Using 3DXML Captures as Parts

[Tanner S.]

Sorry for yet another appeal for help thread, I don't mean to be a bother, but I suppose I might be by now.

Anyway, using the process outlined on this Rolf Osterthun's thread:

http://forums.ldraw.org/showthread.php?tid=1145

I have captured and made DAT files of the parts:

• http://peeron.com/inv/parts/x1765
  
• http://peeron.com/inv/parts/x1764
  

The problem is, I'm not sure where to go from here. I am a newbie when it comes to parts authoring (and this is cheating at best!), but I really need these parts in LDraw. Frankly, I could really use all of the parts mentioned in my post:

http://forums.ldraw.org/thread-16413.html

but none, to my knowledge, have been put on the parts tracker. The second pair aren't even in LDD. I know the community is not responsible for part requests, and I completely understand that it is a lot of work, but I still need those pieces, so I have tried to get as far as possible. I think one of the major things that needs to be done is the setting of the part center/rotation center. There may be more work beyond that which I don't even know about. If someone could guide me through the remaining steps, at least to the point where the part is functional, I would be much obliged.

-- I attached the parts if you would like to take a look at them. They are raw geometric data (if I have my vocabulary right) which runs up the file size, compared to official parts.

[Tanner S.]

Update:

I did manage to get the parts open in an editor, and I have them working with the LDraw system. Now, my only problem is that the origins of the parts are not well placed. I'm not sure exactly how to fix it; I've googled the problem in several ways but to no avail. No tutorials seem to specify "how" to set an origin... perhaps you can't set an origin! I don't know. If anyone does know, please respond.

[Roland Melkert]

perhaps you can't set an origin! I don't know. If anyone does know, please respond.

The origin is whatever happens to be at 0,0,0 so to change it you just move all the triangle/quads/lines around.

[Travis Cobbs]

perhaps you can't set an origin! I don't know. If anyone does know, please respond.

The origin is whatever happens to be at 0,0,0 so to change it you just move all the triangle/quads/lines around.

You could also create a wrapper dat file that moves the origin to where you want it to be, and then inline that. The inline tool would the move all the triangles around for you.

[Tanner S.]

Okay yeah, I was thinking that it was 0, 0, 0.

I can use MLCad to move the shapes around to the right position then. Thanks for your help guys!

[Travis Cobbs]

Okay yeah, I was thinking that it was 0, 0, 0.

I can use MLCad to move the shapes around to the right position then. Thanks for your help guys!

For reference, 0,0,0 is always the origin. The question is, what part of the geometry should line up with that point? There is no one right answer to this question, so you have to adjust when going from one system to another.

[Tanner S.]

Okay yeah, I was thinking that it was 0, 0, 0.

I can use MLCad to move the shapes around to the right position then. Thanks for your help guys!

For reference, 0,0,0 is always the origin. The question is, what part of the geometry should line up with that point? There is no one right answer to this question, so you have to adjust when going from one system to another.

I figured so. I set the "bar" part as the origin of the torso, and the clip part the origin of the legs. It works well enough for my purposes. Again, thanks for all your help.

[Magnus Forsberg]

Hello Tanner,

What are you aiming for here? Are you preparing them for an upload to the Part Tracker?
If so, then these parts should be made to comply with our standards regarding origin and placement.

Both parts are already extracted and could be downloaded at digital-brick.de as:
58844, Small alien, body
58845, Small alien, leg

I find two very similar legs in our library;
30376, Minifig Mechanical Legs
30530, Minifig Martian Legs

They both have their origin at the bottom, not in the clip.
30376, at the bottom surface.
30530, at 8 ldu above bottom surface.

However, both 30376 and 30530 have the clip "in system". The center of the clip is exactly above the origin of the part.
58845 seem to be different. Is the ldd-data correct, or do we have to tweak it into a better shape?

You should try to replace the ldd-clip with a clip-primitive.
You could also try to replace the cavities at the bottom of the feet with 2-4cyli-primitives.

Both parts, 58844 and 58845, looks to be symmetrical, and could be divided into halves, thus reducing filesize.

The upper part, 58844, doesn't have any possible connection point at the top surface, and I think it would be OK to place the origin in the cylinder. The ldd-cylinder should be replaced by a primitive.
It is possible to connect something in their hands and the hole in the stomach. Place cyli-primitives here to, please.

Do you have these aliens? Could you provide a photo of the pattern?

[Tanner S.]

I needed them primarily for some rendering that I wanted to get done purely in LDraw, rather than having to go back and fourth between programs and renderers. I wasn't planning to share them, because I knew they weren't up to standards, but if I can be of help to the cause, by all means I will do what I can.

However, I am unskilled in parts authoring. I do own these parts, as well as the other Mars Mission alien parts, namely, the Alien Commander Torso and Arms/Legs, which aren't even in LDD. I don't know if that's helpful, but its an answer to one of your questions.