Faceting factor partly not working

[dominikhofer8850]

Hi There

We got a strange problem. When open (import) a 3D-DWG file in Navisworks, some shapes (holes or cylinders) seems not be affected by the faceting settings, just beeing always annoying "unsmooth".

We tried different settings for the faceting factor (from 0 to 24, metric system) and faceting deviation (from 0 to 0.1), always made sure to delete NWC-file before reopen the DWG. We also tried the NWCOUT option (with the same varying values) in Autocad (instead of importing the DWG to Navis), with the exact same result.

The problem seem to exist for DWGs with pure ACAD-3D objects as well as for 3D-Plant drawings. Mainly elbows are affected, but also screw holes or other objects seem to be "choosen" randomly.

Is there a possibility to overcome this problem?

Thanks in advance for any reply

[alan.johnson7YLND]

It could be you need to install an AutoCAD Plant 3D Object Enabler (OE) to enable correct display and allow the property data to be viewed in Navisworks.

See this link:

https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Navisworks-Manage-... 

Or you might need to install the Navisworks NWC Export Utility:

https://help.autodesk.com/view/NAVFREE/2024/ENU/?caas=caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How-to-export-a... 

[dominikhofer8850]

Thanks for your reply

Object Enabler and Navisworks Export Utility are both installed. While the problem obvously often shows up in relation to Plant 3D (a bunch of related posts in different forums can be found), it also exists with pure Autocad generated 3D-objects (see above). I personally believe there is a basic problem with the way, Navisworks imports/translates DWG-files or generally 3D-objects into the mesh-type objects Navisworks is using internally....just a guess.

I have to add:

When using a appropriate faceting factor, the faces may look smooth, but for the edges the problem persists. Thats maybe the core of the question:

[dominikhofer8850]

As an update to the subject:

Obviously there is no simple answer/solution to this Problem. It gets even weirder, since if i import the Navisworks settings XML of a colleage (which has the exact same values for faceting), more objects become smooth as expected, but not all......

So, in case somebody with the same problem stumbles upon this: there is a "workaroud" to the problem. When exporting the DWG to ASCIS (SAT), the model finally looks smooth in Navisworks. Sadly, this is just a solution if one is only interested in the visual aspect of the model since any additional data gets lost when exporting to ASCIS.

[DidierRamirezDarjo]

Hello @dominikhofer8850, I hope you are feeling well. Possibly, it is better that you export from Plant in NWC format, this format can be more stable and perfectly maintains all the data structure and integrity of the models. This is an add-in that you may have to install, I share with you the link for this purpose and you only have to look for the corresponding version:

https://www.autodesk.com/products/navisworks/3d-viewers

I hope you find it useful, best regards!

[dominikhofer8850]

Hello @DidierRamirezDarjo 

Thank you for your participation. Sadly there is no change in the outcome when move the task to the Navisworks Exporter on the Autocad side. This was already tested, and already communicated above.