LONDON, September 26th, 2005 � e3D Interactive has purchased four 64-bit RenderDrive hardware ray-tracing systems from ART VPS. The RD6400 models each contain 16 AR350 ray-tracing processors that will be used by e3D to render architectural visualizations for commercial and residential projects.
�We needed a ray-tracing solution that could handle the large data sets we create,� says e3D director Neil Evans. �Several of the software rendering solutions we�ve used have been unstable, crashing when we try to create a final rendering. When we send an image to the RenderDrive, we know we�ll get a great image back.�
RenderDrive�s modular ray-tracing architecture enables 3D rendering to be split across an array of chips. Full-frame previews are rendered in seconds, bringing unprecedented interactivity to tasks such as lighting set-up, shot composition and material mapping. Each system features capacity in excess of 30 million polygons.
�For larger projects, we link the RenderDrives, enabling us to render an image in 30 minutes instead of the two to three hours software renderers would take,� says Evans.
e3D�s models are created in Maya using architectural information from the project developers. RenderDrive�s RenderPipe plug-in for Maya provides a special library of lighting, material and shading effects. For a recent canal project, e3D relied heavily on water, lumber and metal shaders available through RenderPipe.
�The RenderDrive shaders are some of the key reasons we bought the systems,� Evans says. �We use as many of them as possible on interior renderings, in particular the RPshiny shader.�
Animation of the final renderings is controlled with Virtual Vertex�s Muster, which interfaces with both Maya and the RenderDrive.
e3D is currently using its RenderDrives to create animation frames of a new canal system for the River Carron in Scotland. The system will be approximately 1.5km long and incorporate a boat lift based on the design of the mythical Scottish Kelpie. The animation will be used as part of the canal project�s proposal to secure funding.
www.e3di.co.uk
Bar none, the rendering quality of RenderDrive cannot be matched. We've gone to using it for 95 percent of our rendering work. A lot of solutions out there were ten times the cost, but still didn't come close to the performance of RenderDrive.
