Create stunning photorealistic images and videos from any CAD system, real life photo, or even a quick napkin sketch.
IMAGE RENDERS COMPLETE IN 60 SECONDS.
Ansys Speos is CAD-integrated optical and lighting simulation software for engineering teams designing optical parts, illumination systems, displays, and sensors. It uses non-sequential ray tracing and optical material models to predict how light interacts with geometry, lenses, coatings, and an environment before physical prototypes are built. Typical work includes vehicle lighting and cockpit studies, head-up displays, camera or detector evaluation, glare assessment, and virtual human-vision review. Its results support optical performance analysis and design validation, not just attractive product imagery.
Ansys Speos is the right environment when the question is whether an optical system will perform correctly: engineers define CAD geometry, sources, optical properties, sensors, and simulation conditions, then inspect illumination, stray light, glare, or perception results. RENDERCAD is useful later in the communication workflow. Start with a clear Speos human-vision image, false-color result with a clean viewport, CAD view, or product concept screenshot, then use RENDERCAD to create presentation-ready visual directions for a review, proposal, or marketing draft. The RENDERCAD output can help an audience understand the intended product story, but it cannot certify photometric performance or reproduce the simulation's measured optical inputs.
A Speos study is built for traceable optical analysis. The team prepares an engineering assembly, assigns surface behavior such as reflection, transmission, or scattering, adds natural or artificial sources, chooses appropriate sensors, and configures the simulation and analysis. This makes Speos appropriate for work where camera response, detector behavior, human vision, luminance, illuminance, intensity, or glare must remain tied to the modeled system. Its source-of-truth output is the configured optical simulation and its analysis data.
RENDERCAD is not an optical simulator, sensor modeler, or compliance tool. A practical handoff is to select the most legible camera angle or human-vision result from Speos, or capture the accompanying CAD viewport and product image. Use that view as the visual reference for non-measurement images: an early design review cover, stakeholder concept board, launch-direction mockup, or proposal visual. Keep Speos results and engineering sign-off for any decision about light levels, visibility, glare, optical tolerances, or sensor performance. For RENDERCAD API implementation details, see RENDERCAD developer documentation.
Screenshot the CAD viewport you already have, render in the browser, and download a client-ready still or video without exports, plugins, or GPU setup.
Modeled by CADSharp in Onshape. Rendered with RENDERCAD.
Add, change, or remove referenced objects with the stroke of a brush.
RENDERCAD uses a maintained selection of image-generation models for different rendering tasks. Results can vary by model and input, so compare generated output with the source design before relying on geometry, materials, or dimensions.
| Feature | RENDERCAD | Ansys Speos |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | Generative AI | Optical ray tracing |
| Output | Images + Video | Optical analysis data, sensor and human-vision results, and simulation images |
| Resolution | HD / 4K | Set by the selected sensor, analysis configuration, and result view |
| Image Speed | Image renders complete in 60 seconds. | Interactive previews to long simulations |
| Video Speed | Videos complete in 2-5 minutes. | Not a video-first renderer |
| Scene Set Up | No separate local scene | Engineering assembly with optical properties, light sources, sensors, simulation settings, and analyses |
| Input | Screen Snip | CAD or imported geometry, optical properties, light sources, sensors, and environment data |
| Materials | 2,600+ Textures | Optical surface definitions, including measured scattering and reflectance behavior |
| Backgrounds | 1300+ Backgrounds | Tool-dependent |
| Conditions | 40+ Effects | Tool-dependent |
| References | Up to 6 Per Render | Varies |
| Hardware | Cloud (None Required) | Desktop CAD workflow with HPC/cloud options |
| Install | None | Desktop CAD interface and CAD integrations, with options for distributed or cloud computing |
| Cost | from $9/mo | Trial available; sales-led paid licensing |
Compare the workflows side by side and choose the one that fits the next task.
Skip a separate local scene build. Pick a condition, material, and background while RENDERCAD handles the image-generation step. Image renders complete in 60 seconds.
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RENDERCAD™
Use the browser workflow directly, capture a selected view with the desktop app, or start from the browser extension.
Get StartedCommon questions about RENDERCAD and this workflow
Yes. A clear viewport capture can become a more polished visual for a design review. Image renders complete in 60 seconds, making it practical to prepare or iterate presentation options.
RENDERCAD is designed to create more polished, realistic-looking presentation images from a source view. Results vary by input and settings, and generated images should be checked against the original model before they are used to communicate exact design details.
Upload a clear view, describe the brushed-aluminum finish you want, and add a material reference when the visual direction matters. Because the result is generated from an image, inspect the grain direction and surface details against your original design before using it in a final presentation.
Describe the wood species and finish you want, and provide a reference image when scale or grain direction matters. RENDERCAD can generate a wood-like visual treatment, but it does not replace model-level texture mapping or guarantee an exact, repeatable grain pattern.
Start with a clear source view, choose a simple background, and describe the studio look you want. RENDERCAD can generate a presentation image without requiring you to build a traditional light rig, but the lighting is image-based and should be reviewed rather than treated as a physically measured setup.
Yes. Request a golden-hour look and describe the mood or direction you want. The generated warmth, shadows, and light direction can vary between results, so compare important design details with the source image.
The Seamless Loop option is designed to improve continuity between the end and beginning of a generated video. Inspect the transition before publishing because generative motion and loop quality can vary by image and model.
RENDERCAD's Create Video workflow generates a video from a single image and provides Camera and Product Motion controls. Videos complete in 2-5 minutes.
RENDERCAD image renders complete in 60 seconds. Competing renderer speed depends on scene complexity, render settings, hardware, queue time, and final output quality.
Usually. Generation runs in the cloud, so it does not occupy a local renderer. Keep the relevant browser workflow available as required, and expect normal network and browser resource use while the job is submitted and results are loaded.
RENDERCAD starts from a supported 2D image such as a CAD viewport capture, product photo, or drawing. You do not need to import the native 3D scene, but you may need to capture or export a clear image from the source application first.
RENDERCAD avoids much of the scene, shader, and local-renderer setup used by traditional rendering tools. Users still need to prepare a useful source image, choose suitable options, describe the intended result, and review generated details.
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