I have evaluated Rhino in order to switch all our company’s workflow from 3ds max and I have made a list of all the things I have to resolve before taking the plunge.
The biggest problem that I have not found a solution for and is a deal breaker is the need to create 3d pdf files for our customers to view.
The rhino itself does not export u3d files so I use an extra program (Deep Exploration or Sap 3D Visual Enterprise as it is named now ) to make the conversion. I have found that exporting 3ds or .x files are the only ones that work as intended and have no problem with texturing. I only have to have the mapped objects exploded.
In 3ds max we export flt files and that works perfectly fine.
We create Point of Sales advertisement objects so most of our pdf 3ds have products on them. My issue is that when I export from Rhino using 3ds or .x all the products become unique and they are not instanced (I mainly use blocks in Rhino for this). In one pretty usual example the final file size becomes from 1Mb to about 400 to 500Mbs which is prohibitive for distribution.
Is there a workaround for my main problem or do I have to ditch all hopes and go back to 3ds max which is not perfect for our needs but gets the job done?
I take it that means that DXF doesn’t work for you? That format supports instances.
Apart from that, I haven’t looked into that, but have you tried the Simlab 3D PDF plug-in for Rhino to see how it handles instances?
-wim
Exporting a model with custom bitmap textures and maps in dxf has never worked for me.
I have tried the Simlab 3D Pdf plugin and it works fine with instances. My main issue with the plugin is that lighting is out of whack and the models are overexposed and when the surfaces are viewed directly they are almost white.
My second issue is that we already have our templates ready and we edit them as needed using Illustrator and add the u3d file using acrobat pro. The Simlab editor does not come close to that kind of flexibility but it is a lesser issue that we can work around.
If there is no other solution directly using Rhino which would be preferred to avoid more steps and extra complexity of the process, as a last resort I could contact Simlab and ask them if they can help with the overexposure of the materials or if I can export a u3d file using their software.
I asked around and it sounds like the SketchUp format supports both textures and instances.
If that doesn’t do it, I’m afraid you’d have to look for a 3rd party solution.
-wim
I truly appreciate the effort and time you spent to help me out.
You guys go above and beyond.
Next week I will try and test all the ways I have to make things work and will hopefully have better results.