This video provides a comprehensive introduction to myVGL, a free viewer application for projects created with Volume Graphics software such as VG Studio Max and VG Metrology. The tutorial guides users through the core functionalities of the software, beginning with how to open different project types (.VGL, .VGArchive, .MVGL) and manage memory usage for large datasets by adjusting resolution without altering analysis results. It covers navigation of the user interface, including the 3D and 2D slice views, the scene tree, and rendering tools. The video demonstrates how to interact with and extract information from pre-computed analyses like coordinate measurements, nominal/actual comparisons, and porosity/inclusion analyses. Key features such as bookmarks for saving views, creating simple measurements and annotations, and exporting data tables are also explained. Finally, the tutorial shows how to generate and customize comprehensive reports, which can be saved as PDF or HTML files and may include interactive 3D content.
A Guide to myVGL: Viewing and Analyzing 3D Data
0:00 Introduction to myVGL: myVGL is a free viewer for projects created with VG software (e.g., VG Studio Max). It allows users to view, measure, and analyze 3D data without a full license.
0:35 Opening Projects: The software can open three main project types: standard .VGL projects (a .vgl file with associated data folders), .VGArchive files (a single, compressed project file), and .MVGL files (for metrology data only, without gray values).
2:13 Memory Management: Before opening a project, myVGL checks the required RAM. If the user's system has insufficient memory, the data resolution can be reduced or the gray value data can be completely unloaded to save memory. Importantly, these actions do not change the results of any pre-calculated analyses or measurements.
3:51 User Interface Navigation: The interface consists of a 3D view and three 2D slice views. Users can slice through the object by scrolling the mouse wheel, pan by holding the scroll button, and drag the slice planes to new locations.
4:59 Synchronized Viewing with Navigation Cursor: By activating the "Navigation Cursor" (Ctrl + click), users can select a point of interest in one window, and all other 2D views will automatically jump to that exact location for detailed inspection.
6:12 Rendering and Visualization: The rendering tool allows for adjustment of the object's appearance. Users can modify the histogram's opacity curve to improve brightness and contrast, making different material structures more visible.
6:52 Using Bookmarks for Efficient Review: Bookmarks save specific camera positions, object visibilities, and rendering settings. They allow a presenter to quickly jump to important findings and insights within the data without having to manually adjust the view each time.
8:00 Reviewing and Creating Measurements: The scene tree lists all coordinate measurements. Clicking a measurement highlights it in the view, with colors indicating its tolerance status (e.g., red for out-of-tolerance). Users can also create new, simple distance measurements.
9:59 Inspecting a Nominal/Actual Comparison: This analysis visualizes surface deviations between the scanned part and its nominal CAD model using a color map. The results dialog provides a detailed histogram of all deviation values.
11:48 Analyzing Porosity and Inclusions: Users can view and inspect internal defects (porosity). The software provides a detailed table of all "indications" (defects), and clicking one takes you to its location. The color of the defects can be mapped to different properties like volume or projected size.
14:56 Exporting Data and Visuals: All tabular data, such as the list of pores from a porosity analysis, can be right-clicked and exported as a CSV file or copied to the clipboard. The software also has tools to save high-quality images and movie files.
17:17 Creating and Exporting Reports: myVGL can view pre-existing reports or generate new ones. Users can select which analyses to include and edit the report's content. These reports, which can include interactive 3D content, can be exported as PDF or HTML files for easy sharing.