Bad imports with STEP, FBX and OBJ

Does that plug-in exist as a human readable script? (@pascal?)

It would open up many possibilities to deal with format problems if the following features were added to R6:

A UserText field. (If the .3dm file format is absolutely frozen, then scripters can save and retrieve stored extra object info in a parallel file, see OnFileSave and OnFileOpen events below.

In order to support scriptable customized object structures, the following event handlers could be added (in short, any events affecting the object names should be made pluggable) :

  1. OnRename (Object, Group or Block)
    2.1. OnExplode event on, well, the Explode command.
    2.2. OnSplit even (and whatever more commands affecting the names)
  2. OnJoin event.
  3. OnUnGroup event
  4. OnGroup event
  5. OnBlockExplode event.
  6. OnCreateBlock event.
  7. OnCreateBlockInstance event.
  8. OnBeforeImport event
  9. OnAfterImport event.
  10. OnFileSave event.
  11. OnFileOpen event.

Having support for this functionality in RH6 would really make a difference. Many format problems could be temporarily solved with script fixes, which in turn could serve as “proof of concepts” for future service updates of Rhino core.

// Rolf

BTW, if anyone would like to start using the Bongo “object navigator” right away, I have a tips: In order to get them objects to show up and become listed in the Manager (“navigator”), the objects must be “added to an animation” so to speak.

A simple way to add objects to the list is to simply select all objects with CTRL-A and then select “Move Object Pivot” and then press the “Reset” option on the command line, and voila! all (selected) objects are now listed in the “navigator”.

// Rolf

Sorry, I don’t know about any of this beyond the STEP import part, which I believe handles the assemblies correctly (even if it is difficult to work with the output). I can make the STEP reader use layers instead of blocks if it makes things easier, but beyond that, the real problem is in how you can access geometry that is tied up in blocks. @pascal or @dale might have some thoughts on the rest.

Yes, I understand. The remaining problem could then be handled in pluggable OnExplode and OnSplit events (assigning user scripts to the events) that would take care of copying the names to the exploded parts/objects as desired.

// Rolf

I’m not convinced about that. Why use blocks here at all? Blocks are for repeating identical objects - not for organizing hierarchies (for that we have Bongo).

The layerization part of it has ‘always’ been in it.
Here’s one version of it:

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Hi Rolf - here you go…ExplodeBlocksToLayers.py (5.8 KB)
-Pascal

Thank you very much! I learn a lot from these examples.

// Rolf

I will not have the Layerizing test function for the next WIP. It’s a little trickier than I thought, with a definite possibility of screwing up what already works. I’m taking off for a week and can’t take the chance of leaving behind a mess. I should have it by the end of March. Sorry.

No worries @chuck. All good things in due time. Thanks for the attention to ‘block hell.’

BTW - I tried, as you had asked, using @pascal ExplodeBlocksToLayers.rhp in current version of Win Rhino 5.x. For me, it exploded the blocks, but it then put everything on to the default layer. I assume that is not expected behavior? Maybe I goofed?

I may not be much help here, gravitated almost exclusively to Mac OS. Would be happy test ExplodeBlocksToLayers.rhp for the Mac version if/when such is ready. I hardly ever fire up the Win version any more. Now that GH works well enough, and I have all the components I presently need loaded in GH Mac, and I gave up on the deprecated plugin hang-on-by-the-fingernails thing…

Just thought a built in layerize option (omit blocks) will add value to some, once it is the product. I’d probably use such exclusively over blocks when importing STEPs of ASMs I receive.

Enjoy your vaca…

Have fun Chuck! I’ll try to have the sushi tray ready for you when you return.

G

RH-38111 is fixed in the latest WIP

RH-38112 is fixed in the latest WIP

Thanks guys. Time for some sun.

@gustojunk - any chance you can test the FBX import into Rhino WIP today? It’d be great to mark the issues as actually fixed :slight_smile:

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@nathanletwory I just checked. Only partially fixed import:

Materials do come in well, thanks! …but in this case no layers come in (these objects where mesh items in Modo) and the geometry shows up rotated. Rhino’s FBX importer doesn’t even asks if I wants Y-up or Z-up. It only asks about scale.

OK, I tried something else… I looks like locators are the only thing that come is as layers, otherwise all mesh items are stuffed in the same layer.

I went back to the original modo file and place each mesh item into a locator and then the import does come split into layers, and each mesh item comes in as an object, so that makes sense, I guess. But I’d be great to have an import option like you have in OBJ to decide what sorting method to use.

G

EDIT: ok ok… I do get carried away into making a perfect importer, vs. focusing on fixing show-stopper bugs. The two materials bugs were show-stoppers and now they are fixed and I can go about with production work as is. So yeah, it’s all fixed.

My comments on defining orientation (Y-up vs Z-up) and how to deal with file organization should be considered a future feature request. Thanks for much for fixing this so quickly!

Thank you for testing. I’ll add your feature request. I’d like the rotation issue fixed, too (:

https://mcneel.myjetbrains.com/youtrack/issue/RH-38175

Hi Richard - run the command with no selection - you’ll see there’s a command line option for how to handle layers - the non-default is the one you want, I think - any luck?

-Pascal

Hi Pascal - ExplodeBlocksToLayers.rhp works great in V5. Thank you!

Yes, one needs to pay attention to the command line. I did not the first go, and got the feeling later I had goofed after reading the thread again. To use this I have to boot into Windows Rhino, something I do infrequently these days, Won’t load into Mac WIP, unless I goofed on that too? Can it be made to do so with relative ease at this stage of MacRhino? Would appreciate that.

Either way, good to have the option in Windows if I get a file that is royal pain to manually sort. That said, my vote is to apply a similar feature to Rhino at STEP import, allowing the user to import/open to blocks or layerize the structure, and/or set the default to always block or layerize.

In my case, I typically always access the geometry, so blocks are of little use, and a structured layers from the STEP are a big help.

Hi Richard - somewhere above in this thread there is the python script posted -

you can use that with RunPythonScript on the mac.

-Pascal