What affects 3D solids' Color Property in AutoCAD when exporting as DWG?

[Garrett.Brothers]

My company regularly exports models from Inventor into AutoCAD Plant 3D.  I've found that there are effectively two sets of appearances when exporting an Inventor part or assembly to DWG and opening it in AutoCAD.  I want to know what in Inventor, if anything, influences the Color property of the 3D solids in AutoCAD (when exporting from Inventor as a DWG).  It appears to always be set to ByLayer.

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More details (mostly for others researching related topics):

Product versions:

Inventor 2021

Plant 3D 2020

Navisworks Manage 2020

Though I'm working in Plant 3D, I assume this is the same for base AutoCAD.

The first appearance set:

• Assigned per body (in Inventor) - change selection priority to by body, select one or more bodies, then assign an appearance.
  • I believe this must be performed in the base part file, not an assembly the part is in.  I did most of my testing in shrinkwrapped part files, so I don't know for certain.
• In Plant 3D, this affects the 3D solid's Material (AutoCAD Properties palette > 3D visualization > Material).
• In Plant 3D, this appearance is used on-screen when the "Shaded" visual style is selected.
• In Navisworks, this affects the object's AutoDesk Material value (Navisworks Properties palette > AutoDesk Material tab > Name).
• In Navisworks, this appearance is used on-screen when the "Full Render" rendering style is selected (as long as lighting isn't set to None).

The second appearance set:

• [I don't know how to control this in Inventor]
• In Plant 3D, this affects the 3D solid's Color (AutoCAD Properties palette > General > Color).
  • Note this is set to "By layer" for most imports.  [I want to change this!]
• In Plant 3D, this appearance is used on-screen when the "Conceptual" visual style is selected.
• In Navisworks, this affects the object's Color value (Navisworks > Items Tools ribbon tab > Appearance panel > Color).
• In Navisworks, this appearance is used on-screen when the "Shaded" rendering style is selected.

[Garrett.Brothers · Accepted solution]

Bah, forget it.  Exporting as a STEP file keeps both sets of appearances.  It adds an extra step to our equipment workflow, but it's easier than recoloring everything manually in the block editor.

I suspect the answer to my question is that nothing can control the second appearance set, that exporting to DWG sets the color to ByLayer no matter what we do.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! I think you probably have found the current behaviors already. There isn't much control because the way the appearance is managed on geometry level is quite different among Autodesk products. For example, AutoCAD appearance can be applied to objects and layers. But, Inventor appearance can be applied to components, bodies, faces, features, and also each part can have a material style, which can have a different appearance.

Another workflow you may consider to leverage is to export Inventor file to .adsk.

Try the following.

1) Open the Inventor part or assembly of interest.

2) Go to Environment -> BIM Content -> Export Building Components -> select .adsk format.

This format can be read/imported by multiple Autodesk products (AutoCAD, Revit, Naviswork, and others).

Many thanks!

[Garrett.Brothers]

Thank you @johnsonshiue.  Any insight I can get is greatly appreciated, as otherwise I have to discover it myself.

I know about ADSK files.  It won't work very well at our company, however, as the equipment teams are independent of the engineering/systems/plant design team.  Using STEP files allows our plant design team to control more of the equipment.

Actually, let me copy-paste from the procedure I'm writing now:

Why not ADSK files?

With WesTech’s current workflow (where there is a large communication gap between the equipment groups and Systems), taking advantage of ADSK’s parametric advantages becomes cumbersome.

1. Inventor’s nozzle connection types might not be able to match Plant 3D’s.

The default nozzle types available in Inventor’s Pipe Connector
tool (this transfers to P3D when using ADSK files)

I haven’t researched whether Inventor’s nozzle types can be made to match Plant’s.  If not, we must manually change the types once the equipment is imported to P3D.  Changing Plant’s nozzle types to match Inventor’s feels backward.

2. WesTech has a different workflow.  ADSK files appear to be most useful when Inventor governs information that WesTech typically controls in Plant, such as equipment position.  With ADSK files, much more information must be set back to Inventor.

3. ADSK files involve checking out and editing the assembly file in Windchill.  Using the STEP workflow allows us to keep a clean scope boundary between System’s work and the other groups’ work.

ADSK files seem geared toward connectivity with Revit and other AutoDesk software, not toward connectivity with Plant 3D and other plant design software.  The STEP workflow explained in this process allows us to preserve more features between updates while ensuring minimal disruption.

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Maybe you can help correct me if I've misunderstood anything, but ADSK files feel like a poor fit for what we want to do.  Actually, if there's no way to reconfigure Inventor nozzle types, ADSK files feel like a poor fit for Plant 3D regardless of workflow.  Out of the box, ADSK-based equipment and Plant 3D piping won't connect, as their nozzle types do not match (e.g., Inventor says FLANGED while Plant 3D says FL).

I've been developing our process for importing equipment for months now.  I'd love to learn whatever you could teach me, as it could help me out a ton.

[johnsonshiue]

Hi! To be honest, I am not 100% sure if .adsk will fit your need. I was merely offering an alternative.

Many thanks!

[Garrett.Brothers]

Ok, I see.
Thank you so much for the suggestion. I appreciate it even though it didn't work out for me.