ASCENT Blog

Arnold Renderer in Autodesk 3ds Max 2018: WebCast Q&A

By Renu Muthoo

Thanks to those of you who attended my WebCast on Sep 21^st about the newly incorporated Arnold renderer in 3ds Max . We have posted the recording  (Arnold Webcast Link) on the Ascent YouTube channel for you to review the information. For those of you who wanted an introduction to Arnold but were unable to attend the webcast, I hope you will find the recording useful.

The following are some of the questions that I could not answer during the webcast. I hope that the answers will help to explain the functions of the renderer a little further.

Question (Beverly): ­If I open an old scene with Arch and Design materials and Substance materials, how are these materials handled in Arnold? Are they converted or do they need to be re-mapped?

Question (Peter): ­What is best workflow for moving an older project to Arnold from Mental Ray? and ­How does Arnold use Revit Materials?­

Answer: A Scene Converter tool has been provided with 3ds Max that enables you to convert legacy scenes so that they work with the modern renderers (both ART and Arnold). The Scene Converter provides an easy and efficient method of converting the scenes from one renderer to another. The process includes converting legacy materials, legacy daylight system, to the new materials and daylight system making the scene ready for rendering in Arnold.  To open the Scene Converter click Rendering> Scene Convertor. The conversion process uses the conversion script files (.ms). You can also create your own script files that use the specific conversion rules you need, such as converting mental ray Arch and Design to Physical Material or converting mental ray Physical Sky to Physical Sun and Sky etc. To create your script file and set your conversion rules,  go to the Editor tab of the Scene Converter. Once you have set the rules, click Convert Scene to convert your scene.

 

Question (Bob): Does Arnold for 3DS Max have an IPR (Interactive Preview Render) component or do you always have to adjust and render?

Answer: ActiveShade is provided as a method of interactive render in 3DS Max. You can use ActiveShade with Arnold. To select it in the Render Setup dialog box, in the Target drop-down list, select ActiveShade Mode and then in the Renderer drop-down list, select Arnold.

 

Question (Gabriel): Is 3ds Max 2018 ready to download from Autodesk.com? Any reason why Arnold Render was added instead of the older Versions? Was the presentation a Revit link model?

Answer: Yes, the Autodesk 3ds Max 2018 software is available for download. The Learning Guide is based on 3ds Max 2018 software.
Ultimately, it is Autodesk’s decision to add different features to the software- but having said that, Arnold is a fairly user-friendly renderer that can be used to produce high quality photorealiatic images.
The demonstration was shown using models that were created in the Autodesk 3ds Max software. Chapter 3 of our Learning Guide deals with linking models from the Revit software.

Question (Stephen): ­Will Arnold support lidar point cloud rendering?­

Answer: At the moment, I do not think that Lidar point cloud rendering is supported by Arnold. However, you can import point cloud models into 3ds Max software and then build a geometric model based on those points.

Question (Sam): The hours listed in the course are easily over 60 hrs of training. what should be the optional topics that can be removed to give a 32 hr fundamentals class?

Answer: Since we develop our content for various audiences, we try to incorporate multiple types of practices and content which might be useful to various industries. Based on the focus of the class, the instructor can skip certain chapters and exercises if it does not fit their scope of the class. The standard outline present in this Learning Guide can easily be adjusted for custom classes for a particular industry. The following are a few variations that might meet your specific needs.

Focus on Importing/Linking:

• Complete Chapters 1,2,3,6,7,9,10

• Skip Chapters 4 and 5. If needed, you can present the modeling chapters as a brief lecture so that they become familiar with modeling in 3ds Max but without the hands on practices.

• Chapter 8 can be skipped because Standard lights have become irrelevant since the photometric lights (covered in Chapter 9) are to be used with modern renderers.

• Include Chapter 11 if the students want to learn about animation.

• Appendices are provided for those students who want to learn additional information and can be skipped during regular class time.

Focus on Modeling:

• Complete Chapters 1,2,4,5,6,7,9,10

• Skip Chapter 3.

• Chapter 8 can be skipped because Standard lights have become irrelevant since the photometric lights (covered in Chapter 9) are to be used with modern renderers.

• Include Chapter 11 if the students want to learn about animation.

• Appendices are provided for those students who want to learn additional information and can be skipped during regular class time.

Question (Val): ­I am just now learning 3ds max.  I purchased a 3ds kitchen model made with vray.  Mental ray didn’t seem to work with the model.  Will Arnold work for vray created 3ds models?

Answer: Vray is another renderer and models are not created in it. You can import 3D models into the Autodesk 3ds Max software and apply materials, lights, cameras and other items in the software and then render using Arnold. If you plan to use the Arnold renderer, then you will need to apply physical materials or Arnold materials for the rendering to work.

Thanks again for attending the WebCast! I tried a give a quick overview of the Arnold renderer in my webcast session, however, due to time restrictions I certainly could not go deeper into the details. As mentioned, all of the information was pulled from our Autodesk 3ds Max 2018 Fundamentals Learning Guide which is available for you on Amazon (Link to Amazon) as well as on our ASCENT eStore.

Sketched Secondary Features in Fusion 360

Solid geometry features that are created after the first solid feature are often referred to as secondary features. They can be created from sketches as extruded and revolved features, or as features with implied shapes (e.e., holes and fillets).

The workflow for creating a sketched secondary feature is similar to that of the first solid feature, but, the following differences and available tools should be noted:

• As an alternative to selecting an Origin Plane as the sketched plane, you can also select planar faces of existing features.
• Existing geometry can be used as constraint and dimension references. Additionally, as you reference design edges while sketching (i.e., dimensioning or offsetting), these edges or vertices are automatically projected into the current sketch.
• When the sketch plane is located in or behind other geometry, you can temporarily remove the portion of the design that is in front of the sketch using the Sketch Palette's Slice option, as shown below.
  

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This is a short excerpt from the Autodesk Fusion 360: Introduction to Parametric Modeling student guide, by ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge, an Autodesk Authorized Publisher. For more information, visit http://www.ASCENTed.com.

Using Existing Geometry in Fusion 360

Once a base feature exists in a design, additional geometry is created by referencing it. The following sketching tools enable you to create new entities based on existing geometry.

Incorporating the use of projected geometry into a sketch enables you to build relationships between features. In the example below, the edges of the hole were projected onto a sketch on the front face. The sketch was completed by adding lines between the points and the sketch was extruded as shown on the right. The projected edges create a relationship between the hole and the extrusion so that if the diameter of the hole changes, the height of the extrusion changes accordingly.

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This is a short excerpt from the Autodesk Fusion 360: Introduction to Parametric Modeling student guide, by ASCENT - Center for Technical Knowledge, an Autodesk Authorized Publisher. For more information, visit http://www.ASCENTed.com.

Inventor 3D Annotations: WebCast Q&A

By Jennifer MacMillan

Thanks to those of you that attended my WebCast on Aug 30^th. We have now posted the recording and you can view it on our YouTube channel by clicking HERE. Enjoy! 

The following were questions that I didn’t get to on the call. I hope that these answers help explain this tool a little further.

Question (Harold): Is it possible to show dimension values in the model browser? Or just 1-2-3-4-5 etc.
Answer: All annotations are listed in the Annotations folder in sequential order. To help identify a Dimension annotation in the list I would recommend renaming the annotation in the folder to something that helps identify it. You rename the same way as you rename features, double-click (slowly) and enter a new name in the field.

Question (Andrew): How do you document revisions on a MBD part?
Answer: As of right now this is not possible. Hopefully this is something that evolves with the tool. A couple suggestions that Autodesk recommended are:

• Add a General Note with the revision info
• Use the iProperties revision field
• Add an Engineers Notebook entry to document the change
• Use a PDM system to manage revisions

Question (Andrew): Can you assign dimension sets in a 3D model?
Answer: Dimensional Annotations are all individual and cannot reference one another as is done in the drawing environment with Ordinate, Baseline or Chain dimension. They must either be prompted from a sketch (where this dimensioning scheme is not supported) or be created by selecting entities on the geometry.

Question (Andrew): Can the MBD part be published to DWF with dims visible?
Answer: Below is an image of the available Export types. Unfortunately, DWF is not supported.

Question (Andrew): Where do you set the dimension defaults like the dimension styles in drawings?
Answer: This is not something that is documented by Autodesk in Help and there seems to be a lot of behind the scenes control done by the software. All styles are included in the Style and Standard Editors in both the part and drawing environments. If you look in the categories that are used by 3DA’s you will see styles that have 3DA appended to the name. This is what is controlling the standards but what is unclear is how the Active Standard (set in Document Settings) ties to which styles. There also does not seem to be a way to create your own style. Hope that this little bit of information helps. Hopefully this develops in future releases.

Question (John): How do 3D annotations (3DA) relate to model tolerances?
Answer: All of the design data that is created in the 3D part is pulled from the model when annotated. If you had assigned a tolerance value in a sketch and used that sketch dimension (i.e. promoted it) the tolerance comes with it. I meant to highlight this in my demo and it slipped my mind (Sorry.. this is a great question). In the following image, I have turned on the visibility of sketch dimensions and then I promoted the ø40 and ø90 dimensions into 3D Annotations. The ø40 sketch dimension already had a tolerance assigned from when it was sketched and this was also promoted. The ø90 sketch dimension didn’t have a tolerance assigned and it does not have one when promoted. I can edit a 3DA and add a tolerance and if it had been promoted it is assigned back to the sketch.

 
The same holds for feature dimensions. For example, if a hole dimension is shown and wasn’t initially modeled with a tolerance, once promoted and the 3DA is assigned a tolerance value, that value is assigned back to the feature. One caution..  If you later delete the Dimensional Annotation because you made an error, the tolerance value does not get deleted. It was assigned back to the sketch or feature and stays there.

I further tested and it looks like Tolerance features assign any tolerances back to the part and likewise pickup tolerances from the model. The one annotation that doesn’t seem to do this is the Hole/Thread Note annotation. As I mentioned in the webcast the Hole annotation doesn’t allow for parametric text either. What I might do for hole notes is actually use a Tolerance Feature to assign it and then you can delete the Feature Control Frame and datum identifier.

Question: In the demo you showed promoting from a Sketch, can you promote feature dimensions?
Answer: Yes, both sketch and feature dimensions can be prompted. You must show the dimension to be promoted.

Question: Do the messages in Tolerance Advisor prevent you from outputting an annotated model?
Answer: No, the messages are information only and will not prevent you from outputting a model. That being said, it does offer valuable information on errors that should be reviewed and corrected, if necessary.

Question: Why was the Active Standard pre-set in one of your Demos and not the other?
Answer: All 2018 default templates have the active standard assigned, by default. If the model that you are annotating was created pre-2018 you will need to assign the Active Standard. This can be done in Document Settings or you will be prompted as soon as you create your first Annotation.

I tried to cover a wide range of what the Annotation tools can offer in my WebCast; however, in 60 minutes I certainly couldn’t cover everything. As I mentioned in the WebCast ASCENT has recently released a new learning guide where its sole focus is on Inventor 2018 3D Annotation. If you were interested in continuing your learning it is available on Amazon as well as on our ASCENT eStore (Autodesk Inventor 2018: Working with 3D Annotations & Model-Based Definition).  

 

 

If you have any feedback, please let me know. Thanks again for attending the WebCast!

Jennifer

feedback@ascented.com