Revit to 3ds as FBX really slow

[damon.sidel]

I'm trying to import my Revit model (123MB) into 3ds Max as an FBX link (the FBX is 290MB). I started it up and am linking it... for the past 45 minutes! And it says it is only 50% done.

Does anybody have experience with Revit to 3ds Max as an FBX? Is there something else I can do in either Revit or Max to make this a viable process? Any help would be appreciated.

[cliff collins]

Use a Section Box in a 3D view in Revit to crop out anything not required in Max.

Also turn off anything not needed in Max--like all annotations, make sure no AutoCad files are imported/turned on, --basically clean up the Revit model and only import what you need in Max.

Also, if you have lots of lights in Revit these can be problematic in Max, and sometimes we end up
just replacing them for the scene.

Also check performance / hardware specs on your machine--large complex scenes will use lots of CPU and RAM when exporting/importing.

Try not having Revit and Max open at the same time.

cheers

[Mike Sealander]

In fact, anything you aren't going to render, like plumbing fixtures, below-grade stuff, turn all that off. Make sure your FBX import utility is the latest version. RPC objects can be a problem. And simplify your site- a lot.

[damon.sidel]

Thank you both for the replies. There isn't much in my model that I don't want to render (a few walls below grade, but that seems minor). This is a core+shell project, so I haven't modeled interior layouts. The only thing I can think of that isn't visible is the main stair core. Everything else is visible. I'm exporting from a 3D view and there are no AutoCAD links visible. In fact, I tried exporting just one workset this morning and 3ds hung and is not responding. The FBX file for that one workset is 47MB.

My computer is quite good:
Intel Core i7 960 @ 3.20GHz
12.0 GB RAM
Win7 64-bit

So I have a hard time believing it is the computer. My graphics card is a little older: Radeon X1650, but I wouldn't think that is a problem.

Anything else you can think of?

[sbrown]

It is most likely an element that the FBX exporter can't handle. you should send it to support. It could be a light fixture(IES info can cause issues) try turning off all your lights to see if that is the issue. Then narrow down what light is causing the issue. Also if you have RCP's turn them off.

[damon.sidel]

sbrown,

I'll give it a try to narrow down what is causing the problem. Thanks for the suggestion... I was able to import just walls, for example, so I know it isn't the whole thing. I'll see what I come up with.