Topic: Exporting to 3D Studio From Autocad

[SDETERS]

I am getting an error when trying to export a 3ds file from autocad

the error is the following

Object  has too many vertices and was not output
3D Studio file output completed

[Josh Nieman]

I don't know what your software setup is but can you open the dwg in 3dsmax and saveas a .3ds?

[SDETERS]

Sorry I am trying to export out of Autocad 2004

I imported a 3D model via solidworks via sat format

I go to export out of autocad and I get that error

This file will be opened in cinema 4d or something like that.

[Josh Nieman]

Also, a work around I have not tried (haven't run into the problem yet) but have read of is that 3ds format cannot contain a single object (not file, just object) with more than 65,000 faces so maybe if you just slice some of the larger objects (if this problem seems like it may produce the symptoms you're seeing) and then join them later?

[SDETERS]

Thanks I will have to try this

This file is going to an outside company so I would like to send the file as one so they do not have to put it together later.

[Josh Nieman]

Also, I don't know what type of facial accuracy you need, but facetres will control the density of faces on an object (whether a 1" sphere is represented by a 20-faced object or some object with 10,000 faces)

Think of those funky dice you see in hobby stores.  Once they get to about 20-sided dice and higher, that's basically a sphere controlled by how many sides they want on it... 20...50...100... whatever they go up to.  FACETRES in Autocad controls that...which'll help keep your objects as they should be.

[Josh Nieman]

Actually I'm going to have to add a "I think..." to that last post.  I'm not sure if FACETRES only controls the faces when Autocad RENDERS or has a HIDDEN visual style, or if it also extends to ALL facial computations like exporting...  someone else may need to confirm that, either which way.

[SDETERS]

DOOHHH nope

Facetres did not work

too many vertices still

[Josh Nieman]

crud.  must just be for render/display purposes within Autocad then.

I think that 65k facial ceiling is going to bite you in the butt.  You can always split the objects like I said, download a 30-day trial of 3dsmax, and join them by opening the .3ds in 3dsmax and resaving it :p

...of course that's not a permanent solution

...and if you had a working copy of 3dsmax I guess you would just open the dwg natively instead of exporting...


...ok I'm not much help past this point 

[SDETERS]

Thanks for the tips

I can play some more and see what works

We have PRO-E so I am going to try to save it as a wavefront file

Cross my fingers on this one

[SDETERS]

Will the trial version of 3D studio max be able to open the DWG file?

Then I export to 3d studio out there?

Thanks

Shane

[Josh Nieman]

Yea, I'm not sure about before Autodesk bought 3dsmax, but I know since they purchased the product, it has included native DWG import/export capabilities.  It actually has several options to control the quality of the import, including keeping objects on proper layers, being able to assign materials by those layers, and being able to control the welding/"facetres" (forget the term 3dsmax uses) when you import.  I found that when bring in a project of an offshore platform including all structural, mechanical and piping layers which totalled around 130 or so, I'd guess, the import and subsequent work was very easy to handle.

[SDETERS]

Ok finally got it I think  When I exported out the first time I had everything on layer 0   :realmad:

I had to export out Solidworks assembly to sat file  The last time I exported out as a part.

Then in Autocad I had to assign a layer to each part and then the export worked

[SDETERS]

This 3ds studio exporting is for the birds.  The parts I am trying to export is to big for Autocad 3ds studio export.  I can not break it up because the end user does not know how this part goes back together.  I downloaded the 3D studio last night and tried to import the file as an iges and it locked my computer up.  I tried to open the dwg and half of the parts do not show up.

So this is what I am looking for now.

I need to get a STEP IGES or Parasolid into one of the following formats

Any suggestions?  I found this program called polytrans from okino.  Is this program any good?  Any one have experience with this program?



CINEMA 4D scenes ('.c4d'), catalogs ('.cat'), preferences ('.prf')
       3D studio R4 ('.3ds')
       DEM scenery files ('.dem')
       DXF to AutoCAD R12
       Illustrator paths as polygons ('.ai', '.art', '.eps')
       LightWave 3D (.lwo, .lwx) and LightWave 6 objects
       QuickDraw 3D ('.3dm') binary only, not ASCII
       Wavefront ('.obj')

[Josh Nieman]

Sorry I don't know anything about it.

Since you have 3dstudio downloaded, can you try cutting the objects in Autocad and then joining/unioning them in 3ds

[SDETERS]

I will have to try this

This was a 598 meg download.

Thanks

[Josh Nieman]

I will have to try this

This was a 598 meg download.

Thanks

you've got 30 days to try :p  after that you're locked out, and there's some registry key or file hidden somewhere on your computer that tells it you already used up the trial.

[hendie]

have you tried exporting from AutoCAD one layer at a time, then open the first file in 3DS, save it then use the MERGE command to import each of the subsequent files

[SDETERS]

great ideas  NOw I can export

Next problem

I am able to export to 3Ds  When I try to import back into autocad now I get an error

Internal error number 8 - 3D Studio file import terminated   :realmad:

What the heck is this?   

[hendie]

just guessing but could it be file version issues ? What AutoCAD version and what version of 3D Studio are you using ?

and the one thought that strikes me ~ you have just exported from AutoCAD to 3DStudio... why are you importing back into AutoCAD ?

btw, was it the layer at a time and then merge that worked for you ?
if so, then you can use the same process in reverse. Select an object, save that out as a single file, loop through the reamining items. Then open each of them in AutoCAD save as dwg. Then insert them as wblocks

[SDETERS]

Thanks That is what I finally had to do. 
The reason I am importing back into Autocad is to make sure I have everything I need in the file. 
We are sending this to a different company and they have no idea how to put these parts together.   They are using cinema 4d for the software they are going to import this information into.  So they can read 3D studio files but they are not using 3D studio for the rendering and such.
I was importing the file back into acad to make sure the file translated out correctly.
Thanks for all the help

[hendie]

let us know if the reverse process also worked

[Josh Nieman]

Thanks That is what I finally had to do. 
The reason I am importing back into Autocad is to make sure I have everything I need in the file. 
We are sending this to a different company and they have no idea how to put these parts together.   They are using cinema 4d for the software they are going to import this information into.  So they can read 3D studio files but they are not using 3D studio for the rendering and such.
I was importing the file back into acad to make sure the file translated out correctly.
Thanks for all the help

That raises a bit of a flag to me, because you're introducing variables into the checking process that the recipients will not be messing with.. that is; converting .3ds to .dwg.  To verify that all entities exist properly, I'd suggest opening the exported .3ds file in 3dsMax, since there will be no converting done, there, and the .3ds is what you're sending out.

The only thing you can do as far as them converting to a .c4d file (for Cinema4D) is to hope that THAT conversion is a smooth one.

[hendie]

I have to agree.
If you are exporting to 3DS and you can open the files in 3DS successfully... and that is the file format the end client is using then why bother bringing it back into AutoCAD ?

[SDETERS]

Update

3D studio files exporting really sucks!
But I did get the file out and he said the file came in just fine in his cinema 4d software. 

What I had to do is make multiple parts out of one part.  So in our 3D modeling software I made 3 parts out of 1 part.  Then exported that out to Solidworks.  Then I saved the file as a *.sat file.  Opened or imported that file into Autocad and then changed everything to its own layer.  Then I exported out of Autocad to 3D sutdio file.

Thanks for your help and suggestions.

[Josh Nieman]

Update

3D studio files exporting really sucks!
But I did get the file out and he said the file came in just fine in his cinema 4d software. 

What I had to do is make multiple parts out of one part.  So in our 3D modeling software I made 3 parts out of 1 part.  Then exported that out to Solidworks.  Then I saved the file as a *.sat file.  Opened or imported that file into Autocad and then changed everything to its own layer.  Then I exported out of Autocad to 3D sutdio file.

Thanks for your help and suggestions.

Autocad can export to a *.sat... I don't think I'm seeing what you gained by exporting to a *sat, then importing to a *dwg, only to export to a .3ds.

*edit*  oh, when you said "So in our 3D modeling software"... you have a whole other package besides Solidworks and Autocad that you do your modeling in?

[SDETERS]

Yep  Sure do

All of our work is done in I-Deas 12M1  In the near future we are supposed to migrate to unigraphics. 

We still use Autocad for layout out work and such but for major 3D modeling of parts we use I-Deas