Restore .fbx export function

[Anonymous]

Dear Autodesk,

Could you please let me know if Autodesk would consider restoring the .fbx export function from Revit?

I did ask this same question a couple of years ago and the answer was to either: purchase FULL REVIT as opposed to REVIT LT, or to purchase 3DMax (as a very expensive file converter). I am already aware that Lumion and D5 Render plug-ins within FULL REVIT work well. Therefore, could you please not suggest this as a solution again.

I used my perpetual FULL REVIT 2010 license for many years and had no issues exporting to .fbx (with all materials recognised) and importing into LUMION. I was extremely happy with the workflow.

I am now using REVIT LT (from 2019) and cannot export files via .fbx as all of the materials are missing. I have tested REVIT LT 2022 and an educational version of FULL REVIT 2022 and have discovered no improvement.

Ideally, I would like to be able to export .fbx files from REVIT LT (with materials recognised), so that I can import them into LUMION and D5 render. I have tested every kind of alternative export option available, but have not found a good solution. Every other type of file export is problematic for one reason or another. The closest solution would be to either export as:

1. a .dwg file set to 'ACIS Solids' (to allow for smooth curves, however composite walls become one element with one material which is terrible. Exporting as a .dwg 'Polymesh' will split a composite wall into different materials, but all smooth objects like 'cornices' will be segmented which is unacceptable for rendering purposes.). The biggest issue with exporting as a .dwg file, is that the heirarchy of material/family names (eg: WALLS - Exterior-1) will change when a new family element is introduced within the Revit File. Materials in LUMION will shuffle around and have to be re-applied when the Revit model (via .dwg) is refreshed.

2. Exporting REVIT LT as .IFC and converting it into an .fbx file appeared to be the best solution as materials and smooth curves are maintained. (however composite walls are still exported as one element with one material). I thought this was the best solution until I did a 'House Swap test' within LUMION (which is very important for  workflow as we don't want to reapply materials every time we want to present an alternative design for the same project). I discovered that the 'House Swap test' failed because numbers were added to the beginning of all material names. For example: For Project 1, '_WALL - Brick', changed to '8083__WALL - Brick'; and for Project 2, '_WALL - Brick' became '10451__WALL - Brick'. Could you please let me know if there is any way to export Revit as an .IFC file while maintaining the original material names. ie: export as an .ifc without the numbers added to the beginning of each material?

I have attached 2 short videos of the 'House Swap test' so that you can see how material names remain unchanged for a .dwg export, but are altered (numbers added) when exported as an .IFC file.

In short, will Autodesk consider restoring .fbx export function? If not, could you please let me know if there is any way to export as an .IFC file without numbers added to material names? 

[Haider_of_Sweden]

Could everyone who enters the idea board put their vote on this?

This is crucial not only for Revit LT, but full Revit as well, since the FBX exporter is simply not reflecting today's standards.

The best, of course, is that Autodesk developers would simply realize that this request, whether many or few have voted, is simply important. Not everyone tackling these issues takes their time - nor knows about - the idea board.