vic3d Posted March 11, 2014 Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 Hello everyone. Please tell me witch modelling software you use or recommend the most to use with EIAS. I model big architectural projects, big terrain models, millions of polygons... Thanks. Vic. http://www.behance.net/gallery/ARCHITECTURAL-RENDERINGS/7505747 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeV Posted March 11, 2014 Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 I use SharkFX v7 for solids modeling. Excellent export. It's cheaper version ViaCAD Pro does a good job, but with fewer high-end features. Demos are available. Of course there is FormZ -- I use that on occasion as well. Export is a little tricky to get right. Demo available as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S. Houtzager Posted March 11, 2014 Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 I use FormZ mostly as well but lately I have been loving Rhino. It just has sooooo many pluggins and add ons that individuals and universities have done and don't charge a dime for. Then there is grasshopper which is a free node based program that works with Rhino to make parametric models that can show you tons of options in seconds. Look at Food4rhino.com to see the add ons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankg Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 Mainly Solidthinking Evolve. Good for freeform-modeling and form creation, ViaCAD Pro and SharkFX for converting Evolve-Files in fact:) Frankg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnabythebear Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 Hi, ViaCAD/Shark is a good option, but I prefer the interface/workflow of FormZ or it's little brother Bonzai. All have excellent fac export. ta nige. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwcc Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 been using Modo and recently started using the beta of Rhino on the mac - tried using ViaCAD Pro for a while - It does have a good FACT export but for really big complex models it can be a bit unstable and slow... Rhino is still being developed but looks pretty solid. Also tried FormZ and never could get a good model exported - FACT, OBJ - nothing worked. Had extensive conversations with AutoDesSys - models would not tesselate correctly and would not smooth no matter what settings I used. brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomo Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Hello Vic, I use FormZ V7. Have used FromZ V5 for years but V7 is great. Takes getting used to but it is fast. Fac export can be tricky, I always have to triangulate the whole model before export, even if it is set to triangulate upon export. Exporting from FormZ as .obj works everytime though so I use that mostly now. What OS are you on? I do a lot of Archi work too and get sent Revit models a lot, I think it is only Win though. They seem to export well as .obj to EIAS as well. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mondoman Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 It's funny, I must be the last person still using the Universe 6 modeller. Still covers most of what I need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomas Egger Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Ola Mondo! I use sometimes too :) Thanks Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuzzLightyear Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Last Universe 6.0 EIM Modeler? HA! Not by a long shot Mondoman:-) EIM absolutely _rocks_, and we desperately need it to be ported to the new OS. (I would pay dearly for it. Rename it Phoenix, and let it rise from the ashes Tomas! ;-) But then..., I may be biased, since I beta tested it all those years ago. I use it almost always. But when necessary, I hold my nose and use Maya. Maya's math is extremely powerful.., but the interface is right out of the 1980's (Yuck). Chip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantomaz Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 Chip, i am with you -except Maya (never understand that app)- EI Modeller was the only modeler, that works as i expected him to work. Of course there are some glitches over time and you have to keep 10.6.8 for using it (or install an virtual server on Maveriks to use 10.6.8 and EIM) but for the last 25 years i can say that EIM was the best solution to work with EIAS when you need to model something. Most of you know my AC-COBRA, she was complete done in EIM, ok it took me 1,5 years to finish it, but it was worth - all the 2,7 million polys! So i use my 27" iMac from 2011 with 10.6.8 and EIM for the next 10 years when i have to model something. The only thing EIM wasn't as good as other modellers was conversion of other file formats. But for that case i use PolyTrans. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuzzLightyear Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 You said it perfectly, Alex- EIM really _does_ work as you would expect (99% of the time ;-), and that's it's best feature. It's intuitive, the math is great, and the tools _make sense_! There are definitely 8-10 things that would need to be fixed, if it ever returns. But it's truly an amazing first modeler software effort, and Kishore and Matt should be commended. I have an old 4-core Motorola machine, and 8-core Intel machine with 10.6.8. So I should be OK with the Modeler for some time. I've been trying to learn Maya for years (literally), and have been able to create complex models. But it's SO awkward and difficult to organize and control your files :-( Your Cobra looks amazing! Is there a high-res image posted on the EI website somewhere? Chip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vic3d Posted March 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2014 Thank you all for your answers, they are very useful. I will stick with formZ for now but I downloaded the Rhino for mac too, I'll check it out. I have never had problems exporting to EIAS, it really works great, but I only do architectural work (no complicated shapes I need to triangulate). The only problem I have with FormZ is that this last project was a 25Km stretch of highway through some mountains. Editing and reshaping a terrain model was no fun at all. Especially one that large. I hope that Rhino is better at this. I'll post some clips of the animation as soon as I am legally allowed. Again, thank you all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomas Egger Posted March 31, 2014 Report Share Posted March 31, 2014 Ola Vic! We will be waiting ;) Thanks Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvlna Posted April 13, 2014 Report Share Posted April 13, 2014 Thank you all for your answers, they are very useful. I will stick with formZ for now but I downloaded the Rhino for mac too, I'll check it out. I have never had problems exporting to EIAS, it really works great, but I only do architectural work (no complicated shapes I need to triangulate). The only problem I have with FormZ is that this last project was a 25Km stretch of highway through some mountains. Editing and reshaping a terrain model was no fun at all. Especially one that large. I hope that Rhino is better at this. I'll post some clips of the animation as soon as I am legally allowed. Again, thank you all. You should try Archicad... works well for architectural work ! You can have a look a WWW.LNAMEL.COM to see our work - all models from archicad (with homemade parametric objects) + some extra made with sketchup (grass is made with fur tool and added separately in EIAS). All rendering is EIAS. Even the older one starting in 1998... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vic3d Posted April 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 You should try Archicad... works well for architectural work ! You can have a look a WWW.LNAMEL.COM to see our work - all models from archicad (with homemade parametric objects) + some extra made with sketchup (grass is made with fur tool and added separately in EIAS). All rendering is EIAS. Even the older one starting in 1998... Thank you rvlna, very nice projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillsville Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 It's funny, I must be the last person still using the Universe 6 modeller. Still covers most of what I need. Hi, I still use v5 -- I didn't know there was a v6. Do you know where I might get a copy.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomo Posted May 7, 2014 Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 BTW. FMZ V7(?) as of 2014 solved fac export. Even great for "validated fac". Settings are particular but it is fixed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vic3d Posted May 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2014 BTW. FMZ V7(?) as of 2014 solved fac export. Even great for "validated fac". Settings are particular but it is fixed! Hi Thomo What is a validated FAC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomo Posted May 9, 2014 Report Share Posted May 9, 2014 In V9.1 there is an option to export as a "validated fac". So if you were modelling in FormZ and had exported your model as .fac to EIAS, you could then make changes in FormZ and export a new .fac file with the same name (ie: overwrite the old one). Then from EIAS you export your old model as validated .fac and it will replace it with the new one (and keep a copy of the old one on file) with textures and material in place. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S. Houtzager Posted May 9, 2014 Report Share Posted May 9, 2014 Cool trick. I have used it just to "correct" issues with a model. I select the model and press validate and it goes thru the model to find errors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomo Posted May 9, 2014 Report Share Posted May 9, 2014 Yep that combined with object doctor in FormZ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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