I have a large .sldasm file that contains other .sldasm files. Basically, its a huge truck with many parts. When I open the .sldasm file in C4D much of the parts are missing. I really don’t want to use .vrml because it doesn’t maintain the mating structure. This model has thousands of layers and parts. I want to understand why c4D opens some parts and assemblies in this file but not others. Any thoughts? I will try to attach a screen shot. I can’t share the file because it’s proprietary.
Thx. I clicked the link you sent and it brought me to the Cineversity homepage. I will look at the link a little more to see if I missed something. I understand that you need the files to help with the problem. Please understand that this is almost a million dollar truck so I can’t just start sharing 3D design files for equipment. If I can figure out how to use that link I will see what I can do about sharing the file. Thx for your time. With that said, one of the engineers who helped design the truck told me that they used some “virtual parts” in Soildworks. Could it be that C4D doesn’t recognize “virtual parts?”
Also, the files total 250mb and it takes almost two hours for c4D to do the initial open/conversion. I don’t think that you would want or haver the time to open a file like that. I have an iMac Pro with 10 cores and 64gb of ram. That’s a long time for a computer this size. I’ll see if I can overlay the full model or send a pic of the truck.
I can resent it. It is an upload link. No idea what other links you got, please go to the Private Message Box, you find that in the top middle area of the website here. But yes, please the smallest file with the problem.
Thanks for your care: Yes you’re right, I’m not here to block my machine for many hours, as I do not have a ten core here, not even close.
What I think is industry standard: when you have to work with such large files, to use a small test file to spot problems in minutes instead of hours. Even I would use a low Tessealtion to explore it, it seems to take quite a while.
Yes, useful input from the producer of the file, I guess that sounds pretty much like the cause of it.
Virtual parts are the parts that Solidworks has in [] brackets (in the list view); While explored in Solidworks itself. The one who produced it needs to save them as external files, as far as I understand it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaoebErdV1E
Brainstorming: They are sorted in the assembly file, so you can make a copy of this file, place it in a new folder, to break the link to the parts files, and open just the assembly files. This should go much faster. /brainstorming
I can’t find any mentioning of options to have virtual files as an import option. They have to be made available as a sldprt. Since I have never gotten a virtual based content, you might check with the support https://www.maxon.net/en/support-center
Thx for the reply. I followed the PM instructions and figured it out. Now I have to check with engineers here before I can share. Your statement about using smaller files to troubleshoot is also helpful. I’m meeting with engineer to see if he can address some of the points you made.
Scroll down, and Explore the images related to Max Sag and Max Angle.
Try 90ยบ Max Angle and 1 for the Max Sag, it should speed up your load time. Note: this is for problem handling only, not suggested as prime import values.
For anyone reading along: To understand these values well, is THE KEY to work efficiently.
The larger these values, the less detailed the model will be. The faster the import.
I hope you get to establish a working pipeline quickly. Define reference scenes with the creator of the file, perhaps ask him/her about the naming conventions he/she has, so the communication is faster down the road.
If possible, request to have a low polygon model as well each time, so you have something to compare. The more information you get from the start, the less time is wasted, on both sides.
Thank you. I downloaded that. There is a little bit online about opening cad models in r20 but not much so this is helpful. I haven’t really messed with the tessellation settings yet so that’s nice.
Thanks for the additional information about being on R20. I explored it with R21.
The tessellation is a key setting in the import option. Let me explain it in a simplified way:
CAD works with mathematical descriptions. It can produce a sphere with just the radius given, add the position to that, to explain it in a nutshell, you have a sphere in your scene.
In 3D animation programs, it is typical to work with polygons. These are point-based information, and the polygons are definitions of these points.
If we like to have the sphere transferred from the CAD world to the Polygon world, we have to set up rules. These rules determine when the surface of the CAD model has changed its direction enough that a new point is needed.
The Max Angle parameter defines how much a curve can change direction before a new point needs to be set. If the given Angle-parameter is small, a new point will be needed earlier/closer to the previous, than when the parameter is large. A large parameter allows for a lot of change before actions are needed. Small-angle, fine details, and a dense mesh, larger angle results in rough details and wide mesh. https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/8ArNhQDY0eGUQLWR0CR5CuATBTPJC2vFbtNG5Txqg01
All three Detail parameter need to be understood of course. Perhaps, just use the presets.
Try it with a small file, and change the parameters each time, explore the model. The invested time in this will pay off tremendously.
Dr. Sassi,
Will do. I spoke with an engineer. He says I can share a piece of the model but not all of it. I’m leaving work shortly so tomorrow morning I will try to identify a smaller assembly that didn’t load and hopefully share with you via PM. Have a good evening and thx for the additional information.
If you upload the file to my dropbox, it will be not public. When you name the folder “yourname_model_private” for example, I will not share any of it.
Both spheres, of course, positioned apart from each other.
If you use any cloud service, I will use DropBox, Amazon, Adobe, Google, and Apple. Anything else, since we live in a time of ransomware, will be not used at all.
Thanks for the file, Tishin, but I did not get any images.
This is an assemble file only, which means it can contain virtual elements.
There should be two models of
240000342V_2^67027_2
and one instance of
200018003V_2^67027_2
The file size indicates that there is information, but it is not read. (I tried R20 and R21)
I’m not aware that virtual elements are supported, nor found any information about it for Cinema 4D
My advice, you either get your engineer to export these as sldprt, or you ask the support if there is an option that this might be possible in the future. Perhaps, and that must always be assumed, there is an option “c” and the support knows about.
The solution that the engineering team offered and is exporting now is to give me a step file. They gave me a smaller assembly as a step file and C4D is reading the step file just fine. All layers are present and mating/groups are intact. Thanks for your help. This conversation was helpful even though I was not able to successfully open the complete sldasm and sldprt files.
In Solidworks any virtual element can be exported into a sldprt file, while the sldasm file will hold a link to it. I’m not sure why they went to a different format, but I guess that keeps their file management organized.
I would avoid converting files when there is no need for it.
No other idea why one would do this conversion since Solidwork reads fine and that seems to be the native file for them.
