topic Re: Problem when importing Revit file in 3ds Max in 3ds Max Forum

Problem when importing Revit file in 3ds Max

tristan.vieljeux — Mon, 09 May 2022 14:12:07 GMT

Hello,

I have a Revit file that I want to import into 3ds Max. But whenever I do it the model appears to be incomplete (screenshot 1). I opened that file on Revit to check on it, and everything seemed to be OK (screenshot 2), there was no hidden layers whatsoever : the 3d was full. I then tried different ways of importing this file, with various import settings, but it never seemed to change anything. It seems like there is some loss of informations when importing.

I finally exported the file in DWG or DXF format, and even if that imported fine in 3ds Max, it became really difficult to deal with the model (it's always far from the origin, really heavy, etc). I really would like to benefit from 3ds Max's flexibility when dealing with Revit formats.

I don't know what to do. If you have the answer, because you happen to have encountered such issue, I really could use some help here, please.

Best regards

Tristan

Re: Problem when importing Revit file in 3ds Max

10DSpace — Mon, 09 May 2022 15:06:17 GMT

@tristan.vieljeux

I know very little about Revit, but I did find the following Autodesk article that deals with geo-referenced models from Revit imported into Max at the wrong location.

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/3ds-max/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Revit-model-loads-in-wrong-location-in-3ds-Max.html

I am not sure if this is relevant to your situation or not, but thought it worth a shot. There are others here who know a lot more about Revit to max workflow issues.

Re: Problem when importing Revit file in 3ds Max

tristan.vieljeux — Mon, 09 May 2022 15:33:04 GMT

Thanks a lot for your answer.
Actually, it's not really a geo-referenced issue that I'm struglling with,
it's more like the fact that I have a full 3D model in Revit, with walls,
roofs, levels, windows, furniture, and son on, and whenever I import it in
3ds Max, I only got 1 wall, with a few windows, and that's it (as you can
see in the screenshots). The rest of the mesh does not seem to have been
imported at all.
It's the first time that I am encountering such a problem. I am usually
very confident when dealing with Revit file in 3ds Max.

Re: Problem when importing Revit file in 3ds Max

10DSpace — Wed, 11 May 2022 00:14:02 GMT

@tristan.vieljeux

Since no one else has responded, I can at least help you with the imported-objects-far-from-the-origin problem.

I finally exported the file in DWG or DXF format, and even if that imported fine in 3ds Max, it became really difficult to deal with the model (it's always far from the origin, really heavy, etc).

To bring all of your imported model close to the origin, you just need to create a dummy object and place it near the middle of your model in its current position. Then select all of the objects of your model (but not the dummy object) and using Select and Link (3rd Icon from the left on the main toolbar) link your selected model to the dummy. Now select just the dummy object and right click on each of the x, y and z spinners of the transform type in at the bottom of the screen (Reference Coordinate System must be set to View or World). This will move everything close to the origin for you and hopefully will solve viewport performance issue. You can always unlink everything from the dummy parent if you want after that.

Since you can successfully get your revit model into max via .DWG or .DXF maybe this will allow you to continue with your work until a solution can be found for the revit format you were using.

Re: Problem when importing Revit file in 3ds Max

tristan.vieljeux — Wed, 11 May 2022 06:01:04 GMT

Thanks for the tip. I didn’t know that you could use a dummy for that. I
usually make a group with all the components, and move them to the origin,
but it needs some preparation to do that because sometimes when importing
DWG objects, there are always some of them that are linked, which doesn’t
allow to make a group, so I have to unlink them to make it etc. Long story
short it is really a pain in the ass. But next time I will try your way.

About the Revit model, I finally solved it with the help of somebody who
know Revit very well. There was a problem with a second file referenced in
a main file. We had to restore the links inside Revit, and afterwards link
all the two files into Max, and I finally got the whole model.
Thanks again for the help though.