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3DSC

stable
Survey pipeline (Blender)
For: modeller

3D Survey Collection — photogrammetry workflow management, level-of-detail handling, metadata propagation. The upstream pipeline that produces high-quality 3D models for EM Tools to annotate.

Install in Blender

Drag a tool into the Blender window — Blender picks the build matching your OS and Blender version (4.4+) and keeps it updated automatically.

3D Survey Collection1.7.0-dev.2

Tools for 3D survey: LOD, Cesium tiles, ortho & panorama.

Drag & Drop into Blender

Drop it twice. The 1st drag adds the Extended Matrix repository, the 2nd installs it. Already added the repository? Once is enough.

Can't drag & drop?

Add the repository in Edit ▸ Preferences ▸ Get Extensions ▸ Repositories ▸ ＋ ▸ Add Remote Repository, then install 3D Survey Collection from the list:

Currently in the Dev channel (stable build coming soon).

Manual / offline install (advanced, no auto-updates): pick the zip for your OS & Blender version from the GitHub release — 3D Survey Collection ↗.

Manual ↗ GitHub ↗ Licence: GPL-3.0

Or pick a specific EM version below ↓

What it is

3DSC (3D Survey Collection) is the EMF tool for making the 3D models that EM Tools then annotates. It runs entirely on modest hardware and is designed for archaeologists, not for visual-effects studios — so don’t be put off by the words “3D survey”.

Workflow: photogrammetry chunks (Metashape, Reality Capture in progress) → 3DSC LOD pipeline → clean low-poly proxies → EM Tools.

Capabilities

  • Workflow management for photogrammetry chunks.
  • Level-of-detail (LOD) pipeline producing proxies suitable for annotation.
  • Metadata propagation across LOD levels.
  • Direct integration with EM Tools.

See the 3DSC documentation for the full reference.

Shipped in EM versions

One-click download for each combination — or click the EM version number to see its full compatibility matrix.

Download EM version Tool version Status Note
⬇ download EM 1.6 TBD included No 1.6-paired 3DSC release yet — the 3DSC line continues to ship from the main repo. Specific paired version TBD.
⬇ download EM 1.5 1.7.0dev01 included **Development preview** — `v1.7.0dev01`, first fully featured 3DSC for Blender. The stable 1.7.0 release is pending; until it ships, the dev01 build is the recommended download for EM 1.5 users.
⬇ download EM 1.4 0.9 included Survey pipeline for Blender.