The 3D guide
Screws, dowels and tools shown going in
Most 3D assembly instructions show where the panels go and leave the customer to guess the small parts. UnboxStep shows the hardware too: each screw, dowel, barrel nut and washer goes in where it belongs, and the right tool drives the first one.
Released · in the changelog
See it in action
The problem
The steps customers get wrong are rarely the big parts. They are the ones where a dowel goes in before the panels meet, where a barrel nut has to face the right way, or where a screw goes through one part into another. A 3D model from the factory usually has no hardware in it at all, so a guide built from it shows two panels meeting and nothing holding them together.
How it works
- 1
The AI reads your manual
For every step it works out which hardware goes in, which part it passes through, which part it goes into, and where: at the joint, at the corners, along the edges, or at the end of a leg.
- 2
The guide draws the hardware on your model
Screws turn in, dowels and barrel nuts slide into their holes, washers and nuts sit on the surface. Hardware that goes in before two parts meet is shown first, where the next part will join.
- 3
The first one slowly, the rest together
The camera closes in on the first piece while the step’s tool (screwdriver, Allen key, drill or wrench) drives it in, then pulls back while the others go in.
- 4
It stays in
Hardware put in during earlier steps stays in place in every later step and moves with its part when the work is turned over.
What you get
- Customers see which way a barrel nut faces and where a dowel goes, not just which panel comes next
- Works with 3D models that have no hardware in them, which is most of them
- Tap a hardware chip to watch just that piece go in again
- You can correct any placement in the 3D editor
Questions
Does my CAD model need to include the screws?
No. If the model has no hardware, UnboxStep draws it from the manual. If the model already includes the screws, those are used and nothing is drawn twice.
What if the AI puts a screw in the wrong place?
Open the 3D editor, click the screw and drag it to where it goes, or flip the way it goes in. You can also write what is wrong and let the AI fix it. Your placement always wins over the AI’s.
Which tools are shown?
The tool listed for the step: a screwdriver, Allen key or drill for screws and a wrench or socket for nuts. The library has 45 assembly tools.
New to interactive assembly guides? Read PDF manual vs interactive 3D guide, or see all guides and video tutorials.
Related features
3D editor: move, turn and place every part and screw
A full-screen 3D editor for assembly guides: zoom to an area, drag screws over the surfaces, flip the way they go in, and double-click anything to say what is wrong.
Learn moreFix a step with AI, in your own words
Write what is wrong with a step of your assembly guide in plain words. The AI looks at the step, changes only what you asked, lists the changes and plays the step again.
Learn moreAn assembly guide made for the phone
On a phone, each step of the assembly guide opens with its instructions, then the card slides down and the 3D plays. Next step is always one tap away.
Learn more