The Render Scene group contains controls for setting the basic parameters for the rendered image including:

  • Image Width and Height - in pixels
  • Maximum Time - the MAXIMUM amount of time (in minutes) to allow for the render to complete. When this time is exceeded the rendering will stop
  • Sampling Level - the MAXIMUM sampling level required. When this level is reached, the rendering will stop.
  • Launch render after saving MXS - select this option to start the rendering when the "Render Scene" button is pressed.
  • Launch Studio - mutually exclusive to launching the render. Selecting this option will generate the Maxwell Scene (mxs) file and open the file in Maxwell Studio rather than starting the render when the "Render Scene" button is pressed 

Render Paths is used to specify the names and locations of the generated files

  • MXS output path - defines the name of the Maxwell Scene (mxs) file that is generated when the "Render Scene" button is pressed
  • Sequence output path - defines the name of the image file to generate when rendering. 

Channels defines the different channels that can be generated when rendering. By default only the "render" channel is selected.

 

Additional Settings allow a user to define some additional parameters when rendering.

  • Command Line Options - The rendering program is the standalone command line program mxcl.exe. This parameter can be used to specify additional parameters to this program which are not covered elsewhere by the addin.
    ( For example to enable the MultLight Emixer functionality when rendering(in mxcl) specify the command line option -ml here)
  • Pixel Aspect - width/height ratio
  • nThreads - specifies the number of threads that can be used by Maxwell. Set to the number of CPUs (cores) in the machine for optimum performance.
  • Burn - allows fine tuning of the rendered image, decrease burn (increase gamma) to brighten dark areas of the image 
  • Gamma - allows fine tuning of the rendered image, increase gamma (decrease burn) to brighten dark areas of the image.
  • Scale - specifies the scale of the scene. Maxwell uses the same internal units as SolidWorks (metres) so normally this can left at a value of 1. Changing the value will affect the way light travels and interacts with the objects in the scene so may have unpredictable results.