is it possible to use CAD tools like Pro-E and Inventor to develop meshes for orbiter addon's? Its the only type of 3D tools i know to use, and you could actually make some really detailed orbiter vessels with CAD tools.
Meshing Question using CAD for addon development
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PeriapsisPrograde
Wannabe addon dev
Capt_hensley
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I use Autodesk 3DS Max 2012. (it's free if you are a college student) It's a great CAD/CAM program. Inventor, Rivet, and Autocad are also great design tools from Autodesk.
there are 3ds2msh utilities that work well.
there are 3ds2msh utilities that work well.
francisdrake
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I did once a simple model in AutoCAD 3D. While modelling was easy, other features like smoothing of edges did not work. The round shape stayed polygonal. I guess it had something to do with how the model is converted into .3ds (or any other rexport format, that can be converted to Orbiter msh).
If you are a seasoned 3D cad designer, learning any 3D modelling programm should be fairly easy. I went for Gmax, a popular Autodesk product then.
A 3D program usually gives better control on edges and faces, which allows to build the models lightweight (not too many polygons).
Whatever way you choose:
- Check how the model can be converted into msh.
- Look how the model can be textured and how the textures look in Orbiter.
If you are a seasoned 3D cad designer, learning any 3D modelling programm should be fairly easy. I went for Gmax, a popular Autodesk product then.
A 3D program usually gives better control on edges and faces, which allows to build the models lightweight (not too many polygons).
Whatever way you choose:
- Check how the model can be converted into msh.
- Look how the model can be textured and how the textures look in Orbiter.
Capt_hensley
Captain, USS Pabilli
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^ Agreed, I know in 3ds Max you have more control over how many sides you can make each object have.
i.e. A sphere by default has 18 sides. in a mesh conversion you can see all 18 sides.
if you increase the number of sides to 36, the sphere gets smoother in the conversion.
I like to use 36 because it gives 1 10 degree side for all 360 degrees of the sphere, cylinder, tube or other round object. But that will increase the poly count as well.
The payoff is in how you want your model to appear vs perform.
i.e. A sphere by default has 18 sides. in a mesh conversion you can see all 18 sides.
if you increase the number of sides to 36, the sphere gets smoother in the conversion.
I like to use 36 because it gives 1 10 degree side for all 360 degrees of the sphere, cylinder, tube or other round object. But that will increase the poly count as well.
The payoff is in how you want your model to appear vs perform.
ky
Director of Manned Spaceflight
Your right about the high poly.I imported the model you sent me and sketchup starts and stops every few minutes.
Last edited:
Hlynkacg
Aspiring rocket scientist
I'd recomend looking into blender, it is open source (IE free) and there ar plugin available that allow it to read/save both autocad files and orbiter files. It's interface for UV mapping is also very intuitive.
You can download the program and appropriate CAD plugins here.
http://www.blender.org/
And the plugin to to read/save Orbiter files here.
http://www.orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?t=18661
You can download the program and appropriate CAD plugins here.
http://www.blender.org/
And the plugin to to read/save Orbiter files here.
http://www.orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?t=18661
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