Questions about 3DMAX export format

[ragnarok]

I drew some Lego parts with 3dmx. How can I import them into LDraw or studio 2.0?

[Philippe Hurbain]

I drew some Lego parts with 3dmx. How can I import them into LDraw or studio 2.0?

The most reliable method is to export them to .stl file format (ASCII) then convert them to LDraw parts with Stl2Dat (http://marc.klein.free.fr/lego/stl2dat/s...ml#version) or with LETGUI that also contains a copy of stl2dat (https://ldraw.heidemann.org/index.php?page=letgui)
Take care of units (1 unit = 0.4mm), scale if needed...

[ragnarok]

The most reliable method is to export them to .stl file format (ASCII) then convert them to LDraw parts with Stl2Dat (http://marc.klein.free.fr/lego/stl2dat/s...ml#version) or with LETGUI that also contains a copy of stl2dat (https://ldraw.heidemann.org/index.php?page=letgui)
Take care of units (1 unit = 0.4mm), scale if needed...

 
Thank you for your reply. I have started drawing today. Is there anything I need to pay attention to in the drawing process?

[Willy Tschager]

 
Thank you for your reply. I have started drawing today. Is there anything I need to pay attention to in the drawing process?

Take the recommendation:

http://marc.klein.free.fr/lego/parts/modelise.html

by heart. Model in LDU and not mm and fake a mathematical circle by polygons. Therefore is 16 polygons. Model with primitive substitution in mind:

https://www.ldraw.org/library/primref/

w.

[Magnus Forsberg]

Yes, I don't think we can emphasis that enough.
You should always have the primitives in mind. Don't think that you can do complete, finished parts in another software.
That mesh is to be seen as raw data that still need a lot of adopting. You should use as many primitives as possible in the finished part.

If I where to use another software, I would begin to investigate if it is possible to have a library of "primitives", to use in that software.
We build parts like you normally build a lego set, but we use primitives instead of bricks.

[ragnarok]

Take the recommendation:

http://marc.klein.free.fr/lego/parts/modelise.html

by heart. Model in LDU and not mm and fake a mathematical circle by polygons. Therefore is 16 polygons. Model with primitive substitution in mind:

https://www.ldraw.org/library/primref/

w.

Thank you again for your reply. I have made a model today and successfully converted it to “dat” format. How can I use it in “studio2.0” or “LeoCAD” next? I tried several methods today, but none of them will work.

[ragnarok]

Take the recommendation:

http://marc.klein.free.fr/lego/parts/modelise.html

by heart. Model in LDU and not mm and fake a mathematical circle by polygons. Therefore is 16 polygons. Model with primitive substitution in mind:

https://www.ldraw.org/library/primref/

w.

Thank you for your suggestion. I used leocad to export some obj formats and import 3DMAX as the basis of my work.

[N. W. Perry]

Thank you again for your reply. I have made a model today and successfully converted it to “dat” format. How can I use it in “studio2.0” or “LeoCAD” next? I tried several methods today, but none of them will work.

To use it in Studio, make sure it's saved in your Custom Parts directory, then you can drag it into your project like any part. You can also import it into Part Designer and export it to Studio format from there.

However, the .dat file type is not appropriate for model files—those should be saved as .ldr (or .mpd if they contain submodels).

[ragnarok]

Yes, I don't think we can emphasis that enough.
You should always have the primitives in mind. Don't think that you can do complete, finished parts in another software.
That mesh is to be seen as raw data that still need a lot of adopting. You should use as many primitives as possible in the finished part.

If I where to use another software, I would begin to investigate if it is possible to have a library of "primitives", to use in that software.
We build parts like you normally build a lego set, but we use primitives instead of bricks.

Thank you. I see.

I make "DUPLO" parts. Where should I look for the original model or data?

For example, the length, width and height of "DUPLO" 2 * 4 brick, whether there is standard data

[Willy Tschager]

Thank you. I see.

I make "DUPLO" parts. Where should I look for the original model or data?

For example, the length, width and height of "DUPLO" 2 * 4 brick, whether there is standard data

This is an article I wrote a long time ago and should hopefully get you some clues:

http://www.holly-wood.it/ldraw/authoring-en.html

Note that beside professional tools we use LPDE to get our parts ready:

http://nilsschmidt1337.github.io/ldparteditor/

w.