Modeling content with Autodesk Inventor Pro (2013)

[NeonTheGriffon]

G'day all!
Last year in school we had a 3D Modeling course that we were able to take. I jumped on-board and learned Inventor well enough to probably be able to make some Trainz content with it.
However, I've asked a few people who produce Trainz content and they informed me the game doesn't like it that much.
Is it possible to use Inventor, but export it to 3DS or something like that? I've tried learning 3DS, but it seems overly complicated compared to what I already know in Inventor. I have access to both as a student, so that's not an issue.
Here's a small padlock I made for a possible relay box in the future, though it has to be remade as it's not to scale.

 

[JCitron]

It's probably possible to model in a program like this but in order to bring the files (assets) into Trainz, you need to convert the files to the proper format. Blender has the tools for that, so you could use Blender to convert your files from Inventor to Trainz format. You may have to adjust your UVW coordinates and textures, but the asset should export okay.

I'm no expert at this, but I'm sure others that are can help you.

John

 

[gary6204]

I was looking into doing that, and if I remember correctly, I read that you can export it from inventor into a 3ds capable file... I will look to see in my copies.
EDIT:
It looks like if you have 2013 inventor and 3dsmax that you can, but not if the two are anything other then that. tried to put 2013 inventor into my 2012 3ds max and it gave me the error: eNotImplementedYet...

 

[Dap]

I am also a 3D CAD user. It seems there should be a format such as .stl that most every 3D CAD system can export. The question is can Blender convert this to Trainz compatable?

 

[captainkman]

I am also a 3D CAD user. It seems there should be a format such as .stl that most every 3D CAD system can export. The question is can Blender convert this to Trainz compatable?

Blender can import .stl files, and in Blender you can then make the object Trainz compatible.

I find .obj a good format to export to for use in Blender.

Kieran.

 

[paulzmay]

I've created a few items in Inventor, and used .stl export to transfer them to gmax (via Vivaty Studio). It works fine, but remember that .stl ONLY contains traingular surfaces, and does not remember anything about textures or surfaces that are blended into each other as part of a curve. These things can be fixed in Blender / gmax / 3DSMax, so it's not a worry.

It's also very easy to end up creating meshes in Inventor that are far too high poly for use in Trainz. Often you should use textures rather than polys for a lot of detail (like the arrow and keyhole on your padlock). I'd also be careful with what detail level you select when exporting to .stl (I always use the lowest detail setting).

Ultimately, I tended to use Inventor when I needed to do something I didn't know how to do in gmax.

Paul