Exported 1 m² plane is 2.54 m² after importing in Maxwell Studio

When I import a plane (.3ds), that was 1 m² in Rhino, it is 2.54 m² in Maxwell Studio. In fact everything is multiplied by 2.54.

Is this something I can change in Rhino? Of course, I use metric templates and checked using Distance.

Edit: Maxwell is from Spain, btw, and they use meters, too, that is why I am asking here first.

I’m not sure where the 3ds file comes into play in this one. Could you detail your workflow?

Also, does the 3ds format carry units?

Something to do with inches… Are you sure that units in rhino are not inches?

I choose template ‘Small - Centimeters’ > draw 1 m² rectangle > PlanarSrf > Export

I found this sentence using Google: ‘Generic or “system” unit in 3ds Max is equal to one inch.’ Which could perhaps explain why Maxwell multiplies everything in a .3ds file by 2.54

Yes, my Document Properties > Units > Model are centimeters.

I don’t have time at the moment to fire up my Maxwell and I tend to just render out of Rhino. Why are you using the 3ds format as a go-between?

Hm, it needs to be one of these:

First I tried .obj, now it’s *.3ds. (When using .obj something that is exported as one closed mesh too often ends up being several open meshes that just touch each other…)

I don’t. I don’t know. For the most part I like closing Rhino and being in a different piece of software for rendering. Although, Maxwell Studio crashes pretty often and has quite a few really annoying bugs…

I recommend rendering directly inside of Rhino. I previously went to Studio MAX, but I used the NPower utility that allowed me to bring in full NURBS surfacing and skip the whole ugly meshing mess.

Yes, you have to learn another app, but the boost in my output was 100%. I could do twice a much work without all of the back-and-forth conversions.

Look into V-Ray. It’s my favorite and there’s lots of good training available.

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I was able to check Maxwell now.
In Rhino you can either export to Studio right away or export as MXS file:

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Right now my plan is mastering everything there is to know about rendering in general in Maxwell (Studio): Texturing, Materials, Lighting, etc. When I am done: new hardware, new software.

I didn’t know that, but it’s a very good reason to install the plug-in. Thank you.