.obj geometry into Revit

Geometry
1

Hi,

I am currently working with https://canvas.io/ and it saves out an obj file of the space I scan.

My question is can I import the .obj file to create as built drawings? I just want to import the scan and trace it in revit.

I can link a scan if that would help.

Dynamo Skills:

Limited but can follow instructions well.

Revit Version:
17.0.1117.0
20170118_1100(x64)
2017.2

Dynamo Version:
1.2.1

Meshtool Kit Version:
1.2.0

1 Like
2

Probably possible in Dynamo. Meanwhile, paid app in the Revit App Store Mesh Import from OBJ files works: https://apps.autodesk.com/RVT/en/Detail/Index?id=7847254631022872970&appLang=en&

3

Thank you for the reply.

4

So I am following breadcrumbs down a rabbit hole here. Found something posted by @jostein_olsen on his twitter feed. Will update as soon as I have time to test.

5

Ok… So I get and error. This is how far I have made it.

image.png1920Ă—897 214 KB

6

Your method probably has similar limitations as my Mesh Import from OBJ files app. Mesh must be manifold and under around 150K faces.

Try it with a simple mesh, first. E.g.: free obj mode gargoyle statue

7

@truevis thank you. I will examine my scan and add a couple nodes to simplify the mesh.

Again I’ll post my findings.

8

mesh toolkit nodes return a different type of mesh than the built in nodes -make sure to use mesh toolkit nodes to get triangles… you can try converting from the imported mesh toolkit mesh to a dynamo mesh (the builtin mesh type) and then using DirectShape.byMesh

1 Like
9

Take a look at Spring Nodes Mesh.ToPolySurface. It is multithreaded:

10

You generally have two options. You can either get a native mesh with “Springs.ToolkitMeshToMesh”(faster) and then create a directshape, or extract the triangles, make a unified polysurface and create a “FamilyInstance.ByGeometry”:

DynamoSandbox_2017-03-16_15-03-44.png1468Ă—793 173 KB

If you go with the native mesh route, keep in mind that if your mesh is too complex ( ie it’s a group of meshes or has many voids/openings), the conversion might fail because Dynamo’s native meshes are very limited.

Attempting to make a solid out of a mesh with many triangles is usually not a good idea.

4 Likes
11

Hi All,

So I thought I’d post an update to my question. First off, my *.obj files were way too dense to import into revit. So I am using a work around using Meshlab server and converting the .obj’s into *.dxf files.

Here is a link to the batch conversion script I found for Meshlab Server.

So this leads me to my next set of questions;

  1. Can I automate the import process of the dxf files?

  2. If yes how do I rotate the files by 90 degrees on the X axis?

Any help is much appreciated.

Proof.JPG1912Ă—1032 645 KB

12

After some thought I have come up with a new set of questions:

  1. Since Dynamo can rotate me *.obj files, would it be possible to batch rotate with Dynamo and then run the .bat on a output folder all from in Dynamo.

  2. Then batch import the *.dxf files?

Once again any help is much appreciated!

13

@truevis do you think I could some how use this to process my folder using the meshlab server https://github.com/DynamoDS/Dynamo/wiki/Dynamo-Command-Line-Interface - not sure if I am asking the question right.

14

Found this as well by @Andreas_Dieckmann https://github.com/andydandy74/DynamoAutomation have no clue how to stitch this stuff together.

15

The way I’ve done it was to open the OBJ in MeshLab and export to XYZ. Maybe rename the XYZ to PTS for opening in ReCap.

Scripting the process… maybe use AutoHotKey.

16

Thank you. I’ll look into that.