name (if available), and the respective collection to which the fabric belongs. In this way, you get a visual overview along with basic information about all the fabrics before diving into the detailed search.
Exactly my fabric
In addition to the option to freely explore the fabrics and get inspired, you can also take a more targeted approach if you already have a clear idea of what fabric you are looking for. For this, a multi-stage filtering system is available, which includes general filters like collection and design, as well as advanced professional filters. If you know exactly what your desired fabric is called, you can simply enter it in the search bar.
Even more precise
While the general filters are immediately available to you, the professional filters are only displayed when needed. The professional filters are divided into five categories for better overview: general, finishes, properties, technical values, and certifications. Here, for example, you can search for fabrics with specific reflection degrees, certain ecological standards, or suitability for use in damp areas.
All information at a glance
If a fabric has caught your interest, you can click on the respective title to access the fabric´s page, which provides a clear overview of all product-specific infomation. In addition to general information about the fabric, this also includes details on physical properties, care instructions, suitability for specific uses, and various downloads. By being able to keep the overview page open alongside the detail page, fabrics can be quickly compared.
Taken a closer look
While the digital fabrics are initially displayed with their front side in the tiled overview, the detail page offers a composition of various views of the fabric. This includes the front and back sides, as well as a close-up section of the selected fabric, giving you a better sense of its texture and feel. The different views also show the translucency and transparency of the fabric, allowing you to draw conclusion about its opacity.
Similar, but not exacty this one
Sometimes you like a fabric but want the same one in a different color or with a different surface finish. For this, each detail page has a section for related fabrics. For this purpose, all fabrics are compared and evaluated based on their base material code, base material group, and design and color codes. In this way, the digital fabric catalog provides you with all alternatives for each fabric in terms of color and finish, as well as identical fabrics for other KADECO products, meaning fabrics from other collections such as pleated blinds, roller blinds, or panel curtains.
A very special factor
Would you like to know exactly? A special feature of the digital fabric catalog is the calculation of the FC value, which is also found on the fabric detail page. The FC value refers to the so-called reduction factor of a sun protection system. The lower this value, the greater the reduction in sunlight through the sun protection. For this, the exact reflection and absorption rates for each fabric are stored and automatically used in the calculation.
It´s the overall impression that matters
To better assess the overall effect of a fabric, it helps to view it in its real environment. This is also no problem in the digital fabric catalog. For this, you switch to the product view, and your selected fabric is automatically displayed on a representative, but fabric-matching KADECO sun protection system, within one of the original KADECO environments. Through the interplay of room and lighting situation, as well as product presentation and arrangement, the product view provides the finishing touch to the fabric visualization.
A place for your favorites
To ensure you don’t have to remember your favorite fabrics manually amidst the vast selection, you have the option to simply save them in 'My Designs.' In this section, you'll find all your saved fabrics, listed clearly with the most important information, and you can view or download the fabric datasheet. Of course, you can also remove fabrics from your designs and, in the end, generate and download a PDF of all your favorite fabrics.
Out into the world...
If you don’t want to keep your favorites to yourself but share them with the world, the digital fabric catalog offers you the option to share any fabric through its detail page. In this case, you’ll be provided with the direct URL as well as all the native sharing functions of your device.
...but clear
Or would you prefer to review all fabric specifications clearly listed without any visual distractions? For this, the fabric datasheet is ideal, which can be generated for all fabrics, viewed in the browser, or directly downloaded as a PDF. The advantage is that dynamically generated values, such as the results from the FC value calculation, are also included here, making it a very personalized document for your sun protection project.
All data from one source...
All of this fabric data must, of course, be continuously maintained and provided. KADECO itself manages all specifications in a customized ERP system. The digital fabric catalog receives all product-relevant data through an interface to the ERP, which qualifies and classifies the fabric. In this way, all properties and filtering options are delivered through the ERP, allowing KADECO to easily manage product maintenance without redundant work in their own systems.
...optimally prepared for you
To guarantee you absolute freedom in terms of when, where, and how you want to use the digital fabric catalog for browsing or targeted searching, it adapts to any device thanks to its responsive design. It doesn’t matter whether you prefer working on a PC, tablet, or smartphone, the display is optimized for the best possible usability.
KADECO only
To ensure the fabrics always appear in their best light in the digital fabric catalog, KADECO has an internal area where the fabric excerpts shown can be individually adjusted if the automatically generated ones are not sufficient. Additionally, you will find further fabric specifications, additional filtering options, and the option to generate and download various image data.
Download fabric samples
In the internal area, all fabrics from KADECO’s digital fabric catalog can be downloaded. Whether it’s the front, back, or detail view of a fabric, employees decide individually which exact fabric selection they want to download, along with the desired resolution and views. They can specify whether they want to download only the selected fabric, all fabrics from the current filter, or even all fabrics included in the digital fabric catalog.
Adjust fabric samples
The internal mode also allows KADECO to independently adjust the views of the fabrics presented in the digital fabric catalog. For this, the size, position, and resolution of the fabric excerpts can be individually set, with the detail view, as well as the front and back, being adjustable independently of each other. The current settings can be saved so that they can also be applied to other fabrics. This way, all image files of the digital fabric catalog can be specifically adjusted and overwritten live.
From the 3D configurator...
All image data of the digital fabric catalog come from the KADECO 3D configurator. For the three-dimensional representation of the fabrics along with their physical properties, various textures were created for each fabric, which represent not only the pattern or color but also information about the weave structure, reflection, and transmission properties of the fabric.
...into the digital catalog
For the digital fabric catalog, these generated materials were rendered on the respective product, meaning on a flat surface or, in the case of pleated or honeycomb pleats, on a pleated 3D model in a standardized scene, creating images of the front and back as well as the fabric's detail view. If a material for the 3D configurator is changed, the corresponding fabric sample in the digital fabric catalog is automatically updated.
Server-side image generation
Our 3D configurators are all executed directly on the user's device, so they do not require large server resources. This is quite different when it comes to generating the fabrics for the digital fabric catalog: Since it involves a large number of image files, and we want to ensure they are always delivered in the exact same quality, we create these completely automated through server-side rendering. Through the deployment of the 3D configurator or a request in the internal mode, the renderings are requested on the server, and only the results are delivered to the digital fabric catalog.
From 2D image to 3D scene
In order to use the original KADECO milieus for product display in the digital fabric catalog, the 2D image first had to be converted into a 3D scene to allow for accurate calculation of light and shadow on the product later on. For this purpose, product-specific and highly distinctive light and shadow details were initially retouched from the image and then recreated using new virtual light sources. Additionally, the focal length and position of the originally used camera were calculated and replicated, and elements of the image were distributed across multiple layers to correctly represent occlusions, for example.
Features
Image file download
Download function for image files.
Internal mode
Internal mode with even more options.
PDF generation
Automatic generation of datasheets including numerous details.
WebGL
The 3D configurator was implemented in WebGL and is available in common browsers.
Responsive design
The 3D configurator is available on smartphones, tablets, and desktops.
Performance
Server-side rendering ensures high-quality and fast product renderings.
ERP
The integration with the ERP enables fast and valid product maintenance.
Tools
redCore
The core element of our 3D applications is redCore, our 3D render engine, which is specifically designed to meet the needs of the web and configuration.
Construction Engine
Unser Construction Engine setzt die 3D Rekonstruktion des Produktes anhand und innerhalb der Vorgaben der State Engine um und platziert alle Komponenten.
Cloud Service
Our Cloud Service generates on demand various formats of our configurations and makes them available to the user, for example, as an AR model.