My jump into Modo via MicroStation XM (WIP)

[RyanSpaulding]

Hey guys,

 

I've decided to give it a run...lets see how MicroStation XM plays with Modo, shall we? This will be sort of a WIP project...may not go too fast as I dont have much time...but this Modo forum doesn't go fast either. I must note, I'm a huge Modo novice at this point.

 

So, 1st thing's first. What doesn't work on import...

 

The XM > DXF > Modo workflow is not spot on. Seems Modo likes solids or mesh objects...so you cant drop your mesh to individual triangles. Wont work. So use 'Deep Exploration' to accomplish the import. Export from XM to U3D and then open the U3D in Deep Exploration, save as an LWO file. Modo seems to play well with this format. Credit on this specific topic goes to Peter Fotadis.

 

I do not have the CAD edition to see if the DGN importer works well or not...saving us a step. No biggie as my 43mb DGN came to 1.5mb in U3D format.

 

I noticed each object comes in seperate...so each post can be selected, each wall that's not merged, ect. The tree is Layer > Object. It does not differentiate between colors on your level. If you want to seperate objects of selectability, use different levels...not one level with X number of colors.

 

The camera from XM comes through, but I'm not sure if it works yet. Directional light (aka the solar light in XM) also comes over.

 

Modo is a bit resource heavy...I've noticed significant slowdown in workflow. It'd be best to make only necessary levels visible. Import can also be a bit slow. I've had 1 crash due to moving geometry around.

 

Another note, on 1st glance, I dont see any Import function. It may just be the OPEN command when it's not an LXO (luxology) file...but at this point, I tried to have my scene open and import a simple 3ds file...and it's hanging. So I'm not sure how to add items to the scene such as XFrog trees, 3D People, or 3d autos.

 

UPDATE: The 'Open' function while in my design file crashed Modo.

 

Seems stable. One crash for moving my geometry, one for opening a file.

[William Alexander]

To copy...you need to open the new file. It will show along with the files already there.

 

Try to dragging and droping a mesh from one file to another in the item list view. Make suer the import dialog box has everything checked. You materials from the imported mesh appear in the group called imported shader of the shadertree view. Usally very few problems with the materials until you copy only polys and paste into a mesh. Then you need to restructure the group and base shader in the render>shader tree.

 

 

WDA

[RyanSpaulding]

To copy...you need to open the new file. It will show along with the files already there.

 

Try to dragging and droping a mesh from one file to another in the item list view. Make suer the import dialog box has everything checked. You materials from the imported mesh appear in the group called imported shader of the shadertree view. Usally very few problems with the materials until you copy only polys and paste into a mesh. Then you need to restructure the group and base shader in the render>shader tree.

 

 

WDA

 

Thanks man. I'll try some more today!

 

EDIT: Some potentially bad news. When I import my original LWO scene, all my levels are in tact...so I can select glass with one click, select siding with another, ect. If I save the file as an LXO file, close, and reopen, my levels are gone and I'm left with 10,000 'Geometry: ###' items...hardly usable.

[CHE]

Ryan,

 

Have you tried AccuTrans? I use it all the time to convert files to LWO for Modo and vice versa. Here is a link to a post that explains how to use it for Modo.

 

http://forums.luxology.com/discussion/topic.aspx?id=13431&show=accutrans

 

I hope it helps,

 

Ernesto

[RyanSpaulding]

Ryan,

 

Have you tried AccuTrans? I use it all the time to convert files to LWO for Modo and vice versa. Here is a link to a post that explains how to use it for Modo.

 

http://forums.luxology.com/discussion/topic.aspx?id=13431&show=accutrans

 

I hope it helps,

 

Ernesto

 

I wonder if it's even an issue with DE's translation though...because it comes in fine. It's when I save and reopen it in Modo...that leads me to believe DE's work was done fine, it's modo's issue. I'll try AccuTrans to see...

[CHE]

Modo does not support 3ds files. It has a DXF importer/exporter but it is very slow and it doesn't always work well. You can also try exporting to OBJ but I have had better results with LWO files. AccuTrans will translate your layering and in some cases cameras and UVs. I do have not experience any "merging" of layers after closing and opening th LXO before. Do you loose all your mesh items when that happens?

[RyanSpaulding]

No, I dont lose them...I lose the item tree.

 

Here's a link to my issue.

[RyanSpaulding]

No new news. The Luxology forum users think it may just be an incompatability between the CAD way and the way Modo 'optimizes' files.

[RyanSpaulding]

So, the workaround to this is:

 

Within the 'Levels' item tree, go into each layer name and see if there are any further objects that have child objects attached to them. If there are, select those light grey items, right-click and hit 'delete' but DO NOT delete children when it asks. Then, once you have the layer as the only grey item and all children beneath is are in black, right click on the layer name and select 'Change Item Type' to 'Group Locator'.

 

Group Locater seems to be the equivalent to layers.

 

This is, however, a pain in the ass for any arch viz workflow as it adds a step to do and sometimes, the way you build your CAD model will be affected.

 

I'll research a different method into Modo to see if this step can be eliminated.

[CHE]

Yeah. Unfortunately, there is not direct translation for CAD files into Modo. As you know, there is a DXF importer/exporter but it doesn't work with complex models very well. Right now, your best bet is to use AccuTrans but even then you will be left with a lot of cleaning up to do in Modo. You could also use Cinema 4D to import your Model and then export it as a LWO. Some guys have had great results this way. Personally, I would do all my modeling in Modo. I only use AccuTrans to translate CAD floor plans and elevations. I moved into Modo because I was looking for an alternative to 3dsmax and I truly believe that I couldn't have made a better choice. You will be missing a lot of what makes Modo unique if you only plan to use as a render engine.

 

Ernesto

[CHE]

No, Mesh Items are the equivalent to layers. Group Locators are what their name suggest, groups. You can nest several mesh items into another mesh items if you wish. Group Locators come in handy whenever you want to translate several items together. Other than that they help to organize your file.

[RyanSpaulding]

Cool. Thanks for shedding some light on that.

 

As for modeling completely in Modo...baby steps on that one. First, I need to see render quality...and if I end up liking the look and performance, I'll slowly migrate perhaps.

 

Just need some material and outdoor lightings tuts and tips now...

[CHE]

Here are some Material presets:

 

http://www.vertexmonkey.com/presets_collections.php

 

and a tutorial on how to use them:

 

http://www.nullinstitute.com/web/Null%20institute%20Blog/Podcast/52380D43-C0FE-412A-AC7A-5D3B5EDB99E8.html

 

Shader Tree Tuts:

 

http://www.vertexmonkey.com/tutorials_texturing_shaderTree.php

 

Tutorials on lighting and rendering:

 

http://www.vertexmonkey.com/tutorials_lighting.php

http://www.vertexmonkey.com/tutorials_rendering.php

[RyanSpaulding]

Che, you're the man!

[CHE]

No problem. I hope you find a way to incorporate Modo into your work flow.

[RyanSpaulding]

GETTING 2D CAD DATA INTO MODO (Via MicroStation XM + Deep Exploration 5.0)

 

USEFUL LINKS:

http://forums.luxology.com/discussion/topic.aspx?id=13431

http://forums.luxology.com/discussion/topic.aspx?id=13233

 

DWG to DXF Workflow Option

In Export Settings: Entity Mapping > Convert All to 'Polylines' when possible

Condense levels as much as possible until Modo 301

Drop All Elements to linework

Found some translations when put into Modo via X's DXF get flipped, such as with arcs

Anything not dropped does not translate

Open In AccuTrans

Save As a large LWO file

Fast and Accurate

 

DWG to LWO Workflow Option

CAD Version of Deep Exploration used for DWG > LWO

DWG to LWO Export

Sometimes loses line color data in translation

Computer Inensive

 

DWG to DXF to LWO Workflow Option

CAD Version of Deep Exploration Used for DXF > LWO

Same as above, with line color maintained

Computer Intensive

 

 

GETTING 3D CAD DATA INTO MODO (Via MicroStation XM + Deep Exploration 5.0)

 

MicroStation XM > U3D > LWO

CAD Version of Deep Exploration Used

Level Structure Does Not Remain after Save of LXO File

Must go through each level (mesh), find greyed out levels (meshes), delete these (do not delete child objects)

Then Move geometry that collapsed to ouside of tree to the inside of the level (mesh) desired

Right-Click > Convert to 'Group Locator'

Now the LXO file will reopen with selectable levels (meshes)

[RyanSpaulding]

Ok, I'll update here as well, but I've created a small site called MicroStation to Modo. i'll have more in depth and better formatted stuff here. It's specific to MicroStation, but a lot of the info is general for you Autodesk users.

 

http://www.ryan-spaulding.com/cad_to_modo/

 

A WIP, but we, the arch viz crowd, need this.