Uploaded .MAX file cannot be loaded in work area

[Anonymous]

I'm very new to Fusion360, wouldn't even qualify as a novice yet; so I'm sorry if this is a silly question. 

I have 3DStudio Max files in the .MAX (not .3dS) format, and wish to export them as STEP files. 

This has been a cinch in the past with SLDPRT files.

I was relieved when they uploaded, imported, and the previews appeared as expected in Fusion360's Data Panel.

However I have been unable to load them in work area, so I also cannot export them as STEP files. 

In the Data Panel, double-clicking the preview for a SLDPRT model will open in the work area, but double-clicking the .MAX preview opens it in myhub.autodesk.com with a lovely preview that doesn't do me any good.

Any idea on how to export this parsed model into STEP format?

How does Fusion parse this .MAX file successfully, but can't load it?

[James.Youmatz · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous,

Welcome to the Fusion 360 Community!

I do agree - it is a bit deceiving when the data panel can upload a file that Fusion cannot open directly. .MAX is one of those file types. Realistically, all the Data Panel is, is a window into A360 which is our online cloud storage. Any file type can get saved here, but files such as SolidWorks files (which Fusion can open) are automatically translated into a Fusion file as soon as you upload them to the data panel. This is why they can be directly opened after uploading whereas the .MAX file cannot be translated - and when opened it brings you to A360 to view the file.

The hard part here is that a .MAX file (to my knowledge) contains meshes. These cannot be directly translated to a STEP file without some sort of conversion process first. Were you given this .MAX file or did you create this yourself? I'd be curious if there are other workflows in Max to get a BRep body (i.e. STEP) as opposed to a Mesh file (like .Max or .stl).

Thanks,

[paul.clauss · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous

Thanks for posting! While you can upload .3DS and .MAX files to the Data Panel, it is expected that you will not be able to open them in Fusion 360. 

The Data Panel is your cloud data - you can upload any file type there to store it in your cloud data and access it through a web browser. A simple example of this is uploading an Excel spreadsheet or Word document - while we will see them in the Data Panel, we cannot open that type of file in Fusion 360. The same is true for .MAX files, as you have found.

Because SolidWorks files are supported by Fusion 360, you can open them in the Fusion workspace. The list of CAD filetypes supported by Fusion 360 can be viewed at this link. 

When trying to bring files from 3DSMax into Fusion 360, I would recommend exporting either FBX or IGES format files - these are supported by Fusion 360.

Hopefully this helps! Please let me know if you have any questions.