Export to FBX

[lokiidesigns]

I have been trying to export a rather simple model (with a decal) to FBX for use in an external program and am finding that no other program besides A360 viewer is able to recognise any objects in the file. Currently to get an FBX export this can only be achieved through the A360 site (which is an obscure option as well), which makes me think it is not an intended output for any Fusion 360 models? I have tried converting from BRep to mesh and exporting in other file types but nothing really suits my requirements.

This is causing quite a few issues for me in my workflow as I do not wish to export in OBJ (or siilar) to then recompile and apply decals in another program as this negates all of the benefits of using an all in one program such as Fusion 360. If there are any workarounds that you know of than can help I would greatly appreciate your input.

[113746]

Hi lokiidesigns,

Sorry this is not convenient for you. Currently decal is not supported in FBX export and actually in all kinds of export files. Decal is a picture without properties, in export process this info can not be translated. I will further discuss with our development to understand if any possible solution. And if possible could you elobrate a bit how you use FBX export in your workflow? 

There is a similar idea posted recently (http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-ideastation-request-a/direct-fbx-obj-export-and-mesh-conver... it is gathering support, please help to add your specific requirements too. 

Regards,

Yanhua Li

Fusion 360 Quality Assurance

[colin.smith]

Hi @lokiidesigns

I should explain the reason behind having an export from A360 vs. export from Fusion 360 - it isn't just to make life difficult 

We have multiple types of translators but not all of them run on the Mac OS.  So in order to allow both platforms to translate and export files we put them in the cloud.

The translators that run on both Mac and Windows are installed on the desktop.  Also not installing all of the translation services locally reduces the size of the download - although that was a second consideration.

Regarding FBX output, I'm aware that there are issues with FBX export, we will continue to try to make it more robust - although I don't know if decals would be included or not.

Out of curiosity, what software are you taking the FBX file to?

Thanks,

Colin

[lokiidesigns]

Colin,

Another post on this topic stated that Decals currently do not get included in FBX and may not due to the properties involved. However I am having trouble getting my models to export in a format that is suitable for Sketchfab, besides OBJ but this leaves me with each component being a separate model and no way to recombine them.

I know Sketchfab is a competing 3D model community/viewing solution to A360 but the reason I am trying to export it to here is my partner wishes to embed the 3D model of her product into her website and the A360 viewer is not as clean or simple to use as Sketchfab's. I am aware of the API for A360 and time permitting can probably get that to work for her but currently am looking for the easiest option possible i.e. no coding. 

In regards to the obscurity of the export options in A360 (which by the way is another good product and I am in no ways bashing it) is that the path to getting a model to download in another format is actually quite convoluted and unintuitive. I have tried to summarise my point below, it is not fully fleshed out but I think it illustrates where I am coming from:

• Firstly you must open the file for viewing. Options to export cannot be brought up from the Data Tab or in the initial Project View areas (being able to select one or even a group of models using the checkboxes in the Data tab to then drive an action would be a real plus),
• then you must click the Toolbox Icon which is right next to the Actions Icon (maybe it’s just me but the Actions Icon looks more appropriate for what I am trying to achieve) – also note that there are 6x options in the Actions drop down when you are looking at the file in the Project Data Tab versus 9x options when you are looking at the file in the Viewer. This also seems disjointed to me as I should be able to complete the same set of tasks in each view/tab (particularly if I wish to make use of the ability to select multiple files)
• finally after clicking the option to create an export it doesn't prompt you with anything or notify you that it is completed, so I was oblivious that anything had even occurred. Only after I kept snooping around in the Project Folder did I stumble across the exported file format in the Data Tab.

Again I still find this system to be extremely useful but there does seem to be a lot of unintuitive options and disconnects at options that make me think a lot of this was patched together without the thought of integrating it in a more holistic manner.

Anyway I really appreciate the response and hopefully I can work out a solution that does not require too much effort.....funny though as I have been saying to myself for quite a while now that I wouldn’t mind learning the basics of coding for the web and this probably is as good a reason as any! Any further hints or developments on this will be appreciated.

Regards,

David

[lokiidesigns]

Just wondering wuickly is there a better method of exporting the 3D model with a Decal image such as turning the Decal into a texture map or something? Currently my workflow (at least for this project) was to export the complete 3D file including textures and environmental settings baked in to an external 3D viewer such as Sketchfab for embedding on a clients website (actually my partners). It is not critical in all honesty but I have found it to be more difficult than I actually expected. The reason I am trying to export to Sketchfab when A360 can offer the same experience/service is that my partner perefers the viewer in Sketchfab for her website as it is essentially a stripped down version of A360 i.e. fewer options and controls. All she really requires is for people to be able to visualise and interact with the model in rather basic ways i.e. rotate and pan/zoom.

Also I have tried the link below and it returns an error so am unsure what the content is?

Regards,

David

[lokiidesigns]

Hi @colin.smith & @113746,

Just wondering if you have any further feedback from my previous responses, if ont I will close this one out for now and look into it agian in the future.

Regards,

David

[Anonymous]

Hello Collin,

I ran into a similar problem. I am trying to export a Fusion 360 3D design with a decal into an fbx file in order to use it in an Augmented Reality (AR) app. The AR Kit and similar AR frameworks have a native support for fbx, but if I can't have decals, I am facing a problem of how to add a picture onto surfaces. If you know any workout or other process of adding a picture to surfaces in fbx files, I would be most grateful for it.

Cheers!