Revit 2010 models into max?

[chow choppe]

hi everyone

 

The question is importing revit 2010 files into max for rendering.

 

I have already searched on the forum but couldnt finding complete solution and threads were a little older. So here i go.

 

One of our client has revit 2010 models and he just wants us to render these for him in max. We are not familiar with importing revit models into max. So

 

1.) i want to know which is the best way to import revit 2010 models in to max and they will open in which version of max? Currently we use MAX 2008.

2.) Will i be able to import geometry via layers ? otherwise i have to assign material by selecting every single object.

3.) DO i need to make any corections to the geometry after i import it into max. ? BEcause i will have to quote accordingly as i need to know how much effort and time will the revit models require once they are imported into max

 

Please guys i need your help with this

 

thanks

[Dave Buckley]

first thing you should do is ask the client to export his 3d model from revit in all the different file formats avaialble.

 

then you should try to import each of the files that he sends you. this way you can see which works best for you.

 

there are plenty of threads about this and what you will find is that the majority of the people using this workflow are torn between .dwg and .fbx.

 

Autodesk claim that the .fbx workflow is more streamlined but others will disagree.

 

personally i use the .fbx workflow

 

i always find that you never know if corrections need making until you start working with the file.

 

the reason for this is that it all depends on how the file has been modelled at the other end.

 

i've had experiences where files have been terrible where as some other files have been really really clean and worked perfectly

 

revit doesn't work in layers however it can export in layers. again this depends on how the other guys choose to export it at their end

[Dave Buckley]

http://www.cgarchitect.com/vb/32059-fbx-dwg-export-max-import.html

[TheAllusionisst]

If you were using Max Design 2010 I would just have them export to FBX and import into Max. I see no reason why if you downloaded the lates FBX I/O's that it wouldn't work in your version.

 

1.) I would delete the existing lighting system and create the appropriate one for the render engine and system you want to use.

 

2.) Apply one of the Max Scripts available that hide the internal edges of the geometry to make your scene appear a lot cleaner if you so desire.

 

Jon Seagull site: http://www.jonseagull.com

Actual Script: http://www.jonseagull.com/files/autoedge.mcr

 

3.) Start the process of sampling textures with your material editor eyedropper and use the Material editors "Utility" menu and select by material. Then group all those items into a simple naming convention that makes sense to you.

 

4.) Adjust or replace the material you just used to select all the objects with it applied to them to the appropriate format and name accordingly. You could leave existing materials and proceed to the next step and tweak materials later if you are using a compatible render engine like mental ray. If you change materials you may need to apply UV map and tweak to get textures to appear correctly.

 

5.) Hide that newly created group to make the scene less complicated and relieve you graphics card of some of it's duties.

 

6.) Repeat process until model/scene is organized and materials are all set up for test rendering process to take place.

 

Using this method, materals set up in Revit can be maintained (see step #4) or atleast used to organize your model into groups. This eliminates having thousands of objects in your scene explorer and allows you to perform task on the groups via easy screen selection.

 

After performing test renders you can adjust materials and UVs, or apply UV maps as necessary and resume you work flow as you normally would.

 

Prior to Max Design 2010 I abhored the process, but I am not certain that improvements in Revits FBX export aren't the cause for increased ease of use. We do this process all the time now. As David mentioned, it really depends on how well the Revit user created the file, but FINALLY this work flow is a viable solution IMHO!

Edited December 1, 2009 by Russell L. Thomas

[chow choppe]

If you were using Max Design 2010 I would just have them export to FBX and import into Max. I see no reason why if you downloaded the lates FBX I/O's that it wouldn't work in your version.

 

1.) I would delete the existing lighting system and create the appropriate one for the render engine and system you want to use.

 

2.) Apply one of the Max Scripts available that hide the internal edges of the geometry to make your scene appear a lot cleaner if you so desire.

 

Jon Seagull site: http://www.jonseagull.com

Actual Script: http://www.jonseagull.com/files/autoedge.mcr

 

3.) Start the process of sampling textures with your material editor eyedropper and use the Material editors "Utility" menu and select by material. Then group all those items into a simple naming convention that makes sense to you.

 

4.) Adjust or replace the material you just used to select all the objects with it applied to them to the appropriate format and name accordingly. You could leave existing materials and proceed to the next step and tweak materials later if you are using a compatible render engine like mental ray. If you change materials you may need to apply UV map and tweak to get textures to appear correctly.

 

5.) Hide that newly created group to make the scene less complicated and relieve you graphics card of some of it's duties.

 

6.) Repeat process until model/scene is organized and materials are all set up for test rendering process to take place.

 

Using this method, materals set up in Revit can be maintained (see step #4) or atleast used to organize your model into groups. This eliminates having thousands of objects in your scene explorer and allows you to perform task on the groups via easy screen selection.

 

After performing test renders you can adjust materials and UVs, or apply UV maps as necessary and resume you work flow as you normally would.

 

Prior to Max Design 2010 I abhored the process, but I am not certain that improvements in Revits FBX export aren't the cause for increased ease of use. We do this process all the time now. As David mentioned, it really depends on how well the Revit user created the file, but FINALLY this work flow is a viable solution IMHO!

 

thank you so much for such an informative reply.

i tried exporting a test file with few wallls and doors as fbx and then dwg format.

both formats export the similar way but in dwg format i dint get those aditional edges. In FBX i got those edges which i think can be removed by that autoedge script.

The idea you suggested for picking materials to group objects was true in few cases but in some cases, like door and door frame, the objects should be grouped separately but they share the same material from revit( by material i mean default color the object had in revit). so its difficult to select the frames separatley and becomes time consuming.

 

I tried importing the .dwg format as layers but it still gives me objects separately, all of them.

 

SO i have figured out the way to import but still not sure about proper organising of layers so that material appliactions is easier and fast.

 

Thanks

[TheAllusionisst]

Doors and similar assemblies are usually "Multi-Materials", so even if you don't group the separate parts, you still have control over the materials applied to them. In essence, all door parts could be on a door layer/object group and you could adjust the materials, via multi-materials, on the individual parts if you used the select by materials method to group them. FWIW.

 

Not advocating what you should use for your workflow, just wanted to point out the FBX method is getting pretty painless these days, finally!

[hockley91]

I don't care for .fbx at this point in time. It depends on who's worked on the revit model. If the materials are finalized with the model, then yes. Definitely go with .fbx. Everything comes in with blocks though as far as my experience goes with Revit and Max. I hate going through the object list and trying to isolate things.

 

If you want to use your own materials and have more user control of everything then .dwg out as ACIS solids and not polymesh. That keeps all the layers together.

 

Also, bringing in the .dwg directly into MAX has tons of "blocks" associated with all the objects and it can be a nightmare to work through all that. So, I usually clean up all the blocks in Autocad first. I isolate the layers and divide everything up and explode the blocks and create separate layers before I bring them into MAX.

 

All the wall types are on one layer for example with the Revit model. So, if you have brick, stucco, metal it's all on the same layer. .FBX will show those visually, but you have to go in there and modify things if the texture mapping is wrong. So, I usually just clean the whole thing up and texture from scratch since I like using my own textures anyway.

 

It comes down to time also. I had a lot of time to do all that, but another project and .fbx was great for everything was already texture mapped.

 

So, it all depends on what you want to do, how much time you have to do it, and how much control you want.

[TheAllusionisst]

Very true. If Autodesk had an exporting routine in Revit like it did in ADT that exploded and prepared the geometry for export, then we wouldn't need threads like this, unfortunately......... Well I will leave it alone, it is Autodesk

[hockley91]

Yeah...it was frustrating at first, but I know it'll all get worked out. Autodesk has acquired all of these software companies and I'm sure their software department is in so deep right now trying to sort through all of these issues.

 

I think over time things will go a bit more smoothly.

[hockley91]

Oh...one more thing. I really do like that "autoedge" script. It's worked wonderfully with the .fbx files.

[polyporter]

I have a question..

 

Our firm is currently using Revit 2010 and wish to import it into 3DS Max. Unfortunately we have no idea how to use the program very effectively. We imported a simple model with custom made materials into 3DS Max as a .fbx file. We followed a dumbed down way to render it quickly. Max keeps crashing shortly into rendering. It might be a settings problem but we don't know.

 

We would love if someone could give us a better, dumbed down walkthrough of steps needed to create a simple exterior rendering. I'd really appreciate it.

[TheAllusionisst]

I have a question..

 

Our firm is currently using Revit 2010 and wish to import it into 3DS Max. Unfortunately we have no idea how to use the program very effectively. We imported a simple model with custom made materials into 3DS Max as a .fbx file. We followed a dumbed down way to render it quickly. Max keeps crashing shortly into rendering. It might be a settings problem but we don't know.

 

We would love if someone could give us a better, dumbed down walkthrough of steps needed to create a simple exterior rendering. I'd really appreciate it.

 

Sorry, I do not know how much more "dumbed down" I could make my simple walk through. Perhaps :

 

1.) Either hire employee competent in both Revit and 3DS Max or hire a reputable archvis studio to render out your model at whatever level and style you require.

 

2.) Go home and spend quality time with family using the time you would have spent trying to learn another complicated program and how to get it to work with it's sister program.

 

Not trying to be a "smart alec" or jerk, just pointing out that if you want a "push button" solution, there isn't one, you need to invest time to learn the programs and nuances of their interactions or hire someone who already has, we can't tell you "Three Steps to Beautiful Renderings!" and if there were such a thing, we (archvis artist) would be fools to tell anyone about them! LOL Kidding, but seriously read the great information and tutorials on sites like this and learn the programs or commision someone who can accomplish your needs.

[hockley91]

Yeah, you really need to get into the program and mess with the export features. That's what I did. We have people here that are really great with Revit, but they still aren't that familiar with 3DS Max capabilities.

 

So, I just spent my spare time on this board and messing with all the .fbx and .dwg export options.

 

Search this forum and you'll find lot's of information on the different options and the repercussions of using those options.

 

I think it's safe to say that there isn't an all in one solution yet for importing into Max.

[tecton3d]

I have a question..

 

Our firm is currently using Revit 2010 and wish to import it into 3DS Max. Unfortunately we have no idea how to use the program very effectively. We imported a simple model with custom made materials into 3DS Max as a .fbx file. We followed a dumbed down way to render it quickly. Max keeps crashing shortly into rendering. It might be a settings problem but we don't know.

 

We would love if someone could give us a better, dumbed down walkthrough of steps needed to create a simple exterior rendering. I'd really appreciate it.

 

I'm having a similar problem going from Revit 2010 to Max Design 2010 via FBX... once in Max, I just can't get a rendering. From either the exposure preview or from a full rendering - the scene goes through about 20% of PRE-PROCESSING, but max just hangs up and quits responding. I can texture and model just fine but can't get a rendering to process.

 

there doesn't appear to be a ton of options regarding exporting .fbx from 2010 and/or importing into Max Design 2010 so I'm kind of stumped.

 

I've followed the documentation included with max to no avail... short of going full-dwg workflow, which makes the max files unusually large to work with compared to an fbx > max file...

 

...help?

 

thanks.

[TheAllusionisst]

Make sure to download the latest FBX I/O plugin and try rendering with a plain 'ArchDesign' material overide (in render settings) to make sure some of the materials from Revit aren't causing problems. I have run into memory problems trying to render something imported right into Max, but after texturing it in Max it would work. FWIW

 

P.S. I always delete the Physical Sun and Sky from Revit and create a new one in Max.

[tecton3d]

not to sound like a totally helpless goon, but where do you find the plugins? they are not here: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/item?siteID=123112&id=8229299

 

thanks!

 

edit: found it: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/item?siteID=123112&id=10775855

[tecton3d]

Make sure to download the latest FBX I/O plugin and try rendering with a plain 'ArchDesign' material overide (in render settings) to make sure some of the materials from Revit aren't causing problems. I have run into memory problems trying to render something imported right into Max, but after texturing it in Max it would work. FWIW

 

P.S. I always delete the Physical Sun and Sky from Revit and create a new one in Max.

 

...for what it's worth, I can export .fbx models from both Revit 2009 and 2010 into Max 2009 and render normally.

[TheAllusionisst]

Are you saying the new FBX plugin fixed the problem?

[bigroo]

I have a question..

 

Post it then, don't hijack someone else's thread

[leodav77]

what about masses?

when i import to MAX a file i exported from Revit the models made out of Mases do not show up? what's the reason and how do i solve that please?

[Tommy Burns]

what about masses?

when i import to MAX a file i exported from Revit the models made out of Mases do not show up? what's the reason and how do i solve that please?

Did you not read the previous comment??? and I answered your question in your other post. Have some patience and read the posting rules please

[hockley91]

Just saw a 3DS Max webcast from Autodesk.

 

They also mentioned that they are working on a better .fbx importing. They are aware of all the import issues and are working on it.

 

It really does depend on what you are doing with the model and Revit. There are many situations where it would be better for a .dwg file to be imported vs. a .fbx file.

 

I do like the clean imports of the .dwg file, but .fbx files retain a lot of the texture information from the Revit model. So, it all kinda depends on your situation. Are you going to re-texture? Is this a final rendering? Is this just a basic rendering? Is this an animation?