Blender exporter

[whitepass]

The size is 55k, I think the last one was 250k or so.

 

[paulzmay]

I am learning a new solid modeling system for my work and was wondering if it can be used for creating Trainz assets. It can export files in the following formats: KXL, SAT, DXF or DWG, IGES, STEP, STL, X_T, SRF, CATIA V4, CATUA V5, Graphics (HSF, HMF, HSF-Web, Image, WMF), HPGL2, VRML, or CGM file type.

Will any of these work and if so, what would be my next step? Import it into Blender, tweek as needed and then use Blender Exporter? All this stuff is quite new to me, so be gentle and keep your answers simple and specific so I can comprehend what I am to do.

Are there any books one can read to get up to speed an all this jargon?

Thanks.

I have a similar issue, in that I use Inventor at work, and have an even shorter list of export file formats to choose from. I haven't tried Blender, but I do use Flux Studio to convert from STL to .3ds in order to import into GMax. Am I right in thinking that .3ds can be imported into Blender?

That would give you an untextured mesh that you can edit further and texture in Blender. I've found that it works best to split up the original CAD model into sensible sections before exporting to STL, as it helps in later editing. It's also important to take care to keep the poly count down on export - Inventor has 3 detail levels for STL export, and I use the lowest, but I still draw wires as triangular prisms rather than cylinders for this reason...

Hope this helps.

Paul

 

[paulhobbs]

Am I right in thinking that .3ds can be imported into Blender?

Yes it can, out of the box. You retain texture mapping but loose the smoothing. The mesh will probably need welding together (W, Remove Double).

That would give you an untextured mesh that you can edit further and texture in Blender. I've found that it works best to split up the original CAD model into sensible sections before exporting to STL, as it helps in later editing.

That's not really needed as you can easily split the mesh up in Blender once it's welded (Select a face, CTRL-L, CTRL-P).

Paul

 

[paulzmay]

Yes it can, out of the box. You retain texture mapping but loose the smoothing. The mesh will probably need welding together (W, Remove Double).

That's good to know. I really must try Blender again sometime.

That's not really needed as you can easily split the mesh up in Blender once it's welded (Select a face, CTRL-L, CTRL-P).

Paul

Even so, it can be easier to export the individual parts of a CAD assembly separately in the source application, especially if you have overlapping mesh parts (a few seconds extra effort in Inventor). I also don't know if Dap's application (Catia I assume) will do the equivalent of a boolean join on all parts when exporting to STL - that could give a horrendous increase in poly count in some instances. Ultimately it's a matter of having a play and working out the workflow you prefer...

Paul

 

[Capt_Haddock]

I use ProDesktop (the cut down version of ProEngineer free to people involved in design education). It can export STL files which import into Blender very easily.

The only problem is that each face is split diagonally into two triangles and Blender will not allow Ctrl-J (join) to join them back into a single face. This doubles the poly count and makes rendering very fiddly, (horribly reminiscent of rendering in GMax). Does anyone know of a work round? Is there a global way joining adjacent parts of a flat plane? or, is there a different way of importing STL files that avoids this problem.

I know that the real answer would be to learn how to model directly in Blender but I have spent years perfecting my ProDesltop skills and it seems a shame to abandon them.
Thanks
Chris

 

[scorpio48]

Hi All,
I have just been told that creations made with Google Sketchup will import directly into Blender, but the person forgot how to do it.
Probably just Pub talk, and personally I can't see it.
Just in case! has anyone else heard about this.
Cheers
Pete.

 

[paulzmay]

I use ProDesktop (the cut down version of ProEngineer free to people involved in design education). It can export STL files which import into Blender very easily.

The only problem is that each face is split diagonally into two triangles and Blender will not allow Ctrl-J (join) to join them back into a single face. This doubles the poly count and makes rendering very fiddly, (horribly reminiscent of rendering in GMax). Does anyone know of a work round? Is there a global way joining adjacent parts of a flat plane? or, is there a different way of importing STL files that avoids this problem.

I know that the real answer would be to learn how to model directly in Blender but I have spent years perfecting my ProDesltop skills and it seems a shame to abandon them.
Thanks
Chris

OK, forget what I just posted about using Flux Studio as a converter - if Blender imports STL directly, then that's probably the best route.

I have the same thing rendering STL files in GMax - it's just twice as many (or more) faces to select. It' not, however, an increased poly count. Poly's are always triangles for the purposes of on screen rendering, so it doesn't matter whether Blender thinks of them as triangles, rectangles or whatever, it's all the same in the end.

Personally, I use Inventor for complex meshes with simple rendering (I just made a bowstring arch bridge in about 20 minutes in Inventor), and GMax for stuff like buildings, where the skill is in the texturing.

Hi All,
I have just been told that creations made with Google Sketchup will import directly into Blender, but the person forgot how to do it.
Probably just Pub talk, and personally I can't see it.
Just in case! has anyone else heard about this.
Cheers
Pete.

You can use Flux Studio as a converter between .kmz and .3ds to get into blender if it doesn't work directly. Not sure if this preserves texture information properly though. Direct would be better if it works.

Paul

 

[johnwhelan]

I use ProDesktop (the cut down version of ProEngineer free to people involved in design education). It can export STL files which import into Blender very easily.

The only problem is that each face is split diagonally into two triangles and Blender will not allow Ctrl-J (join) to join them back into a single face. This doubles the poly count and makes rendering very fiddly, (horribly reminiscent of rendering in GMax). Does anyone know of a work round? Is there a global way joining adjacent parts of a flat plane? or, is there a different way of importing STL files that avoids this problem.

I know that the real answer would be to learn how to model directly in Blender but I have spent years perfecting my ProDesltop skills and it seems a shame to abandon them.
Thanks
Chris

Trainz and the video card actually work in in triangles natively so you haven't doubled the polygon count its just a bit more transparent.

Cheerio John

 

[whitepass]

Ok got the exporter to work, it was Blender 2.48 update to Blender 2.48a and all is well.

 

[uschi0815]

Nice to hear

I have also reduced the module dependencies as two modules (including the one which bother you) are not longer needed. Because it's a tiny code change I will not upload a new version for now.

Ciao,
Torsten

 

[transitguard]

Hey guys, does anyone know where can I get the Trainz Mesh Importer for TRS2006? It seems that only the 2009 edition is available at TrainzDev...

 

[johnwhelan]

Hey guys, does anyone know where can I get the Trainz Mesh Importer for TRS2006? It seems that only the 2009 edition is available at TrainzDev...

Well I've been building items for TC3 with it and earlier we were building ites for TRS2004. I'd just give it a try and avoid bump mapping. The beatuy of XML is its sort of modular, you can add new features to it but the old stuff just keeps on untouched.

Cheerio John

 

[whitepass]

The exporter will work with TRS6, I tested it and it works just do not use normal maps with reflection, it looks "funny" in TRS6.

 

[transitguard]

Thanks guys, I just exported my first test mesh into trainz. Now I can make some content I need for my History101 project! Yay!

 

[transitguard]

Okay... now I have a mesh and a texture, how do I export the texture to work on this mesh? Whatever I try, the mesh still shows up white...

 

[johnwhelan]

Okay... now I have a mesh and a texture, how do I export the texture to work on this mesh? Whatever I try, the mesh still shows up white...

If you zip up the blender, texture files and your content folder and flip them to me I'll have a look.

jwhelan0112 gmail.com

Cheerio John

 

[transitguard]

Thanks for the offer, but I got it to work (I found a trainz-blender tutorial that explained what I had to do). Here is the creation (the load, not the car):

 

[kkeeley]

Hi All,

Has anybody managed to get a fresh install of blender 2.48a to work with the latest XML Exporter and TrainzMeshImporter. I have tried several times and my copy keeps displaying the same results in the output window.

call TrainzMeshImporter...
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender\.blender\scripts\trainz_expo
rt_xml.py", line 307, in writeXML
    retcode = subprocess.call(CmdLine)
  File "C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender\python25.zip\subprocess.py",
 line 443, in call
  File "C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender\python25.zip\subprocess.py",
 line 593, in __init__
  File "C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender\python25.zip\subprocess.py",
 line 793, in _execute_child
WindowsError: [Error 14001] This application has failed to start because the app
lication configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the application may fix this p
roblem

I never had any problems until I tried this version of blender. I installed it as a fresh install because I had to rebuild my pc.

Thanks for any help.
Kenneth

 

[johnwhelan]

Hi All,

Has anybody managed to get a fresh install of blender 2.48a to work with the latest XML Exporter and TrainzMeshImporter. I have tried several times and my copy keeps displaying the same results in the output window.

call TrainzMeshImporter...
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender\.blender\scripts\trainz_expo
rt_xml.py", line 307, in writeXML
    retcode = subprocess.call(CmdLine)
  File "C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender\python25.zip\subprocess.py",
 line 443, in call
  File "C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender\python25.zip\subprocess.py",
 line 593, in __init__
  File "C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender\python25.zip\subprocess.py",
 line 793, in _execute_child
WindowsError: [Error 14001] This application has failed to start because the app
lication configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the application may fix this p
roblem

I never had any problems until I tried this version of blender. I installed it as a fresh install because I had to rebuild my pc.

Thanks for any help.
Kenneth

From memory I think it worked fine for me. Check you have the latest version of the script. I'll recheck it once I get my TRS2009 content committed, its only been four days now and I still have a few thousand items to go.

Cheerio John

 

[johnwhelan]

Hi All,

Has anybody managed to get a fresh install of blender 2.48a to work with the latest XML Exporter and TrainzMeshImporter. I have tried several times and my copy keeps displaying the same results in the output window.


Thanks for any help.
Kenneth

There is a new version of the XML importer could you be nice and double check you have both the latest version of the xml importer and the exporter.

Thanks John