Antisthenes

sure thing. it is at home and i got it from pascall, so when i get there i will find it and post it.

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The most necessary/useful piece of learning is that which unlearns what is untrue: 'evil'
may be acquiring Happiness through virtue which is based on knowledge!/?

Brian Cassil

Interesting. I was unaware that material assignments came across with acis solids. I've done a couple of tests now and we are getting thousands of different materials. We have some duplicate materials with FBX but not nearly that many. I'm pretty sure this is something that needs to be corrected on the revit end of things. Does anyone know why so many different materials are coming in?

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"writing notes is quieter."

crazy homeless guy

FBX -

Advantages:

1. no block headers
2. mental ray materials applied in revit appear in max
3. families from Revit come in as instances in Max


Disadvantages:

1. everything is on layer 0
if materials are applied in revit, those can be used to select and assign materials in max.
try creating a master library that has the same name as the materials you created in Revit. then use 'Update Scene Materials from Library' feature. it will automatically update all of the materials.
2. the max fbx import options do not have any filters for geometry (everthing in the fbx file has to be imported)
a view template can be created in revit that would filter out the unneeded objects.
3. triangulated meshes
4. no file linking
AutoDesk has a white paper out on how to create a poor man's FileLink with FBX. ..basically, it involves importing the file as an FBX, then Xref Objecting that scene into a new scene. as of yet, I have not fully explored this option becuase the FBX is so heavy, that it brings the system to a standstill when I try to Xref it into a new scene.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet...12&id=10155245

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travis schmiesing

Brian Cassil

Thanks Travis. I was actually thinking of your idea on the material naming convention thing. Except I was thinking of having corresponding named materials (xref materials if I follow the white paper that I have also read) that would already exist in the max scene and then "use scene material" could be used to automatically overide the revit materials on import. I haven't tried applying that theory yet though.

On another note, have you been able to use either the dwg cleanup or the autoedges scripts in Max 2009? As I think more about this I would go with DWG for now if I could just get rid of all the damn parenting and block headers.

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"writing notes is quieter."

StanZ

Hi Brian,

thanks for looking at my website.

another reason to stick with DWG - in the latest 3DATS book they discuss specifically this issue of bringing in foreign 3D modelling into MAX - their suggestion is basically same as Chad - clean up linework in CAD and model everything in Max.

another issue i've had was we needed to change the doors and windows in the Max file - because Revit file brought in doesnt allow for quick modification like the Max Doors/Windows can and so with all the triangulation of surfaces - positioning of doors etc was a lot of mucking about.

so i guess unless the Revit people know exactly what they are doing and create an absolutely clean and perfect model - then you or your Max people will have a longer time trying to fix mistakes and then get to rendering.

Also the materials that Revit has brought in - for every wall there are two - there is a Stud and a Exterior Render material and this too can create issues of matching multi-materials - rather than having one exterior wall material like we would in Max.

hope this helps,

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Stan

www.eagleproperty.com.au

Brian Cassil

OK my idea on using the "use scene material" thing isn't going to work. I guess that dialauge only pops up when merging scenes, not importing. When importing a scene with a material that has the same name it just creates a duplicate material with that name and never gives you the option to replace it with the scene material. Travis's idea of using a material library seems like a good one. I'll give that a try.

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"writing notes is quieter."

Chad Warner

I have the same problem as Stan....I don't work directly with the designers, so I end up having to fix things myself. A lot. I have yet to receive a revit model that goes right into Max with no cleanup first.

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Chad Warner
www.bluelimestudio.com

crazy homeless guy

Yes, recreating the geometry in Max will provide the best results, but it also wreaks havoc on budgets and timelines. The goal of creating an efficient work flow from Revit to Max is to reduce the overall amount of work it requires to create intriguing visuals.

As noted earlier, a project can go through 10-15 design stages / rendering updates. And depending on the level of changes, that could mean rebuilding a large protion of the Max model every time. Doing this can be very time consuming, especially when you consider that there is an entire architectural production team cranking away on a Revit model. With an efficient workflow, you can harness what is available, and use it to your advantage.

I am not opposed to bringing the model in to AutoCad as a 'in between' step, but I don't really want to spend a great deal of time making changes in AutoCad. I don't want to spend a great deal of time making any changes to the model for that matter. The time spent should be on updating, and enhancing the model, not rebuilding it.

OK, enough of my idealism when it comes to how it should work, it is time to roll up the sleeves, and make it work.

Brain,

I have had success with the hide edges script. Simply select your entire model (important,) and run it through... Utilities > MAXScript > Run Script. It may take a little while, but it works.

I still haven't had a lot of time with the DWG un-parenting script.

One of the things I have been working with is creating a layer map out of Revit for DWG files. This map would put the different pieces of the Revit model on layer according to what material they are. In theory this should create a perfect FileLink workflow, but I haven't fully studied that part of it yet. I have spent most of my time on the DWG workflow trying to figure out how to ditch the parenting to make the model less taxing on the graphics card.

Anyway, I will be happy when I am able to update my Max model with the Revit model in under 30 minutes. I would consider this to be effecient.

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travis schmiesing

crazy homeless guy

I am not sure if my DWG file is 2-3 times larger than what it would be, but compared to the FBX, it is quite a bit smaller. Right now my DWG is coming in at 19.4 megs, my FBX is 82 megs.

With the DWG work flow, I am trying to map layers out of Revit that correspond with the materials of the building. I will then link this file into Max using FileLink. Then I will assign materials and mapping to the model.

If all is setup properly, the next time there is an update to the project, I will open the Revit file, load my layer map, then export to a DWG. Then I will launch the Max file, open the FileLink dialog, and tell it to update the DWG.

At that point, if everything is set correctly, Max will update my model per the architecutral changes. The FileLink update should keep the corresponding material and mapping assignments, meaning I don't have to spend time redoing this.

A couple of other things to consider. AutoDesk has implied in user meetings, and in writings they have released that there will be FBX-FileLink in future releases.

Another thing to look into, nPower has some special tools for importing Revit models into Max. You might be able to develop something off of that.

Again, the bottom line for me is about developing a workflow, not just importing models. Otherwise I might as well be pissing into the wind.

(Vulgar, I know. It was more of a reference to 'Badly Drawn Boy,' who I am listening to as I right this).

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travis schmiesing

sandiarch

friends,,
still i think there are problems importing fbx format....For now i am happy importing..... Revit--->dwg---->max...(happy with layers to asign materials in max...)
but autodesk should do something so that revit->fbx-->max should have everything good.