When you export, uncheck the "weld edges" option... then i think you should be able to select polygon regions, according to the original surfaces... Also i noticed your model is not booleaned into one solid. So you will have a lot of unnecessary polygons (and seperate objects) if you export this way...

jonah

Seems there is no problem :)
When your model is imported in Sketchup, just explode some level of Components!
Here export from Moi in 3ds format, then import in Google Sketchup in 3ds format :)
As you can see each part is very well separed! So very easy to "paint" with any textures!!!
(little tips :just "triple click" for select a part without effort ;)

Hi Rado, I'm glad that you are enjoying using MoI! Since MoI has a lot different type of modeling mechanism than SketchUp, they can make a pretty nice pair to use them together for different types of models.

re: Texturing problem - normally with most polygon modeling and rendering programs unchecking "weld" on export would be the way to make things appear as different groups, just like Jonah mentions above.

That creates a mesh where polygons share a common point only within a single surface of the original model, and have individual points (stacked up on the same location though) along the boundary edges. See here: http://moi3d.com/1.0/docs/moi_command_reference10.htm#meshdialog under the "Weld vertices along edges" option for some more details and a more visual explanation of this.

But this is dependent on the polygon program to analyze the connections between polygons in order to form them into different types of groups.

It appears that SketchUp will not do that kind of analysis unfortunately. So the "normal" method for separating a polygon mesh out into different chunks doesn't seem to work for you in this case.

However, I think that there is a solution for you - export to OBJ format, and then use the SeparateOBJ.exe program that I wrote, you can grab it here:
http://moi3d.com/wiki/Resources#SeparateOBJ_editor

That will edit the OBJ file and do that different regions of a mesh are broken into completely separate labeled "objects" within the OBJ file. Hopefully the OBJ importer for Sketchup that you are using will bring in different objects in the OBJ file as different grouped components or something.

If you export from MoI with welding turned on, then SeparateOBJ will only break objects along sharp creases into different objects - to get a fillet as a separate object export with welding turned off.

Let me know if that doesn't seem to work and I can figure out some other method.

Hope this helps!

- Michael

Hi Pilou, if I have understood correctly, the problem is not actually with the current model that he has attached there, the problem happens once things like the spikes are booleaned to the main body and filleted so they are all connected together as one object.

Once they are connected together into one object, it appears that SketchUp does not have any easy way to break them apart again into logical pieces. Most other polygon-based modelers would have a function to separate a mesh into different chunks where each chunk had polygons connected to each other through shared vertices, but SketchUp does not seem to have this.

But exporting to OBJ format and using that utility SeparateOBJ program I think should do the trick.

- Michael

PILOU POWER

Thanks very cool tip

ops thanks Micheal that was quick. hehe.

I will try your sugestions, and it makes me happy that the Moi To SketchUp Topic keeps coming back.

Thought: A fluent import/export could turn Moi/SketchUp to a power house for conceptual work.

But it does not stop there, with the knowledge of integrityware's Solids++ and npowersoftware Translators, I could only wait for some real import/export to some real CAD apps like Proe, Catia, Ugs
And lets not forget the power of 3DM file format, SolidWorks, SpaceClaim, Modo to mention a few Have native 3DM Support.

Rs:could that be my No:1 Wish?

in one side
<Ideally, I would like to be able to easily texture this creation with a different color for the body, face, and various colors for the spikes
in another side
<Originally, I had selected the entire model and ran a boolean union command so that I could fillet all of the pieces
seems that is antagonist with the 3ds format ;)
So solution is the Michael obj tip;)

Else you have always the rustic solution of particular selection of polygons in Sketchup!
The different "help of selection" + "hide selected" make easy choice for paint any aeras ;)

Hi Pilou,

> seems that is antagonist with the 3ds format ;)

Not so much with .3ds format itself, but rather with the polygon grouping capabilities of SketchUp.

For MoI version 2.0 I'll have to look into making a setting on the mesh export dialog that will do the same thing as the SeparateOBJ.exe helper program. But for now that helper program should do the job.

- Michael

Hi yannada,

> I could only wait for some real import/export to some real CAD apps like Proe, Catia, Ugs

There's no need to wait, you can use the .igs format for import/export between MoI and those apps right now!


> Rs:could that be my No:1 Wish?

Could you please clarify it a little bit? You mean a smoother data exchange between MoI and SketchUp?

There are some difficulties with this since they are based on different types of geometry - MoI uses NURBS surfaces and SketchUp uses polygons.

This would make it difficult for MoI to read in data directly from SketchUp for example, although you can get wireframe data from SketchUp into MoI now using the wireframe converter: http://moi3d.com/wiki/Resources#Obj23dmWireframe_converter

- Michael

>There's no need to wait, you can use the .igs format for import/export between MoI and those apps right now!

igs, yes is good start but I find senarios like for example Open 3DM in SpaceClaim or SolidWorks, Edit, Save, Open in Rhino. Its more intuitive++.


>Could you please clarify it a little bit? You mean a smoother data exchange between MoI and SketchUp?

Importing to SketchUP, Aplying Textures

SketchUp has save me few times in situations like having to throught couple architectural concepts in couple days/hours some times.
Cool tools fot me in SUp are, quick texturing + sketchy presentations and not to forget the power of push/pull tool.

Thinkng about modeling I can do what sketchup does in moi and you know, that you have not even touch the surface of moi.
Thinkng about rendering Oh you name it.....few very good ones out there,I personally use maxwell and TEXTURES/UVs is were I stragle.......but with some good suport you can achieve some great stuff.

> igs, yes is good start but I find senarios like for example Open
> 3DM in SpaceClaim or SolidWorks, Edit, Save, Open in
> Rhino. Its more intuitive++.

Hi yannada, I guess I still don't quite understand - since MoI also uses the .3dm file format just repeat the same steps above with MoI.

For example:
1 - create model in MoI
2 - save to .3dm file
3 - Open 3DM in SpaceClaim
4 - Edit in SpaceClaim
5 - Save out from SpaceClaim as 3DM
6 - Open edited 3DM back in MoI.

Doesn't that work for you right now?

For programs that don't support .3dm, you can still transfer your model data using .igs instead.


> Importing to SketchUP, Aplying Textures

Did you try the solution that I posted above? Export to .obj format with welding turned off, then run the SeparateOBJ.exe program on it to break it into different objects. Load the OBJ file into SketchUp using that OBJ loader plug-in, apply textures and render inside of SketchUp.

Are you running into any problems with those steps?

If you follow those steps, you should be able to import your data into SketchUp and apply textures, just like you are wishing for...

- Michael

>Hi yannada, I guess I still don't quite understand - since MoI also uses the .3dm file format just repeat the same steps above with MoI.

Sorry Micheal in a way that is what I was point out That Moi Plays nice with SolidWorks SpaceClaim etc.

>Did you try the solution that I posted above?

THANK YOU

Hi yannada,

> Sorry Micheal in a way that is what I was point out That Moi Plays
> nice with SolidWorks SpaceClaim etc.

Ooops, sorry - I didn't understand and I thought you were requesting that! :)

- Michael

Best App I ever put hands on And most mature V1 EVER

Sorry but we all exited here.

Thanks a lot for your help!

It seems that that SeperateOBJ program did the trick =).