Mesh Import from OBJ Files – Revit App

An app to bring meshes into Revit

For sale at $50 in the Autodesk Revit App Store

Usage video:

Go from this: Screen Shot 01-05-15 at 06.00 PM To this: Screen-Shot-12-18-14-at-06.08-PM

Examples of Meshes Imported Into Revit With This App

Tutorial

To use this app, acquire a mesh to be imported into Revit. If needed, edit it in software like MeshLab or Autodesk Memento. This may entail deleting unwanted faces, and decimating the mesh to simplify it.

The mesh, in this example, was made in Autodesk’s 123D Catch free photogrammetry app from around 50 photos. The subject is Cyrus Edwin Dallin’s Menotomy Indian Hunter (1911).

Screen Shot 01-02-15 at 01.29 AM 001
Original OBJ downloaded from photogrammetry app
Screen Shot 01-02-15 at 02.55 AM
Mesh cleaned and decimated

Directions

  1. Run the Mesh Import add-in in Revit:Run App from Button
  2. Select OBJ file:Screen Shot 01-02-15 at 03.56 AM
  3. Set options:Mesh Import SettingsThe Category choices to make the import are:
    Casework
    Entourage
    Furniture
    Generic Models
    Lighting Fixtures
    Mass
    Mechanical Equipment
    Planting
    Roads
    Site
    Structural Framing
  4. Pick a point on the current work plane for insertion…
    Screen Shot 01-02-15 at 02.35 AM 001…The mesh, brought into Revit

The import may be moved and rotated as needed. It will take on the appearance of its Category.

It can also be rendered the same as other elements in Revit:
Screen Shot 01-02-15 at 02.35 AM 002

Realistic with edges

Screen Shot 01-02-15 at 04.46 AM 001
Section
statue
Rendering

To re-scale, simply undo or delete, then re-import using a different scale in the app’s dialog box. The new shape may be copied freely in the project.

Known Limitations

  • For English language version of Revit
  • The meshes may be used in the Revit project environment (not Families)
  • There is some size limit for that may be worked around by simplifying one’s mesh, etc. Practical limit is around 150000 faces in the OBJ.
  • Some aspects of the OBJ format such as smoothing are not imported. This can be worked around by editing and exporting from mesh software like MeshLab
  • Meshes should be manifold (one continuous surface)
  • Groups defined in the OBJ are imported as separate shapes
  • Associated MTL and texture images of the OBJ are not taken into account. Appearance of the imported shapes is controlled through Object Styles and overrides.
  • Some meshes or data in their OBJ files may be incompatible with Mesh Import, and not import as expected.
  • Resultant shapes are internally DirectShape and subject to Revit’s current limitations of functionality. E.g., they cannot be Mirrored.

Troubleshooting

Price

$50 per seat. 15-day money back guarantee. One year of updates are included.

Feedback

Messages can be sent to the author at https://truevis.com/contact