Voxel Builder

screenshot

Voxel-based 3D Modeling Application

Model . Render . Export
This application is suitable for rapid prototyping, speed modeling, creating small assets in large numbers, importing MagicaVoxel models, or simply playing around and learning 3D modeling.

https://nimadez.github.io/voxel-builder/

Changelog
Installation
Wiki
Known Issues
FAQ
Bug Report

Features

File I/O

Save and load JSON
Import MagicaVoxel VOX
Export to GLB, GLTF, OBJ, STL, PLY
Localstorage, snapshots, quicksave, undo
Backup and share snapshots in a ZIP archive

Model and Paint

High performance voxel engine
Generators (terrain, cube, sphere, isometric...)
Interactive modeling toolsets
Symmetric drawing and painting
Voxel transforms and manipulation
Color groups and visibility options

Rendering

Three.js Sandbox
Three.js GPU path tracer
Basic PBR rendering

Voxelization

Fast BVH method
Model voxelizer (GLB, OBJ, STL, PLY)
Image voxelizer
Text voxelizer (unicode & emoji)

Export Meshes

Bake voxels to editable meshes
Unbake exported GLB back to voxels
glTF compatible editor

Extensibility

ES modules
User startup project
Blender importer script

More

Average startup time 300 ms (after the first launch)
Unique handcrafted user-interface
Minimum dependency, portable, online and offline
Ad-free, no trackers, no logging

Installation

Install Electron (recommended)

electron-v*-linux-x64.zip
electron-v*-win32-x64.zip

Clone

git clone https://github.com/nimadez/voxel-builder
cd voxel-builder

Run

# Start with Electron:
electron .

# Start with Node.js:
node server.js

Update

cd voxel-builder
python3 update.py

Supported Browsers

Electron (recommended)
Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox

PWA A2HS-ready (add to home screen)

For the best experience, a tablet with pen or Wacom is recommended

Known Issues

Low FPS at higher voxel volumes

Electron is recommended for working with a large number of voxels.
Also, the FPS depends on many factors, such as the material (CEL is faster) and the distance between the camera and the model. Rendering a dense Thin volume at close range greatly increases GPU load.

Use "Minimal UIX" to save battery on mobile devices.

Do not enable "Frosted Glass UI"

Use XFORM > "Optimize" to reduce the volume of voxels.

Note that this app runs on a web browser and you shouldn't expect much.

Delay in drawing strokes

If you draw and it doesn't, it means the builder is working, you are drawing faster than your hardware and browser will allow. (latency >150 ms)

Error: Exceeded the quota

Browser storage is limited, use Electron for much higher capacity.

Import GLB:

Attributes error (voxelization)

Multiple meshes need to have the same properties or they won't merge, the only solution is to merge meshes before exporting to GLB.

Morphtarget error (voxelization)

We do not support geometry animations.

Import PLY: Throw RangeError (voxelization)

They are often a piece of a larger model data from the Stanford 3D repository.

Wacom tablet crashes randomly and throws warning on Chrome (Linux:GNOME)

Warning: BJS - Max number of touches exceeded. Ignoring touches in excess of 2.
This problem is related to Babylon.js and nothing can be done.

FAQ

How to merge vertices after export to GLB?

1- Open exported GLB file in Blender
2- Go to "Modeling" tab and choose vertex selection mode
3- Select all vertices (Ctrl + A)
4- Mesh > Clean Up > Merge by Distance

How to run Blender importer script?

1- Save project to JSON
2- Open Blender and go to "Scripting" tab
3- Click "Open" and select "blender-importer.py"
4- Run the script and select a JSON file

How to go back to the previous version?

git clone https://github.com/nimadez/voxel-builder
cd voxel-builder
git log -2 (copy the hash of the previous commit)
git reset --hard $HASH

History

↑ A major upgrade and overhaul
↑ Core initialization!
↑ Rendering was left to Three and three-gpu-pathtracer
↑ ES6 (the original index.html playground was moved)
↑ x1.5 faster startup (2s to 300ms)
↑ Migrating to Linux: Firefox ready
↑ High performance GPU picking system
↑ Voxel engine updated to thin-instances (64k to 512k)
↑ The world moved (from 0.0 to 0.5 center to avoid 0.5)
↑ Real-time GPU path tracing
↑ Introducing ES modules
↑ Advancing to the next level (bakery)
↑ Changed default handiness to right-handed coordinate
↑ New SPS particles to build the world
↑ 2019 - I wrote a playground for learning Babylon.js

voxel-builder

README