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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

Screws, dowels and tools shown in 3D on every assembly step · UnboxStepWatch on YouTube

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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