Coverting 3dsmax files to Sketchup??

If the files are in .max format then you'll need a full copy of 3DStudio Max to open them, Autodesk prevent any other app/converter from opening them. If you have max then you could export the parts as .fbx and run them through Transmutr to compress/convert them to SketchUp files.

I use the Simlab 3ds max to skatechup.

https://www.simlab-soft.com/3d…etchUp-from-3DS-main.aspx

As Paul has stated you do need a copy of 3ds max

Quote from houseofmanuela

Thank you Paul Russam and jtubb.

Yes I now have a copy of 3dsMax, although clueless on how to use it.

Could you give me your thoughts on materials. Vray and Corona come up a lot when viewing models. Will these textures convert easily?

Thank you in advance.

I use Vray but either is fine however, if your goal is to get the model into skp from max you will want to convert the materials to standard. depending on the models this can be timely without using a vray to standard material converter. In most case you can export and resign the material in sketchup but you have to do it at the current material level by using the paint bucket to sample a material then go into the edit tab and load a the image map in from the "use texture image". Again this can be a timely method but if done correctly you get what your looking for. There is also some clean up when using the simlabs extension but once you find the work flow its fairly quick. I wish there was a simple way but this is the method that i have found that works.

3Ds max is great for hyper realism but the models are very dense so you have to simply the content so it does bog down Sketchup. So try to keep that in mind.

UMC is a great tool for converting materials from various render engines to Standard.

https://www.3dstudio.nl/websho…versal-material-converter

And then a second vote for here for Simlab for importing .fbx to .skp.

For all the capabilities of 3DSMax, it still seems like you need an endless parade of scripts and plugins to do what you actually want to.

The Skimp plugin works best for this!

Quote from houseofmanuela

Hello rifkin would you mind sharing your workflow using UMC, I think I'm on the wrong track as the textures are either distorted or the entire model is only one grey tone when viewing in SketchUp. Your assistance is very much appreciated!

Cheers,

Manuela

Did you use Simlab or how did you get the .fbx into Sketchup?

Kind of depends how complicated the Max materials are. I've mostly used it to convert fairly straightforward models we have textured in-house; whereas some of the files I've downloaded from Turbosquid have insane multi/sub-object material hierarchies. I wouldn't expect those to make it through as there is probably no direct translation from one render engine to another. But generally I've found the UV mapping to remain so even if the texture map gets lost you can reassign it.

Even though .fbx is supposedly universal, it is still an Autodesk format and Max has its own way of handling it. There are 100 different ways to do most things in Max so every file is an adventure, some work better than others.

Also (not entirely sure,) but I assume you would need the render engine installed that you are converting from (ie, VRay, Corona, etc.)

My workflow lately has been to use a material converter script like was suggested above, export to FBX and use Transmutr to import. I cannot say enough things about how Transmutr has made the importing of non-SKP files easy and painless. The plugin offers the ability to make Enscape proxies directly in the plugin.

The main thing to keep in mind is the only map that you need is the diffuse. All other maps assign to an object wont translate into skp as you will need to manually set up the rest in enscape.

Quote from VStudio

My workflow lately has been to use a material converter script like was suggested above, export to FBX and use Transmutr to import. I cannot say enough things about how Transmutr has made the importing of non-SKP files easy and painless. The plugin offers the ability to make Enscape proxies directly in the plugin.

How does the Enscape Proxy work - I have tried this but have had no luck.

Quote from jtubb

The main thing to keep in mind is the only map that you need is the diffuse. All other maps assign to an object wont translate into skp as you will need to manually set up the rest in enscape.

How does the Enscape Proxy work - I have tried this but have had no luck.

You can make some material adjustments right in Transmutr and then when you are ready to export, Transmutr will save out the base file called "fullGeometry" and then Transmutr imports the proxy right into your file using the proxy settings you set in Transmutr. If you want to edit the file or materials, just open the component it created, called filename_fullGeometry.skp