3D Spaces¶
At the heart of instant3Dhub is the concept of a 3D Space — a virtual environment that enables users and applications to interact with 3D data in a structured, efficient, and dynamic way. A 3D Space is made up of two key elements:
Referenced 3D Data Resources, which typically come from external CAD systems and describe geometry, metadata, materials, and other engineering content.
3D Space Entities, which are enhancements layered on top of the 3D data. These Entities — such as markups, measurements, or snapshots — add context, interaction, and structure to how the data is presented and used.
The relationship between these two elements is foundational: 3D Data Resources provides the content, while 3D Space Entities define the experience.
To ensure scalability and performance, instant3Dhub does not copy or migrate these 3D Data Resources into its own system. Instead, it references and streams the original data on demand — only loading what is needed in the moment. This streaming-based approach keeps data management lightweight and ensures users always work with the most current version available from the source system. For more details on this mechanism, see 3D Streaming.
Together, this architecture enables 3D Spaces to transform raw, external data into meaningful, interactive, and collaborative experiences — without compromising efficiency or maintainability.
Each 3D Space Entities contributes a specific function to this environment. You can explore the different entities and their capabilities in more detail below starting with the Instance Graph as the foundational element within a 3D Space.