HELP: Importing 3D furniture / fixtures - best file type - workflows

[MYHABITATDESIGN 0]

Hi there,

I have been trying for hours to import 3d files from some suppliers to VWX however something always seems to go wrong. To much mesh / wrong scale ... etc etc.... 

Does anyone have any experience with what files type works best - DWG , MAX , OBJ ?? or others.... (this in itself could save time first)

If so, perhaps you have a work flow that you could share to make the model usable? I am driving myself crazy here. 

Finally it seemed okay with the OBJ file (with textures on it) and then i realised the scale was MINI ....

ANY help would be appreciated as the VWX library is not so diverse (yet!! I hope!!) 

Thank you so much for any help in advanced

Ali 

[Rob Books 189]

it is always best to import into a new file, and check the units are correct in the import dialog.  unfortunately it is hit and miss with manufacturer files.  for one file it may be great with a DWG and come in as solids, but then their next DWG file is all mesh.  

In the modify menu is the scale command, this can be a great friend when importing files, but if you accidentally have resize all checked, it can be a nightmare.  that is why I suggest a new file for each new piece.  once you have it the size it should be, you can import it to your working file.

 

sorry to not be more help, this is what we in the content department do daily.

[Pat Stanford 1,440]

For my use I have found that STEP (.stp) files have been most useful and give the best results for items such as pumps valves and pipe fittings. But I don't care much about textures.

 

I agree with Rob, you have to try a few things for each different vendor and see what works best. Items that are off by a scale of 25.4 have probably been brought into an Inch drawing with mm as the units. A scale difference of 12 means the drawing was probably in Feet and imported as inches. 1000 imported as meters and drawn as mm. Or the inverse of all of the above.

 

It is always better to reimport and get the units right rather than just scale but the Symetric By Distance mode of the Scale Object.. tool can be your best friend. As Rob said, watch out for the Scale Entire Drawing Button.

 

And do import into a blank file and do the cleanup there first.

[MYHABITATDESIGN 0]

oh great! the scale command worked perfectly for the sofa ... is quite heavy/meshy but will do for this one room! for bathroom fixtures indeed might be a little more tricky but will play around (I think i also had problems as i had the settings from when i built my shell). 

Thanks a lot!! 

[Wes Gardner 314]

@MYHABITATDESIGN, you can also download SketchUp items from 3D Warehouse and then drag and drop them onto a blank file as suggested above...you WILL get a lot of mesh (mess).

 

Wes

 

[hamilton-black 3]

I can understand your problem. I am having a similar problem creating and importing my own furniture. The problem is that the size of the file is often just too large or doesn't work. Sketch up files are sometimes good, but you can also have  something which is too detailed and too big. I find that importing them to a new separate drawing is a good idea and then  make a symbol. This helps speed up the process. Also try to delete every unnecessary furniture fixture which isn't going to be seen in the end. This can reduce the size as well. 

Edited September 24, 2020 by hamilton-black

[Tom W. 149]

On importing SketchUp files from 3D Warehouse I found Andy Broomell's guide on his website really useful. He has several other good resources on there too if you're fairly new to 3D like me...

H-ImportingSketchUpEntourage.pdf

[Wes Gardner 314]

If you import a very "meshy" object, you can try MODIFY > Simplify Mesh...there's a slider that lets you reduce (or increase) the number of polys....

 

Here's a file to play with

 

Wes

 

 

Ketch 2021.vwx

[Joe-SA 24]

A couple things to add here.....turn what you import into an Auto-Hybrid object to get proper 2d/3d hybrid output.  Also, crank up your Smoothing angle in the Viewport Rendering settings for any hidden line work to eliminate all the facets of the curves.  I often use 25-30 degrees.