Amazing Free Blender CAD Exporter!

[@chanruzzi]

Quick warning for Plasticity users ---> I bought this addon but I didn't pay enought attention that the "INDIE" license for plasticity does NOT let you import .IGES, only the "Studio" version does! So even if you guy the addon, it won't work unless you upgrade your "indie" to "studio" -- $150 difference + the cost of the addon (which is NOT free, it's $10 now a days).

[@JoshuaMerrill042]

I have been thinking about how useful a tool like this would be. Gonna give it a try, thank you.

[@xVzz]

Ok now this is another level of holy shit I'm missing out. Modeling in max and getting cad kind of fillets on surfaces like that? Sign me up

[@oyuki9892]

Plasticity 凄い・・・

[@stephenmurphy8349]

Hi the IGES exporter - is it working with Blender 4.1? Thanks!

[@SianaGearz]

Mhm so i can model a haptic shape in Blender subdiv, export it to IGES, and import it into FreeCAD to build a mechanical structure underneath it? This does seem useful for a couple things i'm up to. I'd rather not surface in FreeCAD if i don't have to, honestly because i don't really have a solid grasp on it x.x

[@koukouvania]

can IGES be sent to online 3d printing sites?

[@untitled795]

SICK!

[@brentkjernisted2215]

Where do you get the more I explorer and how do you spell it? Thanks

[@ZacharySchroeder]

It cost $10. A standard version of Plasticity will not let you import an IGES/IGS file. You can try converting an OBJ to a STEP/STP file but it will probably not work.

[@СолнышкоСолнышковно]

But will such an export from under 3ds max work? Is this extension there by default !?

[@GuestUser-jf8uj]

so what do you do with the plasticity model after? Do you have to go through a whole process to get it into unreal engine?

[@DarkerCry]

Depends on the kind of workflow. Can export a high and low from plasticity and just unwrap the low for baking, you can retopo, rebuild using geometry, some combination, etc. It's a cad based software so the process would be similar to fusion 360.

[@Falkunov]

I saw this video where they use plasticity, blender and unreal, looks pretty straight forward only thing that may be tedious to do is the uv unwrap but the rest nothing really hard to do kzbin.info/www/bejne/opPTe6OAlq1sf8k&pp=ygUdcGxhc3RpY2l0eSAzZCBiYXR0ZXJ5IGNoYXJnZXI%3D&ab_channel=HigE3d

[@MaxHancockCo]

I assume it will be ok when you bring it back into Blender for rendering... or is that another process to prep?

[@abd_3d]

convert into mesh model from plasticiy nurb model. obj, stl etc. and set up all the shaders if you have applied any.

[@digital-sculptors]

Detailed tutorial on how the exporter works. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fou3oJV9g8ujiq8

[@nkr1159]

According to the Plasticity site - IGES import/export is specified only for the most expensive 300$ version :( So much for the "free" solution..

[@nkr1159]

Actually, let me make a correction because it is due. Indeed the Plasticity site shows the above information, however - I tried to import IGES blender exports into a trial licensed Plasticity on my most powerful PC (Intel13700/RTX4080) and it worked! Yay :) It had failed on a laptop with i7 CPU but with integrated GPU. So both the addon and Plasticity work, I guess you just need good enough hardware (mine is probably an overkill).

[@nkr1159]

Just tried it - doesn't work for me. Used a manifold mesh, all modifiers applied and the Plasticity importer simply doesn't like it. Red border no matter what parameters I change. I guess this is because I am using the trial version. .Planning to buy it so fingers crossed!

[@kapitankusanagi]

What developers said: The internal limit of surface patches is 9999999. But even with a subdiv refinement of 2, each polygon will be converted to at least 4 surface patches. For Autodesk Fusion, the recomendation is less than 10000 polygons for direct import as mesh. I would recommend a max ploycount of around 1000 (quads)

[@nkr1159]

@@kapitankusanagi Thank you for that. 1000 poly is not much but still better than nothing. I think it was the integrated GPU that Plasticity didn't like (even if it doesn't make sense) - it failed me with a simple mesh with less than 500 faces.

[@joepeezly]

@@kapitankusanagi I'm so glad you said something. Couldn't get it to work either but lowering the poly count did it.

[@joepeezly]

@@nkr1159 Thanks for mentioning the problem, couldn't find the solution anywhere. No FAQ in the official discord either :P

[@Ivan_dzn]

CATIA конвертирует более 50000 полигонов