Hi Ken,

re:
> I downloaded a few free car models from Grabcad and when I was exporting them from MOI3D as an
> OBJ, I frequently got an error message that I was out of memory. My computer has 32 gbs of DDR3
> memory. Goggling seem to indicate this maybe a problem with 32bit apps. Will the next version of
> MOI3D be 64bit? Exporting each car part as a separate object seemed to be a work around.

Yeah it's because MoI is a 32-bit program currently so it's not able to make use of all your system memory, it can address only something like 3GB of it. Exporting in some separate pieces can work around it and also there are some other tips to reduce memory consumption here:
http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=5322.2

The next version of MoI will be 64-bit and won't have that problem anymore.


> When is version 4 of MOI3D going to be released?

I still don't have an exact date set yet but the first v4 beta isn't far off, I have one last remaining area to work on which is for the viewport display.

So the first v4 beta should be out in not too much longer but then the beta test period will start and last for anything like 6-12 more months after that so the final release is a ways off.


> Will MOI3D in the future have the ability to import Sketchup models?

Probably not anytime soon - Sketchup models are made up of polygons which is a different type of 3D model data than the CAD NURBS surfaces and solids that MoI is designed to work with for modeling. For example something like a sphere in a .skp file is made up of a lot of little triangle facets instead of one sphere surface. MoI can export to a polygon mesh format by dicing up large smooth surfaces into little facets but it's not very easy to go the reverse direction.


> I noticed when I brought my MOI3D models as OBJs into Hexagon or Silo3D subdividing models to
> achieve smoothing did smooth the objects.

This may work in a few cases but in general it's not going to be that reliable - the mesh that Moi exports is meant to be used for rendering, not for sub-d smoothing. Sub-d smoothing works best on meshes that have been hand made to be all quads with a focus on edge flows.

- Michael

When you say Moi models are meant for rendering, which file format? I use Vue Complete 2016 and it does not allow for the importation of STL, STEP, 3DM. However traditional 3D types like OBJ, 3DS, LWO are supported.

Cheers

Ken

Hi Ken,

re:
> When you say Moi models are meant for rendering, which file format?

The best format depends on the particular rendering application that you're using. But the most generally used format for transferring to a rendering program is OBJ format, and it may be a good idea to set the "Export: Quads & Triangles" setting.

LWO is primarily used for transferring to Modo and LightWave, other programs may not read vertex normals smoothing information from it.

3DS is a very old and limited format and should only be used as a last resort if nothing else works, it can only contain triangles and has a 16-bit limit on mesh size and no support for vertex normals.

I added FBX support primarily for transferring into 3DS Max.

For SketchUp use SKP format.

For Vue, I'd recommend OBJ format with "Export: Quads & Triangles" set in the meshing options dialog.

- Michael

A very cool free render is SimLab Composer Lite! (max 1920 * 1080)
Many files formats input!

http://www.simlab-soft.com/3d-products/simlab-composer-lite.aspx

Ken,

You'll want to export your models as OBJ for import into Vue. You can 'smooth' them more by dragging the slider, or using the advanced options. I would use settings something like:



Take note of the ALL setting and the relative density. Depending on scale you may want to change the 10 number-- but try and achieve a similar density for proper shading in Vue.

Hi
Re artifacts when importing into Hexagon.

I had similar problems when using Carrara and after searching some forums I found what I think is the answer. Carrara does not fully support obj files and looses smoothing data. I think this also applies to Hexagon. Daz seems to have given up on development of these applications. Oddly Carrara pro has an import option for nurbs that produces worse results than its obj import.

Although Daz Studio uses vertex averaging, like Carrara, it does a better job of importing obj from Moi but artifacts are still a problem. I know learning to use the various software is an investment in time an effort so its sometimes daunting to contemplate change but if think Rocket3f would be a good replacement for anyone using Hexagon.
Keith

Hello, I have made a tutorial, were I Show two ways to get seamless surfaces, hope you like it :-)


http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI

Hi, Zarkow...

You've posted the wrong link, did you not ?

Oh yes, but now:


http://moi3d.com/forum/index.php?webtag=MOI&msg=8559.1

Not sure how I overlooked your reply. Will check it out. Thanks very much and sorry in being so late in replying....

I just stumbled upon this MOI3D timelapse video on modeling a Morris Military truck and thought some of you maybe interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HfLrMmGUgM

Cheers