The best results I got was the .lwo format converted in Poseray to an .obj file. It is super smooth.

I tried to import the .3ds file into Sketchup, and it loaded fine. I deleted the rear wheelie bar and the engine top and bed cover. I then made a wooden floor and inner sides and front bed for it. It looked really nice, but when I tried to export it back to a .3ds or an .obj file, I got a bug splat and Sketchup shut down. Either the mesh is just to detailed, or some other reason caused it. I even tried to seperate and download parts one at a time...still got a splat and shutdown. So, I am going to export the bed I made for it, then tale the main model into Bryce and see if I can delete the parts and export it from there, then put the bed liner in it in Daz. We will see what happens.

:-)

music2u4u said:

Looks pretty close to one Betsy. There is a whole drag strip on the sketchup site. It has bleechers, advertisement banners, signs and a center part...it is huge and looks awesome. The only problem is that the artist did not paint or texture both sides of the parts he made, so the normals flip on export and about 98% of it is all white. That is why when you make a model in sketchup, you group each part you make so when you apply a color or texture, flipped or not, it will still hold the color or texture. Mine always export perfectly.

SP...I sure will be glad when you get back to the 40 coupe, and the 32 roadster. I was hoping to get a copy of each from you...hehehe.

OK....Here is a very cool find. While surfing the net for cars, I came across a site that has high poly cars. They offered this 1961 Ford Econoline for free as a sample of their cars. Most all the cars sell for $100.00-$200.00. The mesh is awesome and perfect. I had to register to get it, but the registration was very simple and small, and it gave me the link immediately after I registered. It also gave me a cool kind toon looking car with eyes on the front, but every part of the car itself looks realistic. Also a perfect mesh. Looks like a 59 Plymouth Belvedere or a 59 Caddy. I will render it next. I think they change up what they give from time to time. Well worth registering to get these. They come in .3ds, .lwo, .C4d, .obj, .fbx and .max formats. You get to choose which formats you want...one, two or all if you like. I just got all of them because I have 3dmax too.

The green and black is the default color, but I also did one in red. The engine is in the back with a blower setup. It is part of the mesh, so I am going to open it in 3dmax or blender and edit it out along with the bed cover to get a nice standard Ford version with the engine in the front.

:-)

I use to drive one of those where I worked many years ago.....late '60.... What's the link to the site?

Looks pretty close to one Betsy. There is a whole drag strip on the sketchup site. It has bleechers, advertisement banners, signs and a center part...it is huge and looks awesome. The only problem is that the artist did not paint or texture both sides of the parts he made, so the normals flip on export and about 98% of it is all white. That is why when you make a model in sketchup, you group each part you make so when you apply a color or texture, flipped or not, it will still hold the color or texture. Mine always export perfectly.

SP...I sure will be glad when you get back to the 40 coupe, and the 32 roadster. I was hoping to get a copy of each from you...hehehe.

OK....Here is a very cool find. While surfing the net for cars, I came across a site that has high poly cars. They offered this 1961 Ford Econoline for free as a sample of their cars. Most all the cars sell for $100.00-$200.00. The mesh is awesome and perfect. I had to register to get it, but the registration was very simple and small, and it gave me the link immediately after I registered. It also gave me a cool kind toon looking car with eyes on the front, but every part of the car itself looks realistic. Also a perfect mesh. Looks like a 59 Plymouth Belvedere or a 59 Caddy. I will render it next. I think they change up what they give from time to time. Well worth registering to get these. They come in .3ds, .lwo, .C4d, .obj, .fbx and .max formats. You get to choose which formats you want...one, two or all if you like. I just got all of them because I have 3dmax too.

The green and black is the default color, but I also did one in red. The engine is in the back with a blower setup. It is part of the mesh, so I am going to open it in 3dmax or blender and edit it out along with the bed cover to get a nice standard Ford version with the engine in the front.

:-)

simpleplanning said:

music just a note i do not placate anyone for the purose of sparing feelings because it accomplishes nothing
the 1st was pretty good for a 1st try
1 thing i noticed on both is the front left turnsignal
on the original it is an inset flat lense but in the model it wraps around under the grill/ head light trim ring
i dont have the mesh you used to see what was done that seems to be off from the real truck but something just isnt right about it
but i did just notice 1 small issue with your last try
look at the bottom attatch point on the side mirror versus the stock position
it may just be the images ive seen of the 67 f100 but it looks off to me

SP...I appreciate all comments. I do not wear my heart on my sleeve, so I love an honest opinion. It helps us all grow. Humoring gets us nowhere...lol.

I agree with you on both issues. First, The truck itself is actually a 79, not a 67. All the body parts are interchangable on them in real life except for the front grill. In fact the driver door on my real life one is a 72 and matches perfectly.I reworked the center of the grill today to match the 67. I still need to rework the turn signals next. They should be in their own enclosed housings.

The side mirrors I made were for when I had removed the side molding, now with the new version, the bottom mount sits up on top of the new shape, therefore tilts the entire mirror. I need to go back now and resize it so the bottom mount attatches to the door, not the hump. This will straighten it out. I still have alot to do with it.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention. My biggest problem so far has been getting it to render without some of the faces either flipping, or showing dark. If I apply shaders, it throws it all into a spin and reflects back in edgy jutted segments. This, I am sure, is due to the way Sketchup does it's UVs. Different from any other program. It just goes wild all over the place...lol. Plus DS has trouble with triads which this mesh is full of. If I could convert to quads, I would, but even smoothing in Poseray does not help. The new one is not smoothed, so the faces are in place. I just did some postwork to hide the lines...lol.

:-)

:-)

Okay. Got an .obj from Sketchup Pro [8 hour free trial, as in 8 hours real time so turn it off when not using it] of the Bridge!
Imported it into Hexagon and it's HUGE ... some extra bits and pieces too :-)

SpottedKitty said:

crownlion said:

this is the bridge from google3d found at the link below.

Hmm. I've seen the film, and I don't remember realising the bridge was so close in its general layout to the "real" TOS Enterprise. Although the shooting angles used left me with the impression I hadn't a clue what the bridge actually looked like, I just couldn't visualise it.... :roll:

To be clear, I didn't read that it was TOS, I was just thinking to try it with TOS myself and see if worked. However will see if I can coax sketchup to work on this computer. I did read though that it was basically a generic ST bridge with lots of railing added in. I watched the film too ... to tell you the truth, first time i watched it, it came dangerous close to the garbage can. However ... still have it. And no, they don't give an acceptable clean, view of it. The railings are a good idea, after being "blinded by the lights" staff would need them lol ...

crownlion said:

sorry the link

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=8b4bafd84d74e262fb4fe6770d8af214&prevstart=0

Thank you. Downloading now and also sketchup ... and we'll see what happens.

sorry the link

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=8b4bafd84d74e262fb4fe6770d8af214&prevstart=0

Well . . . here's what I've fumbled together so far. Part of this that's bugging me though is the rank bar . . . any suggestions on how to make it fit to the chest a little better?

I made the belt buckle, code cylinders, and rank from scratch in sketchup. The shirt is a re-texture of the fairytale prince king expansion shirt with the collar from the fairytale prince jacket. Belt is also from fairytale prince.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh32/Styles2304/ImperialOfficer_0002_zps680b5b1d.png

chohole said:

Have a word with the petrolheads in the Car and Bike lovers thread. They often work with sketchup files.

http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/290/

That was a big help, thanks! With a bit of digging I found a Ruby Script for doing the job (OBJ Exporter). It's part of the Ruby Library Depot, and that's linked to from http://www.sketchup.com/intl/en/community/resources.html#ruby

This could give me the kick start I need to actually get some things done in Daz! Wahoo!

wendy♥catz said:

http://www.sketchup.com/download/plugins.html the main site
got me to this
http://rhin.crai.archi.fr/rld/plugin_details.php?id=790
I have an old rb plugin for sketchup 6 I use myself

or use Blender to convert the .dae

thanks wendy ;-)

http://www.sketchup.com/download/plugins.html the main site
got me to this
http://rhin.crai.archi.fr/rld/plugin_details.php?id=790
I have an old rb plugin for sketchup 6 I use myself

or use Blender to convert the .dae

FlageZooke said:

OK, so any recommendations on how to get Sketchup files into OBJ form? I tried downloading a Sketchup Plugin to do that, but the it was laced with a funmood virus...

look at the plugins at the Sketchup site - they should be virus free ( at least they are for me )

I frequently create simple models in SketchUp and export them as .obj files into DAZ. In DAZ 4.0, the imported object's origin would always be located at the zero coordinate point in SketchUp. This was really convenient. Now in DAZ 4.5, I'm finding that the origin point of my imported objects is roughly in the center of the object, with seemingly no way for me to control where it is ahead of time. This is really frustrating. I often want to rotate an object in DAZ around a specific point (like the handle of a sword for instance), and now moving my imported objects around to just the right position is much more time consuming.

Is there a way in DAZ to control the location of an imported object's origin point?

Have a word with the petrolheads in the Car and Bike lovers thread. They often work with sketchup files.

http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/290/

OK, so any recommendations on how to get Sketchup files into OBJ form? I tried downloading a Sketchup Plugin to do that, but the it was laced with a funmood virus...

FlageZooke said:

I know this reply is kind of late, but I'm still looking into this myself.

I've had the problem back with Daz 4 as well. When I got a hold of their support team, I was told that COLLADA (.dae) files are a rough standard. Not sure how much I believe that or if I mis-understood support.

Google / Trimble / whoever currently owns Sketchup says that it uses the COLLADA 1.4 specifications and schema (as of 10/16/2012 at least). I couldn't find a similar specification on DAZ. The closest I've come is to notice that Daz never puts just "COLLADA" files, it's always "DAZ COLLADA", which makes me think they might be the ones breaking the format. Don't know since I don't have any other 3D editor to try exporting with.

Hopefully someone comes along and fixes this, since COLLADA is really the only way to transition between the two (without having Sketchup Pro).

you can use obj files .

edit to add - Bryce can import some Sketchup files - just don't try to send them to DS .

I know this reply is kind of late, but I'm still looking into this myself.

I've had the problem back with Daz 4 as well. When I got a hold of their support team, I was told that COLLADA (.dae) files are a rough standard. Not sure how much I believe that or if I mis-understood support.

Google / Trimble / whoever currently owns Sketchup says that it uses the COLLADA 1.4 specifications and schema (as of 10/16/2012 at least). I couldn't find a similar specification on DAZ. The closest I've come is to notice that Daz never puts just "COLLADA" files, it's always "DAZ COLLADA", which makes me think they might be the ones breaking the format. Don't know since I don't have any other 3D editor to try exporting with.

Hopefully someone comes along and fixes this, since COLLADA is really the only way to transition between the two (without having Sketchup Pro).

I work for a 3D service bureau. We sell the printers ($1500 to over $250,000) and provide the service to those who only want or need occasional 3D printing.

Unfortunately, a college student who needs a model for a term project may have to pay hundreds or thousands for an appropriately large model. I know this to be true because we have had students inquire about our services, and some have used us to build models. We are at least 15% less costly than industry average, and the student models were over $800. That was last June.

Now there are some 3D printers that would have been capable of producing the model that cost $500. There would have been less than $200 of material used. If the printers that exist now had been available then, they would have saved money.

3D printers won't "change the world" and that isn't something I said. But, where it makes sense, 3D printing technology will provide positive changes in the way things are done. Would it not be better to have a generation of children who are actively engaged in development and design? So what if all they make are toys, they would be using their brains for creativity instead of mindlessly watching TV or playing console and computer games (tho games have their own benefits).

So while there are lots of prototyping technologies available as you list, these service bureaus are extremely expensive to use. Extremely expensive. And it makes sense that they would be costly to use, their equipment is the commercial grade stuff that we sell. They have to recoup costs. The point is, with 3D printers available for as little as $500 (and the quality is pretty good. 0.15 mm layer thickness). lots of people will be able to buy them and use them with free software to produce lots of things for a very low price.

What we are seeing here is just the start of the "home 3D printer" movement. The rate of improvement and price reductions is incredible. Would I buy one for myself at home? Probably not, since I get to use the 3D printers at my office. But, if I lost my job, I would likely buy one of these low cost beasties since I do have clients that pay me money to build them stuff that I design.

Scouting troups, RC clubs and other groups are likely purchasers of this technology. Yes, there are RP service bureaus. Again, I work at one. But these "clients" don't need the 16 micron layer thickness that our units provide. It just doesn't have to be that good.

One of my prospects asked for a quote on a model. It was going to cost them $1100. I checked Shapeways for the cost of the same item built on a lower quality process (FDM, extrusion) and the cost was only $200 less. Using a plaster technology was still $400. If our company had a FDM machine, we would have only charged $300 for the model. Like I said, the online services are VERY expensive. That would be a prime motivator to buy your own 3D printer IF you don't need thin layers and IF you will be needing to make other models. Just think, in less than 4 models and the device will effectively pay for itself.

It might seem odd advocating for the "home" 3D printers when I work for a business that offers this service and concentrates on the higher quality devices, but just like some people buy Porsche, BMW, Benz, and other premium cars, there will also be people who buy general purpose Ford, GM and Dodge vehicles.

And there will be people who don't see much sense in home 3D printers, well, I don't see much sense in most rap music. But there are plenty of rap artists that are not hurting for cash, so that means that there is a market. Just because something doesn't make sense to me doesn't mean it won't make sense to others. And if you see the rate of growth in the home 3D market, you will realize that a lot of people see sense in having a home 3D printer. What will they do with them? Who knows, who cares. If your not involved, it just doesn't matter. If you are involved or want to be, then it is great.

So, Joe, our opinions don't really matter. 3D printing technology will continue to improve and develop. And people will buy them for home use for whatever purpose makes sense to them. Just based on current trends, it is easy to see that 20% of the population will likely have one within the next decade. That is solely based on trends, not my nor any other person's hopes and dreams. Actually, for my business, I hope that the home maker market fails. More business for me that way. But I also see that it is not likely to fail. Trends indicate that it will keep on going, the pace accelerating, so it is available to just about anyone who wants one.

10 years ago, a 32 inch LCD TV was rare to find in someone's house. We have a 46", and two 32" sets. What changed? The price.
In the 1940's few homes had a TV but just about everyone had a radio. In the 1960's color TVs were rare, by the 80's they were common. Now almost everyone has a TV and probably a LCD one at that. We are at the beginning of another technology shift. A change in the game. And this change may just bring North America back to being inventive, creative and productive. I doubt that anyone in the USA or Canada would want our economies to stay stagnant.

Encouraging inventiveness, creativity and production would be a good thing, would you not agree?

Maybe having these home 3D printers, and the FREE design software can help the process. (Free software such as Sketchup, 123D, Sculptris and even D|S).

So, yes, while the RP services exist - and there will be an ongoing need these commercial services - there will also be a market for home 3D printers; just like in the automotive market. Some people buy or need premium equipment, others just need general purpose.

Hi!

I come from fractalforums.com because I have started to 3D print 3D fractals, and I need some 3D modeling tools in the middle of the process. I typically use Meshlab.

I've got a 5.5M faces mesh that I'd like to decimate to 1M. It's got highly tesselated large flat areas and the "Merge coplanar faces" in Hexagon is exactly what I need. I have tested it on a smaller mesh, but the big one doesn't even load (265 MB STL file)

Is there a practical limit in number of faces in Hexagon?

If yes, does anyone know a free program that can merge coplanar faces on large meshes? (Sketchup can do the job at DAE import time, but is too slow with large meshes)

I thought Meshlab would offer the option, but the closest filter is the quadric edge decimation and it's not what I want, because it can affect edges and does not necessarily optimize planar areas.

Thanks!

bib