Revit and 3ds Max

Working with Revit Architecture Designs in Autodesk 3ds Max

Autodesk 3ds Max
Lecture Notes-take advantage of these instructor's notes to get ahead of your classmates!
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Contents
Preface
Organization
Introduction

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Unit 1: Data Transfer

Theory: Data Transfer
Exporting from Revit Architecture in DWG Format
Setting 3ds Max Default UI
Setting 3ds Max Display Units
Linking a DWG File
Binding a DWG File
3ds Max: Data Transfer
The Connection
Features and Concepts to Learn
Notes
Hands-on Topics
Question

Preface
This document comprises a series of units (lecture notes with associated exercises in Autodesk® 3ds Max® software) that teach principles of texturing, animating, and rendering 3D scenes in 3ds Max. It is divided in six units that cover the tools that would commonly be used in a Revit® Architecture/3ds Max architectural visualization project.

The six units can be covered in a week or spread over an entire semester. Not all of them are equal in length or importance. The following table indicates how long each one might take to teach.

Organization
Each unit is broken down into the following parts:

Theory
Autodesk 3ds Max

The Connection
Features to Learn
Notes
Hands-on Topics
Questions

At the end of each unit is a list of topics for hands-on technical training. In some cases these reference the companion Student Workbook. In other cases these are just areas of functionality the instructor may use to illustrate the concepts and theory discussed in the lecture notes.
You can use these units to supplement an existing curriculum, such as the Revit Architecture curriculum, or as the seed for a new one. Thinking of them as lecture notes is helpful. What the lectures consists of is up to you

Introduction
3ds Max is a comprehensive visualization tool for creating high-quality still images and animations. The 3ds Max workflow commonly includes modeling, material design and application, lighting, camera creation, animation, and rendering.

When 3ds Max is used for architectural design visualization, the geometry typically comes from another application, in this case Revit Architecture.
The 3ds Max file linking feature enables the capture of Revit data with the powerful advantage of being able to update that data as changes are made in Revit. Once the data is in 3ds Max, the software’s powerful modeling tools come into play. Their strength is in free-form organic modeling, such as the creation of terrain, rocks, or foliage.

Materials are a key feature of 3ds Max. They define how light interacts with the model surfaces, and hence determine how realistic the rendered images appear. The 3ds Max Material Editor contains a comprehensive set of tools that enable you to represent a wide variety of physical materials. Materials that were applied in Revit Architecture are retained with minor exceptions, so changes may have to be made only on select objects.

3ds Max provides physical and non-physically based lights that are designed to work with several renderers. One important example is the daylight system, which incorporates two lights and an environment map for rapid and highly effective rendering of outdoor scenes.
3ds Max supports keyframe animation, where virtually every aspect of a scene can be changed over time. The most pertinent applications for working with Revit Architecture are camera and light animation.
Rendering concludes the design visualization workflow. It is the process where the scene model and its applied materials, lighting, and choreographed animation come together to create still images or video sequences.

This document provides the theory and exercises designed to take students through an architectural design visualization workflow using Revit Architecture and 3ds Max software.

Unit 1: Data Transfer

This unit covers transferring design models from Revit Architecture to 3ds Max. The procedure involves exporting from Revit Architecture to a DWG file format, and then linking that file into 3ds Max. This unit also covers setting the 3ds Max default user interface and display units, as well as binding the DWG file.
Theory: Data Transfer
Data transfer between Revit Architecture and 3ds Max is accomplished via the DWG file format. A DWG file containing 3D building geometry is exported from Revit Architecture. This file is then brought into 3ds Max using the File Link Manager tool. This unit looks at the steps involved in this data transfer process.
Exporting from Revit Architecture in DWG Format
Revit Architecture has several representations for model elements. For example a door object has a
• 2D plan view representation
• 2D elevation view representation
• 3D view representation
Generally, 3ds Max requires the 3D representation. By default, exporting generates data associated with the active view, so a Revit Architecture 3D view should be set before exporting.
Revit Architecture supports exporting either to Polymesh or ACIS® solid objects. Both work well with 3ds Max. However, Polymesh treats Revit Architecture objects as multiple components, making it easier to edit the materials that make the inside and outside of a wall, for example. ACIS solids have the advantage of treating objects as volumes, so that you can ultimately use Boolean operations in 3ds Max to create intersections, unions, or subtractions between objects. However, this makes material manipulation a bit more complex because you must work at a subobject level if you need to apply different materials to the same object.
Setting 3ds Max Default UI
Default user interface (UI) settings tailor 3ds Max to different applications. The DesignVIZ.mentalray default is appropriate for photorealistic rendering of architectural models. Selecting this default makes changes that include the following:
• Activating mental ray extensions
• Providing extra parameters for cameras, lights, and shadows
• Populating the Material Editor with architectural and design materials
• Setting real-world scale texture coordinates
A complete listing of the DesignVIZ.mentalray settings is provided in the information panel of the defaults switcher, which can be accessed through the Customize menu (Customize > Custom UI and Defaults Switcher). After the defaults switcher is set, you need to exit and restart 3ds Max for the changes to take effect.

Setting 3ds Max Display Units
In addition to its System Unit setup, which describes model geometry in the database, 3ds Max maintains a display unit. The display unit controls how values are presented in the user interface. 3ds Max automatically converts values from the system units to display units and vice versa.

Linking a DWG File
3ds Max provides a File Link Manager that controls links to one or more DWG files. The key feature of file linking is that it maintains a connection to the source file. If the file in Revit Architecture is changed and re-exported to the same DWG file, you have the option of updating the data in 3ds Max.
The File Link Manager provides several options to control the linking process. A set of link options suitable for Revit Architecture files is available in the Revit preset and can be selected in the File Link Manager dialog box. When a file is linked, you can specify which layers in the source file to include.

Binding a DWG File
Use the Bind option to sever the link to the DWG file. Subsequent changes to the DWG file cannot be updated in 3ds Max.

3ds Max: Data Transfer
The Connection
The Data Transfer unit of the Student Workbook illustrates the process of taking data from Revit Architecture to 3ds Max.

Features and Concepts to Learn:
Exporting from Revit Architecture in DWG Format
Setting a 3D View in Revit Architecture
Selecting ACIS or Polymesh Output
Exporting the DWG File
Setting 3ds Max Default UI
Activating the DesignVIZ.mentalray UI
Setting 3ds Max Display Units
Accessing the Display Unit Dialog Box
Specifying the Display Units
Linking a DWG File
Accessing the File Link Manager
Choosing a Preset
Rescaling Units
Attaching the File
Binding a DWG File
Binding a Linked DWG File

Notes
Exporting from Revit Architecture in DWG Format

Before exporting from Revit Architecture, set a 3D view active. The data can be exported as a Polymesh or ACIS solid.

Setting 3ds Max Default UI
The DesignVIZ.mentalray setting for UI defaults takes advantage of the mental ray rendering engine in 3ds Max. One example is the daylight system, which automatically uses the mental ray Sun and Sky, that is, mrSun and mrSky. The UI default setting has to be made only once. It remains in the new state until explicitly changed.

Setting 3ds Max Display Units
3ds Max maintains a system unit and a display unit. The system unit controls how model data is stored, and the display unit controls how the units are presented. The software automatically handles conversion between the system and display units.

Linking a DWG File
File linking maintains a connection to the source DWG file. Changes to that file can be updated in 3ds Max. The File Link Manager is the interface for working with linked DWG files. Layers to link can be specified, and the incoming data can be rescaled.

Binding a DWG File
Binding a linked file breaks the link to the source file and eliminates the option of updating any changes to that file.

Hands-on Topics
• Open the Units Setup dialog box and examine the different choices offered for display units.
• Set a few different display units, and investigate the difference when you create geometry—a sphere, for example.
• Open the File Link Manager and link a DWG file into 3ds Max.
• Bind the DWG file that was linked in the previous step.

Questions
• Does the default UI have to be set each time 3ds Max is started?
• Can the 3ds Max display unit be different from its system unit?
• If a DWG file is bound to 3ds Max, can changes to the source be updated?

Next Unit 2

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