Import Remake mesh with Color (Texture)

[imajar]

I would like to import a remake project into inventor complete with color (texture).  So far, all the solutions I can find will allow me to import the mesh, but I cannot find a way to get the texture or color to come along. 

The goal is to quickly 3d map an environment into which I will be designing so that I can both design and present with visual aid of the actual, to-scale, color-correct, surroundings.  The output that I get out of Remake seems perfect for this, but I cannot get it into Inventor without loss of color information.

Any Ideas?

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! Texture is not fully supported on mesh object in Inventor. Are you trying to rebuild the geometry as a solid? Or you want to keep the mesh as is?

Many thanks!

[imajar]

At the time of my question, I was trying to import data from remake to create a photo-realistic model surrounding my designed element.  The surroundings for this project consisting of a landscaped environment with curved landscaping, flowers, fencing, and some buildings.  The goal was to create something presentable and semi-realistic to present to company management.  Importing the point-cloud directly into inventor was good enough for me to visualize, but not pretty for presentation.  Importing grey scale mesh is easy to see, but ugly just the same.  My hope was to create a realistic looking and accurate environment for presentation purposes. 

Since then, however, I have discovered laser scanners with their superior precision, and recap 2018 is able to make a colored mesh from point cloud data.  I haven't tried this yet, but I see similar potential to scan in an environment, mesh it, and import it into inventor.  The color being useful for presentation and appearance.

In the industry i work in, we do mechanical designs in themed environments.  Hence the need to use inventor for the mechanical design and the wish to render semi-realistic pictures/animations - And do so many times throughout the product development cycle -

[imajar]

Sorry, I just realized that I didn't answer your question. 

Most of the time, being able to import textured / colored mesh would be just fine for my purposes. I suspect being able to convert the mesh to a solid would not be practical for large environments. . . but maybe for reverse engineering small objects?

One question I would have though is if inventor would treat the mesh similarly to a solid for appearances?  For example, would the mesh be capable of receiving and casting shadows?  Would I be able to do a section view?  How would the mesh behave in a drawing with other modeled elements?

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! Inventor has been enabling some mesh handling ability. On Inventor 2016 or earlier, mesh is just a static graphical object. You can see it or hide it but you cannot do much about it. There is an add-in called Mesh Enabler, available on Autodesk App Store, only to subscriber. It can convert mesh to composite surfaces and then you can stitch it to a solid if it is a closed volume. On Inventor 2017, you can create a sketch plane on a planar mesh. You can project mesh edge to a sketch to build new geometry. And, you can fit a surface over selected mesh. On Inventor 2018, you can create drawing views of mesh objects.

Are these workflows helpful to you? Do you want to see other mesh related workflows?

Many thanks!

[imajar]

No, none of these workflows work for my purposes because I cannot bring the texture or color information.

I am aware of the mesh functionality improving in the last few releases, as well as the mesh enabler add-on for earlier editions.  These are good tools to use a mesh for geometric / design purposes but not useful for presentation or color representation.

This isn't an question of being able to design, it is an question of being able to present.  I'm not looking to create beautiful renderings, and I dont think my boss necessary wants that either.  But a certain amount of realism goes a long way to help non-engineers "see" the design.  I think that the mesh output of remake or recap is perfect for this - with the textures.