Vectorworks MUST have .FBX Import

[MGuilfoile]

I have heard the reasons for not implementing .FBX import ability for Vectorworks and I have decided they are wrongheaded. VW has but a tiny fraction of the CAD/Modeling world. If it is to survive, working with the big players in the field is a must. At this point in time, .fbx is the export/import format that is best supported by Autodesk. For that reason, Vectorworks must not only export .fbx (which, in my experience has been working very well) but MUST also import this format. OBJ is too old and is no longer adequate in a professional environment. It is actually making it harder to make the case for Vectorworks in a mixed environment--and I find it hard to blame them.

There is no reason not to do have .fbx import capability; I hope to see this implemented within the year. It needs to be a top priority if VW is to stay in business.

 

Thank you,

MH Brown

[zoomer]

I would also welcome FBX Import.

 

 

Beside that I am all for better USD 2-way Exchange.

[VIRTUALENVIRONS]

Always curious about this. In any pipeline, whether VW's or A-CAD, etc. its geometry to C4D, Maya, MAX, etc.   In 40 years I have seldom seen a reason to reverse that pipeline..  But I have occasionally, when I needed to import large scale topology from another program.  In years past (20 years ago) I would get survey data from A-CAD.

 

There is no tone in this comment, just curiosity.  What would FBX bring to the table?  It is not really a CAD tool, but more for animation, hence export FBX.

 

[zoomer]

1 hour ago, VIRTUALENVIRONS said:

What would FBX bring to the table?

 

Since a decade or so this was probably the best and least lossy CAD to 3D export

and often best 3D to 3D export and import we had for exchange.

Compared to what we had before.

Similar to VW to C4D

 

Good geometry, Scale, Object hierarchy, Naming, Cameras, Lights, Materials, Animation, ....

 

But now the future is open USD from Pixar.

USD is neutral and open source, it is already quite capable and I think future proof.

It is already widely adopted and used in 3D and gets heavily pushed by Apple

because of their (former AR/VR ambitions) Vision Pro environment.

 

And USD export and import is already supported by VW.

(Although IMHO at an early a bit rough state so far)

 

So as long as I work with Apps with no or weak USD support,

I still use FBX for CAD to 3D.

And also would like to bring in some FBX from 3D Apps into VW.

[VIRTUALENVIRONS]

Thanks f

31 minutes ago, zoomer said:

Good geometry, Scale, Object hierarchy, Naming, Cameras, Lights, Materials, Animation, ....

Thanks for that Zoomer.  But, again, how valuable is that for Vectorworks.  From what I have seen you post, you know your way around 3D better than most.  Can you describe a scenario where you would build something in C4D to import back in Vectorworks.  This is where I don't see it.

 

[zoomer]

Maybe I did some 3D sketching in Blender or C4D and at one point think it

would be nice to have that in Vectorworks or Bricscad.

Or an older Project done in Modo only, to bring over to CAD.

As I usually architecture-Mesh-model quite accurate, I am sure major part

could be converted to Solids in VW easily.

 

Or to import some Entourage items or Materials that clients want to see

in your VW Elevations too.

(As for C4D, Material import into VW works quite good)

 

Very few 3D Apps speak IFC. And if they do like Blender with Blender BIM AddOn,

it would mean some extra work to tag all objects first.

But IFC imports to VW are cumbersome and IFC is missing most 3D App features

and Material duplicates are a nightmare. 

 

As VW in general or VW Viewport is quite tolerant to Meshes, it would be quite handy

to get some of that stuff easily in.

 

I would say, since a while we have reached a state where exporting CAD to 3D works

quite lossless. A oneway Exchange is still a bit harder and only worked for me with

VW to C4D only.

But the other way, 3D to CAD, was always lossy and tedious and still is.

(I think Archicad has a C4D import ?)

At least a 3D to CAD import would be nice.

 

And I finally would really welcome a real 2-way Exchange between 3D and CAD.

And the only hope for me that this one day happens is USD.

 

Browsers do/will support USD for presenting 3D Models in the web, in Apple's

Preview you can already view and rotate your USD files. In XCode App (Beta)

you can edit and create USD environments (meant for Vision Pro of course).

Apple helped Blender with USD support, which is one of the best I have sen so far.

 

I am sure that USD will become a standard in 3D Exchange.

and maybe finally CAD/3D Exchange, as it will be capable of so much more than FBX.

[Claes Lundstrom]

I agree with MGuilfoile. There is a wealth of pre-drawn and highly specialized models available for download on the web. If you need a very specific model of a person or a plant or a car or a piece of furniture, there is a very good chance that somebody else has modeled it before, so why waste time re-inventing the wheel ? As an example, I wanted this particular car model, and sure enough, somebody had done a very nice job for the love of it, and it was free too. FBX is a format where you get a more or less ready to rendering model, so yes please. 

[Whitfield]

Working in the TV/Film world, I'm having to constantly interchange 3d filetypes with other Set Designers, Art Directors, and VFX folks. .FBX has been the least headache of preserving scale and texture of models. A large share of Set Designers only use SketchUp for 3d, and draft 2d in AutoCAD, bringing their stuff into VW is ok with the SketchUp import, but sending VW models that have texture is damn near impossible reliably without .FBX.

 

I think VW is the ultimate tool for what I do, but a better seamless 3d exchange would make this an industry leader in my mind.

[Andy Broomell]

Yes please for .fbx import.

[Claes Lundstrom]

On 1/16/2024 at 7:24 PM, zoomer said:

 

And I finally would really welcome a real 2-way Exchange between 3D and CAD.

And the only hope for me that this one day happens is USD.

 

Browsers do/will support USD for presenting 3D Models in the web, in Apple's

Preview you can already view and rotate your USD files. In XCode App (Beta)

you can edit and create USD environments (meant for Vision Pro of course).

Apple helped Blender with USD support, which is one of the best I have sen so far.

 

I am sure that USD will become a standard in 3D Exchange.

and maybe finally CAD/3D Exchange, as it will be capable of so much more than FBX.

 

USD still feels a bit unfinished and buggy, though promising. Why does it so different in Preview as it does on the iPhone (as augmented reality and as a stand alone)? Looks better that it does in Adobe Aero though, which seemed to have stalled in development lately. Let's hope Apple put som effort into this. 

[zoomer]

From time to time I play with VW Nomad App on iOS.

Point Clouds and Room Plan so far.

(The Mesh export is horrible)

 

Room Plan data can be saved as OBJ

Just a single large Mesh containing independent volumes and

no hierarchy or naming. Nevertheless the better option for VW

for "reasons".

(Strange but in Bricscad I can access each Object separately)

 

And you can save it as USDZ, which you can see and rotate already

in Apple Preview. For fun I unzipped the USD.

This will offer you USDA files for each object in a nice folder structure

and proper naming. (Similar to Datasmith but with hierarchical order)

So imported in Blender you will get the perfect hierarchy and naming

in Object Tree.

 

In VW USD import, unfortunately that hierarchy is done by nested Groups

(I would prefer Classes) and not exactly in the same order.

Which makes Object navigation and selection super hard.

 

So yes, we are not yet there with USD.

Or still behind FBX but I am sure that will change.

Maybe Apples Vision Pro release will bring more attention to USD.

 

But an open 3D format, supported by Browsers and even recognized

by operation systems makes sense to me.

 

[MGuilfoile]

I want to bump this. I really feel FBX is vital if Vectorworks is going to grow its user base, but, more importantly, allow it to survive at all. FBX makes it work with other bigger platforms. Vectorworks will go out of business if it does not make this a priority. Can someone working at VW speak to where we are in getting this done?

MHBrown

[DM_PAV]

+1. 

[JuanP]

I talked to R&D, and while it's not on the roadmap right now, the import of FBX files is a priority for us. I'll keep you posted on any updates.