Scan Boxes for Scene and Mesh References

For Scene References and Mesh References, the generated voxel result depends on the selected Scan Box.

The Scan Box defines which region of the source asset Foxel uses before voxelization.

Why This Matters

Scene References and Mesh References both use voxelization, but they do not simply voxelize the whole source asset without control.

The Scan Box defines which part of the source is used, so it has a direct effect on the generated result.

If the generated Reference does not contain the expected content, the Scan Box is one of the first things to check.

Where Scan Boxes Apply

The Scan Box property is used by:

• Scene References
• Mesh References

Scene References

A Scene Reference loads voxel data from another Voxel Scene.

It does this by scanning a region of the source scene and merging the result into a single grid.

The Scan Box defines which region of the source scene is used.

Mesh References

A Mesh Reference voxelizes mesh data from a Mesh Asset.

The Scan Box defines which region of the mesh asset is used for voxelization.

In both cases, the Scan Box controls the source region before the generated result appears in the scene.

How The Generation Works

For Voxel Scenes and Mesh Assets, Foxel uses voxelization.

The process is:

1. The Scan Box defines which region of the source asset is used.
2. Foxel voxelizes the content inside that region.
3. The generated voxel data is merged into a single voxel result for the Reference object.

That means the Scan Box is one of the main controls that shapes the result before it appears in the scene.

Default Scan Box vs Custom Scan Box

A Scene Reference or Mesh Reference can use either:

• The asset’s Default Scan Box
• A custom Scan Box object inside the referenced asset

Default Scan Box

Use the asset’s Default Scan Box when one standard source region is enough.

This is the simpler option and works well when the asset has one expected voxelization region.

Custom Scan Box

Use a custom Scan Box when the Reference should use a different region of the source asset.

This is useful when the source asset contains more content than the Reference should include, or when several References need different regions from the same source asset.

Why Scan Boxes Are Useful

Scan Boxes matter because they let you control:

• Which part of the source asset is included.
• How large the generated voxel result is.
• Whether the Reference captures the region you actually want.
• Which region is voxelized before the result is merged into one grid.

This is especially important when the source asset contains more content than the Reference should use.

Scan Box vs Crop

A Scan Box is not the same as crop settings.

A simple distinction is:

Scan Box = source region before voxelization
Crop = generated voxel region after generation

Use the Scan Box when you need to control what part of the source asset is voxelized.

Use crop settings when you need to trim the generated voxel result afterward.

What To Remember

• Scene References and Mesh References both use Scan Boxes.
• The Scan Box defines which region of the source asset is used.
• Foxel voxelizes the content inside that region.
• The Reference can use either the asset’s Default Scan Box or a custom Scan Box.
• Changing the Scan Box changes the generated voxel result.
• Use crop settings when you need to trim the result after generation.