CEETRON Envision vs. VTK & ParaView

CEETRON Envision is a software development kit (SDK) from Tech Soft 3D for computer-aided engineering (CAE)  data processing, analysis, visualization, and much more. When researching software that handles CAE 3D data processing and visualization, you are likely to encounter VTK and ParaView, often together. While compared to CEETRON Envision, VTK offers a general, open-source SDK for 3D application development for a large variety of markets. ParaView is an end-user product that is developed on this platform. 

In this post, we share our perspective on how CEETRON Envision compares to VTK and ParaView, to help you understand which might be right for you. We will answer:

• What are VTK and ParaView?

• Who uses VTK, and what are its main features?

• What is CEETRON Envision and its main features?

• How does CEETRON Envision and VTK compare in costs, development experience, and features?

CEETRON Envision, VTK, and ParaView Overview

What are VTK and ParaView?

VTK and ParaView are two separate open-source offerings that serve different audiences, with VTK serving as a development toolkit, and ParaView as an end-user product.

“VTK” stands for Visualization Toolkit, which is a good start to understanding its functionality. This is an open-source software for 3D computer graphics, modeling, image processing, volume rendering, and more. It specializes in scientific data (including CAE) manipulation and display. This focus has led to it becoming something of an industry standard in academic work environments for 3D.

VTK appeals to start-ups and individuals who want to develop their products but have a limited budget. These teams have a unique idea but require a user-friendly interface and all the core functionality that users expect with a modern data manipulation/visualization product. 

Rather than creating all of this from scratch, developers often look for software development kits (SDKs), or toolkits, to support their unique workflows and accelerate development. For those with experience in academia, VTK is likely to be familiar, with the open-source distribution model can be very appealing to everyone due to its low up-front costs.

ParaView is an end-user, open-source application for scientific visualization. ParaView is built on VTK, and both are popular in the science and engineering communities. This overlap in market and shared history is one of the reasons the two are often discussed. 

Unlike VTK, which is used for developing new software, Paraview is a stand-alone application made to be used as a post-processing visualization engine that specializes in scientific data. The developers behind ParaView, Kitware, offer services to customize ParaView for your specific needs. This can take any number of forms and requires you to contact them for more information. 

We will be directly comparing VTK and CEETRON Envision, while occasionally clarifying information about ParaView that may be useful for developers. ParaView is an end-user product, so directly comparing this to CEETRON Envision would be inappropriate and unhelpful, as they serve different functions.

VTK Features Overview

VTK consists of a C++ library, with several interpreted interface layers including Java, Tcl/Tk, and Python, and is a generalist 3D computer graphics toolkit that can be built to suit many different needs. 

For a more comprehensive overview of VTK features, check out their documentation here. 

• Filters

  • VTK processes data by pushing it through a series of filters to produce derived data readable by VTK’s graphics systems.

• Graphics systems

  • Rendering abstraction layer over the underlying graphics library

  • Open GL, with experimental support for WebGL

• Core data model dedicated to representing real-world problems related to physical science

  • These are especially well-suited for medical imaging and engineering work

• 3D widgets for data interaction, with interfaces to 2D widgets

• 2D Plots and charts for Tabular Data. Also includes:

  • Picking and selection capabilities for interactive data query

  • Python and Matplotlib for increased flexibility

• Scalable distributed-memory parallel processing under MPI

• Data Import by extension for the following formats:

  • Stanford Exploration Project, Alembic, AVI, LIDAR, BMP, FLUENT, MotionFX, Computer Graphics Metafile, CONVERGE CFD, CGNS, LS-Dyna, Tabular, FLUENCE CFF, DICOM, Digital Elevation Map, Movie.BYU, IOSS, Chaco graph partitioning, VERAout-tools, h5 particle files, hdf generated from xRage, GE TRUCHAS, Radiance HDR, AVS, UCD Binary/ASCII, JPEG, LIDAR in LAS, Binary UTC, NETCDF. H.264 MP4, MRC, NetCDF UGRID, CAM NetCDF, NetCDF, UGRID NetCDF, MPAS NetCDF, SLAC, GAMBIT GAMBIT ASCII, NifTI-1&2, Nrrd, MNI, OggTheorya, OME TIFF, OMF, PIO, Stanford PLY, PNG, pnm, POP Ocean NETCDF, PostScript, SEG-Y, SLC, VTK Reader for STEP and IGES using OpenCASCADE MNI, Tagra, Tiff, OpenVDB, VPIC, MNI, GE Signa, XDMF

• Support for a comprehensive array of formats, with a full list here

• Supported hardware includes

  • Looking glass

  • VR Headsets - Oculus and VIVE

  • AR Headsets - Hololens

  • AR Displays - ZSpace via integration with ParaView

What is CEETRON Envision?

CEETRON Envision is a powerful CAE data processing toolkit, designed to be your one-stop SDK for CAE data import, analysis, visualization, reporting, and automation. This SDK is offered as both a desktop and cloud version, which have nearly identical feature sets.

The toolkit is built on a CAE data structure. This enables the application you build to handle reading a mesh, nodes and all, to recognize CAE results (scalars, vectors, tensors) and result mappings, and know about the different element types used in the simulation (beams, triangles, quads, tets, hexes, etc).

CEETRON Envision does not exist in a vacuum and integrates well with a variety of other tools to fit your development needs. A bridge to one of our other products, HOOPS Exchange is provided with CEETRON Envision. This powerful tool allows for the import of over 30 different CAD file formats into CEETRON Envision. This is typically useful during the CAE preprocessing stage.

CEETRON Features Overview

As you would expect, we know our own products rather well, so can provide a comprehensive overview of the features in CEETRON Envision. For more complete information, check out our documentation for the web and desktop versions.

• Finite element surface and volume data model 

  • Meshes (static and adaptive) 

    • Element shapes: points, lines, triangles, quads, tets, hexes, pyramids, wedges and polyhedrons 

    • All elements in linear and quadratic versions – except for polyhedrons (linear)
      

  • Results: 

    • Scalar, vector, and symmetric tensors 

    • Interpolations: per node, per element, per element-node and per element-surface 

    • Displacements (per node) 

    • Rigid body transformations (per part)
      

• Other data models 

  • Geometry model: efficient handling of large numbers of tessellated parts 

  • Markup model: annotations, distance, measurements, …
    

• Data Import 

  • CEETRON Access integration: 20+ industry-standard CAE formats:

    • VTFx and VTF, VTU/VTMPVD VTK, STL, ABAQUS, ANSYS 2021R1, CGNS, EnSight 6 and Gold Casefile Format, LS-DYNA, FEMAP 10, FLUENT Version 16.0, MSC.MARC, MSC.NASTRAN, NX/NASTRAN 12, IDEAS NX Series 11, PTC/ Mechanica FEM. Tecplot, OpenFOAM, VTU/VTM/PVD, Altair/HyperMesh .

  • HOOPS Exchange bridge: 30+ industry-standard CAD formats: 

    • 3D PDF, 3DS, 3MF, ACIS, CATIA V4, CATIA V5, CATIA, V6 (3D XML), Collada, DWF, DWG, DXF, FBX, glTF,, I-DEAS, IFC, IGES, Inventor, JT, OBJ, Navisworks, NX, Parasolid, PRC, PTC Creo, Pro/E, Revit, Rhino, Siemens NX, Solid Edge, SOLIDWORKS, STEP, STEP, XML, STL, U3D, VDA-FS, VRML.

  • Custom reader framework
    

• Data extractions 

  • Cutting planes 

  • Isosurfaces and isovolumes 

  • History and length plots 

  • Particle traces 

  • Transient, mode-shape and particle trace animations
    

• Visualization 

  • Multiple views including any number of models 

    • CAD and CAE models can live in same view 

  • Complete set of visualization settings for parts, results, and data extractions 

  • Envision Web 

    • WebGL client-side rendering based on highly optimized progressive 3D object streaming, allowing use of servers without GPU 

    • Full data model for use on stateful server to build interactive post-processing applications 

    • Constant data model for use on stateless servers to build interactive viewing applications
      

• Automation 

  • Full feature set available through Python interface. Useful to efficiently post-process and display results in simulation dashboards (web) or HTML reports

Developer Experience: Open-Source vs. Vendor-Provided Toolkits

When comparing VTK and CEETRON Envision, it is essential to understand how different the development experience will be between the two options. While both offer strong feature sets, the nature of open-source vs commercial-grade software will result in a vastly different application creation process for your team.

Developing with VTK

VTK is supported by Kitware, and unlike some open-source toolkits, has the option for paid support, customization, and training. We will share more information about the costs associated with these in the next section. These training sessions clearly outline the prerequisites you are expected to know before meeting with them, and Kitware makes great efforts to customize the experience for its audience. This is a great opportunity not found with many open-source software, and a significant aid to those developing with VTK. 

Like many open-source software, VTK has a dedicated community that offers resources to new and experienced developers alike. As mentioned, VTK is extremely popular in academic spaces, and you are likely to be able to find developers with experience within these circles.

Developing with CEETRON Envision

A major benefit of industrial SDKS is the integrations they can offer, especially with products sold by the same vendor. CEETRON Envision integrates well with a variety of other tools to fit your development needs. A bridge to HOOPS Exchange allows for the import of over 30 different CAD file formats into CEETRON Envision. This is typically useful during the CAE preprocessing stage. CEETRON Envision is also a part of the CEETRON family of products, that cover all aspects of the CAE workflow from file data access, meshing, and solving.

One of the most important benefits of CEETRON Envision is the developer-to-developer support that you get when partnering with Tech Soft 3D. This is a toolkit made by developers, for developers, and we do far more than send you code files and wish you luck.

Tech Soft 3D highly values the relationships we foster. We create Strategic Technology Partnerships with those we work with. This commitment to shaping your experience to fit your needs from our first contact to years-long collaboration is especially important when comparing a product directly to an open-source tool like VTK.

Like VTK, CEETRON Envision has a strong community presence. The Tech Soft Forum allows users to directly interact with each other, request and provide solutions, and otherwise provide support just like you often see in open-source software.

Costs and Pricing

A direct comparison of costs between development with an open-source tool and a vendor-supported SDK is difficult, but we will outline the costs associated with each to give you a rough framework.

VTK Pricing and Associated Costs

VTK is going to be free at source, distributed under a 3-clause BSD license, with paid, professional tailoring of services and both custom and pre-paid options for support and training offered. The beginner and advanced courses are both 8 hours long and cost $950 USD each at the time of writing. Both have student discounts available, offering 40% off to those with a school email address, as well as early bird registration discounts. 

The pre-paid support product costs $2,500 USD, and must be used within one year of the purchase date. The level of support is limited, with Kitware subtracting an hourly rate from the amount pre-paid. This support level is expected to handle standard technical questions, issue resolution, some training, and building out new functionality, while giving you access to exports on the technology.

Custom training and support costs are going to vary significantly depending on your needs, and these rates are not made publicly available by Kitware.

In general, how cost-effective open-source software is for you will depend on your use case. While the upfront costs are much lower, if you intend to build out a substantial, commercial-grade product, open-source products can require more investment in development costs. Development can also take longer, impacting to-market time, something crucial for those creating applications in many markets. 

Another cost associated with open-source software is the effort required for updates, maintenance, and bug fixes. Like many open-source tools, VTK has a fantastic community of people dedicated to keeping the product up-to-date, they will rarely meet the speed and polish of vendor-supported software. For those looking to create commercial software, this can pose a challenge.

CEETRON Envision Pricing and Associated Costs

Just like every other part of working with us, pricing will be tailored to your needs, business model, and scale. In terms of CEETRON Envision, we have done our best to make the pricing as transparent as possible. 

Simply put, there are several factors that will change how much CEETRON Envision will cost you. With that said, we understand how frustrating having no idea about pricing can be, so we have created a detailed breakdown of the factors that will influence the cost of CEETRON Envision.

This guide won’t give you an exact dollar amount, but it can give you an understanding of how pricing works throughout your partnership with Tech Soft 3D. Check out the full guide below.

In general, vendor-supported software is going to cost more upfront than open-source software, as you have to pay for the toolkit itself. For teams with very tight budgets and smaller project scope, this can be prohibitive. For those with larger projects, commercial intentions, or strong support/customization needs, commercial-grade software can save you time and money in the long run. 

Any software development manager will understand one of the biggest costs of creating an application is paying a large, experienced team for an extended time. In 3D application development, this can be amplified, given the niche expertise and limited supply of persons who possess such knowledge. A more complete array of features with built-in support can help ease development time and costs by allowing you to leverage a team of experts who have already been assembled.

Supported Formats Comparison

Below is a list of supported formats for VTK and CEETRON Envision. These may be offered through extension, or through integration with HOOPS Exchange in the case of CEETRON Envision, and will have varying support for read/write. For more details, check out the documentation of each product.

Bottom Line: VTK/ParaView vs. CEETRON Envision

ParaView, well often discussed with VTK, is a completely different type of product. While VTK and CEETRON Envision are toolkits intended to help developers create new applications, ParaView is an end-user application built with VTK.

A direct price comparison between VTK and CEETRON Envision is difficult to nail down to exact dollar figures. Your development scope, support needs, timeline, and commercial goals are all going to have a huge impact on your final costs, development experience, and end product.

In general, VTK offers an affordable, free-at-source option with a great feature set well-suited to limited projects across a diverse array of markets. Their model is appealing to lower-budget teams, startups, and others who appreciate open-source software. The familiarity to academics is a huge boon to those coming from that space. VTK offers a strong feature set supported by a dedicated community, with well-priced support and training options available. It is not going to provide the same support, commercial development potential, and scale of CEETRON Envision or another vendor-supported SDK.

CEETRON Envision has a strong focus on CAE, and its integrations with other Tech Soft 3D products enable you to create tools for a wide array of markets. This is a tool built to support the entire CAE workflow, and can be used as a powerful foundation for commercial applications. 

This is not a low-budget option, designed to offer only niche functionality for cost-savings, but rather offers a holistic SDK experience for those looking for comprehensive support and faster-to-market times. Tech Soft 3D is not a vendor who is going to send you our toolkit and nothing else: partnering with us represents a commitment to a Strategic Technology Partnership.

If you are looking to learn more about CEETRON Envision, or want to discuss if it may be the right fit for your development needs, please reach out to us below! You can talk to an expert, or explore our live web demos.