Voxel Model Inspector

What it is for

Voxel Model Inspector checks a Renderloom voxel project and reports its grid dimensions, occupied cells, exposed faces and palette usage. It also creates a transparent isometric SVG, a portable OBJ/MTL mesh and a fresh editable project download.

This is useful when exchanging models between tools or checking how a block sculpture translates to a surface mesh. The inspector reads the project as data; it does not execute scripts or fetch remote assets.

Worked example

Run the little house example. The summary reads "828 occupied voxels have 672 exposed faces"; the report adds a 16 × 16 × 16 volume and 4 used colors out of 8 palette entries. Compare the voxel count with the exposed-face count. These are different measures: an occupied cell can have from zero to six exposed faces depending on its neighbors. A voxel completely surrounded by occupied cells contributes no surface faces.

Download the SVG to inspect the illustrated shape. Download the mesh ZIP and extract its files into the same directory. Import the OBJ in a compatible 3D application and check that its companion MTL colors are loaded. The model uses Z as its vertical axis.

Open the editable project in Renderloom Voxel Desk to change cells and colors. The JSON project preserves the voxel grid and palette, while the mesh contains the visible surface.

How to read the result

Width, height and depth describe the full editing grid, not necessarily the tight bounding box of the occupied cells. Used colors counts distinct palette indexes assigned to voxels; palette colors counts all defined palette entries, including unused ones.

A surface face is counted when the adjacent position is empty or outside the grid. The mesh omits faces between occupied cells even if the two cells have different colors. Palette colors become diffuse MTL materials. The SVG has fixed face shading and a transparent background.

Tips and common mistakes

The input must be valid Renderloom voxel JSON with unique in-bounds coordinates and palette indexes. Each axis can have one to 64 cells, the model can contain at most 32,768 occupied cells, and the palette supports one to 64 opaque six-digit hexadecimal colors.

Keep the OBJ and MTL together. Some 3D applications use a different up axis or interpret MTL colors differently, so check orientation and appearance after import. The included VOX 150 export is a single model with opaque colors. The mesh does not preserve voxel-editing operations, textures, animation or physically based materials.

A project too large for the app link can still be downloaded and opened from Voxel Desk. Retain that native file when future voxel edits matter.

FAQ

Is the exposed-face count the number of voxels?

No. Each voxel can contribute several faces, or none if fully enclosed.

Can this read arbitrary voxel formats?

The inspector accepts Renderloom voxel project JSON. It does not interpret other applications' files in the JSON input.

Can I automate inspection?

Yes. Use renderloom-voxel-inspector through the JSON API or renderloom_voxel_inspector through MCP. The response includes the validated project, report and artifact references.