Monday, August 28th, 2017 Posted by Jim Thacker

D3CRYPT3D releases new free beta of PolyPort


D3CRYPT3D has released a new free beta of PolyPort, its tool for encrypting 3D models before sharing them online, reworking the UI and adding support for editing encrypted models in Blender as well as Maya.

Prevent piracy by encrypting your 3D models before sharing them
We first wrote about PolyPort last year, when the software itself was still known as D3CRYPT3D.

The technology is intended to minimise unauthorised reuse of 3D models – for example, printing or reselling commercial assets – by enabling users to upload them to an online library in encrypted form.

They can then share the files with collaborators, giving them permission to view, edit or reshare the model.

If a file is shared with an unauthorised user, it will still open in standard DCC apps, but will display a placeholder – a customisable 3D business card for the original creator – instead of the model itself.

New in the current beta: new interface, early support for Blender as well as Maya
Models can be uploaded in OBJ or STL format, and the encrypted versions edited in Maya – and, as of the new beta, Blender, although you can’t currently export a model edited in Blender back to the online library.

The latest beta also “completely redesigns” PolyPort’s user interface, and enables users to preview and customise the way that assets are displayed within their online library.

Due in future: sell or print models directly from your PolyPort library; set assets to ‘self-destruct’
Functionality planned for future releases includes the option to sell 3D models directly from the library, or to send them to 3D printers or online printing services.

The firm also plans a “self-destruct” mode, enabling users to put a limit on the number of times models can be printed, or to disable them if they are known to have been “compromised” by unauthorised sharing.

Pricing and availability
PolyPort is currently available as a free beta – at the time of posting, beta 2.0.0.51 – for Windows only. Models encrypted using PolyPort can be edited using Maya 2017 and Blender 2.78.

Read more about the new features in PolyPort on the product website
(Download link for the free beta is at the foot of the page)