keithg Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 i am a maya user, and i import my architectural cad files in from archicad, but the workflow is not very efficient, recently i have heard that the new version of Z is outstanding in both modeling, AND cad work? is this correct? can i do my modeling, and then create or extract bluprints or working drawings from Z? also, does anyone know if Z files are exportable to maya to render using mental ray? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Homeless Guy Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 formZ is a great modeler. my only complaint in that dept. would be that it wants you to be a little to precise when it comes to nurbs modeling, but for architecture, i don't think there is anything better. you can export to Maya via any of the common formats. formZ supports several, but I don't think it can legally write to Maya format. OBJ, 3ds, dwg will all probably work. there have been threads on this either here, or on formZ's bbs. i export to lightwave (formZ writes lightwave format), and 3dMax (using 3ds). lightwave is easier, but both work. i don't use formZ for production drawings, but it does support them in drafting mode. to the best of my knowledge, the model and the drawing are not linked. meaning, if you modify the model, it does not update the section automatically. formZ's drafting is not nearly as robust as Microstation or AutoCad. the best way to evaluate formZ would be to download the demo from their website. www.formz.com the save is disabled on the demo version (including export), but i think everything else works. travis schmiesing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makai Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 I've found formz to be competent and robust, but brittle. It can be a pain to work with, but like any tool you get used to it. Instead of using local gizmos, it uses working planes (not unlike ACAD's UCS), so that is a bit of an old approach, but not a surprise since it is not an animator. It imports/exports so much, I find myself using it as an intermediary. It makes perfect stl's for RP. The drafting package is not it's strength, but more of a support to getting 2D drawings with lineweights. I can't recommend using it to produce CD's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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