Autocad site plan into 3ds Max.....problems

[jritterw]

at the architecture office I work in I have been experimenting with creating models of sites...I start by using the site plan, creating closed polylines (so I have something to extrude when I bring it into 3ds Max)...3ds Max seems to have a problem with arcs, sometimes they come in correct, but rarely do I get everything to come in correctly. Please help, I am getting good at materials and everything else, this seems like something minor that shouldn't even be happening, advice is greatly appreciated

[loydg]

I would start by checking the Coodinate space first. If the site data is set to a real world coordinate space (i.e. X=284,857.59' Y=65,392.95' Z=2,485.01') then Max will struggle with some simple tasks like creating arcs and snapping vertexes. If that's the case, I would suggest moving the data to 0,0,0 (origin) in AutoCAD and record the move process incase there are additional elements that will need to be revised/added in later versions of the model.

[jritterw]

thanks for the tip, I had read another thread about moving everything to 0,0,0...I did and it still gave me a wonky result. I could go around to the thousands of vertices and move them manually...major pain in the butt. Are there any edit modifiers I can use that may make them more manageable?, such as turning the arcs into some other type of object?

[Steve_Bennett]

I would try not welding any verticies that are detected by 3ds max upon import. That could possibly be causing the arcs to not import correctly. What other import settings are you working with? Can you post a screen capture of what you've selected in the 3ds max import dialog?

[jritterw]

thanks for the tips people...I think I have found the solution, something I was dreading to learn but I found it to work...I learned basic Revit. Its much easier to bring the site in as a template, create all the extruded shapes, then export that as an fbx to 3ds Max...if I attached it correctly you should see some rendered images of the site I have been working on...comments and criticisms welcome