Shade3D SDK

A plug-in SDK for extending Shade3D in C++

Shade3D SDK
New license: JPY 88,000(JPY 80,000 excluding tax) Included as standard in Shade3D Professional Ultimate.
For product details, contact us through our website.
Contact us	https://shade3d.jp/support/contact/ (Japanese)

Feature overview

Shade3D SDK enables C++ development of additional features. Build tightly integrated, high-performance extensions ranging from simple solutions to advanced capabilities.
Created plug-ins may be used privately, distributed or used commercially without restriction.

Typical SDK applications include:

Automation for model generation, editing and motion based on custom settings
Importers/exporters for external 3D data and image formats
Integration with external rendering engines
Draw points, lines, faces and text in views to display information
UI operations such as floating windows, dialogs and control-bar buttons
Simulation tools using physics engines

Practical Shade3D SDK examples

Shade3D SDK presentations were delivered at the FORUM8 Design Festival.

The presentations explain how SDK programs, libraries and documentation turn repetitive production tasks, practical problems and creative ideas into integrated Shade3D tools.

Reuse Shade3D capabilities instead of developing them from scratch, improving efficiency and reducing development time and effort.

FORUM8 Design Festival 2025, Day 2: Shade3D presentation

	This plug-in finds acute polygon-mesh faces and bakes their results into vertex colors. The sample checks all selected objects, demonstrating inspection of large quantities of deliverable geometry. By default, adjacent faces within 30 degrees of a flat angle are colored red. Even for a detailed sofa model with many faces, the SDK provides sufficient performance to process multiple objects. Demonstrated at FORUM8 Design Festival 2025. The video starts at 11:25, where the SDK explanation begins.
	Watch demo video Download plug-in
Show sample code

Sample code 1

FORUM8 Design Festival 2024, Day 2: Shade3D presentation

	This plug-in generates contours from point-cloud data between 0 mm and a specified height. The sample evaluates every point and demonstrates analysis such as checking whether a measured floor is level. The SDK provides sufficient performance even for large point clouds. Demonstrated at FORUM8 Design Festival 2024. The video starts at 2:42, where the SDK explanation begins.
	Watch demo video Download plug-in
Show sample code

Sample code 2

Note

Download plug-inClick to download the demonstration plug-in. Install it in the following folder before launching Shade3D.

Windows:: Users > (login user) > Documents > Shade3D > Shade3D Ver.26 > plugins (C:\Users\(login user)\Documents\Shade3D\Shade3D Ver.26\plugins)
Mac:: Users > (login user) > Documents > Shade3D > Shade3D Ver.26 > plugins (/Users/(login user)/Documents/Shade3D/Shade3D Ver.26/plugins)

The supplied plug-ins are samples.
Their operation is not guaranteed.

Examples of plug-in features

Built-in Shade3D plug-in features are developed with Shade3D SDK.

[Modeling] Spiral

[Modeling] Regular polyhedra

[File I/O] glTF converter

[Effects] DepthPlus

[Renderer] Toon renderer

[Animation] Particle physics

[Rendering] Hair Salon

[Physics] Cloth simulation

Documentation and sample plug-ins

The SDK includes sample plug-ins and source code as implementation references or starting points for new development. Documentation covers plug-in basics, class references and schema definitions.

UI development sample

SDK documentation

Class reference

Supported platforms and development environments

Windows and macOS platforms are supported for development.

Windows: OS: Windows 10 64-bit or later
Development tools: Visual Studio 2022 Community / Professional / Enterprise or later
macOS: OS: macOS Ventura 13 or later
Development tools: Xcode 15 or later

Plug-in system requirements

Plug-ins created with Shade3D SDK run on Shade3D Professional and Standard.

They do not run on Shade3D Basic, which does not support plug-ins.
They do not run on Shade3D Ver.25 or earlier.

Changes in Shade3D SDK Ver.3

Release of a C++ plug-in SDK for extending Shade3D Ver.25.0.

Added APIs

Added swept surface creation
Added functions related to free-form surface parts and swept-surface attributes

Deprecated APIs

The following functions remain for compatibility but are deprecated.

Use OpenGL accelerator (opengl_accelerator)
Use OpenGL framebuffer objects (opengl_fbo)
Use OpenGL stereo rendering (opengl_stereo)
OpenGL “Disable stippled lines and polygons” setting (opengl_disablestipple)

Renamed APIs

• Get/set figure-window texture size: opengl_texture_size → figure_window_texture_size

▲ Back to top