Error while exporting in FBX file format

[n_ongaro2]

Hi everyone, I'm a student participating in the FSAE competition. Our team has built a full General Assembly containing all the car's components in Fusion 360.

In past years I've been in charge of creating renders in Blender, and my workflow relied on exporting the entire assembly as a single FBX file — avoiding the need to manually export thousands of individual components or deal with the limitations of the OBJ format.

Recently, however, every time I try to export the General Assembly I get an instant generic error with no useful details. The same issue also appears with other formats like OBJ — and on top of that, OBJ requires opening each component in a separate tab before exporting, which is completely impractical at this scale.

I also get the same generic error when trying to import F3D files in the 300–400 MB range, which makes me think the issue might be related to the assembly itself rather than the export process specifically. I've already tried switching machines and operating systems (both macOS and Windows) with no change, so I'm running out of ideas.

If anyone has experienced something similar or has any suggestions, I'd really appreciate the help.

Thanks in advance, Nicolò

[dsouzasujay]

Hi @n_ongaro2 ,

Thanks for the detailed explanation, that helps a lot. Given the size of your assembly and the fact that both export (FBX/OBJ) and large file imports are failing, this is likely related to assembly complexity or a specific component causing the export to fail, rather than just the export format itself.

A few things you can try:

1. Try exporting a simplified version

• Suppress/remove small components like fasteners, bolts, etc.

• Remove internal parts not needed for rendering

• Try exporting again

If this works, it points to a size/complexity limitation.

2. Export in sub-assemblies

Instead of exporting the full car:

• Split into logical groups (chassis, suspension, drivetrain, etc.)

• Export separately and assemble in Blender

4. Isolate problematic components

• Try suppressing parts incrementally

• Export step by step

• This can help identify if a specific component is causing failure

Important – Request for Data

To properly investigate this, could you please share the dataset?

• .f3z is preferred (since it includes all referenced components)

• If the full file is too large, even a reduced version that still reproduces the issue would be very helpful

You can attach it here, or if it contains sensitive data, feel free to send it directly to:
[email protected]

Since you mentioned this workflow worked in the past, there is also a possibility of a regression, so having the file will help us confirm that and investigate further.

Looking forward to your reply.

[n_ongaro2]

Hi,

Thank you for the quick reply! I'll try all of your suggestions and report back with the results. If none of them work, I may take you up on the offer and share the project directly.

Thanks again
Nicolò