Producing PDFs with 3D content on Mac OS X

Question

Hello everybody,
Point 1: I am looking for the best workflow of producing PDFs with 3D content.
Point 2: We are design studio that works entirely on Mac platform, so there is no chance of having Acrobat Pro Extended in the workflow. (Yes, of course, buying cheap Windows box or running XP on Intel-based Mac is an option, but I dont favour such a solution and will not go for it unless there will be no other way )
The ultimate goal is as follows:
Insert textured 3D object with transparent background into pre-made and designed PDF background file, place it so it seamlessly integrates with the background. Then optionally, add some interactivity like buttons for switching between design options etc.
What have I achieved so far:
1. I create textured 3D object with baked shading etc. in Blender.
2. I export the data into Collada .dae file
3. I import .dae file into meshlab
4. From meshlab I export data into u3d - appart 3D file itself, it also creates .tex file which ...
5. ... I open in TexShop (LaTex GUI frontend), where the 3D PDF is finally compiled and created.
So, I can do 3D PDF file, but the object has white background and I cannot integrate it into design slide. Thats about it.
Now the questions:
Is there someone else trying to do the same stuff so we can share the ideas and knowledge?
Where is the place to mess with the transparency? Is it to be set in .tex file? Can MacOSX version of Acrobat Pro help?
Can we disable all lighting when displaying 3D file in PDF and use only shading form the 3D software that is baked into the textures?
Ideas?
Thank you,
Petr Ludvik

Answer 1

Dear Petr,
Transparency - upload a minimal example of what you want (do it in Acrobat first).
Consult PDF spec, MeshLab and Asymptote forums (Asymptote is a 3D drawing tool for LaTeX,
people there know how to integrate 3D pictures into PDF LaTeX way).
Light and textures - make the material for the surface to emit white color and set diffusive and specular colors to black.
Like at http://www.iaas.msu.ru/tmp/u3d/cloudq.pdf.
Ideas:
Writing an U3D exporter for Blender is not harder than a VRML one. If you have Blender programming skills it may be a way to go.
I can consult you, just made an U3D exporter for VTK.
If your data comes not from Blender/MeshLab/LaTeX are not tools internal for your regular toolchain
but just a ragtag converter for data that comes from your program - consider exporting directly to U3D
(there is a text intermediate format, IDTF, that is relatively simple).
Tell more about your toolchain in use, what is at the beginning (before Blender) and at the end (how you utilize the PDF with just 3D model in it).
            Sincerely, Michail
PS. Other wording:
Transparent background - is it doable in Acrobat?
If yes - look into PDF and see how (what elements of what dictionaries are set),
having PDF spec at your side.
Upload a minimal example of a PDF file with desired features somewhere to allow me
and others to have a look at it.
Consult LaTeX sources of information to see if LaTeX with movie15 package is capable to do what you want
(Asymptote forum may be the best place).
If they do not - they may be fixed (movie15 is in active development) or a separate utility may be used.
But first - show and, if possible, describe in technical terms what you want to achieve.
As to lighting - make the material of the mesh you apply texture to to emit white light and
set diffuse and specular colors to black.
If you have programming skills and know Blender well - writing an U3D exporter for Blender
must be not that hard, there is an intermediate simple text format.
I can collaborate (have just made a VTK exporter).
And that may be also an option - use VTK instead of Blender
and you are almost there (well, me exporter does not have texture support now,
but I can add it if there is someone to test).
Did you ask this questions on a Meshlab forum?
If your data comes from your own program - it may be simpler to write
into U3D immediately (via that text intermediate format, IDTF).