EIVA Support

- *.3ds

- *.obj

- Some *.dxf and *.dwg offer also 3D information

- *.fbx (Binary). F rom AutoCad version v7.1 and newer. Earlier versions might not loaded properly. Please check the Log Window for more information.

Figure 1: Log Windows with version information.

    Use Autodesk FBX Converter which is a free tool that can convert .fbx file to newer versions if possible.

- In the future we will support also *.stp.

Known limitations:

-  Number of faces. A 3D model with a great number of faces (triangles) can cause that the graphics card runs out of memory.

- Textures. The standard texture formats, that is png, gif, tif, jpg are supported.

Not supported:

- *.fbx (ASCII)

- *.mat format

Q. What is the maximum file size to give a decent performance?

A.  The file size of the 3D model file is very hard to specify. A good approximation is a few MB (eg 10-20MB). This file has more than enough information for 3D visualisation. 

Please note that the file size differs from file format to file format because some are ASCII (eg *.obj) and others are binary (eg .fbx).

Helmsman's display and NaviModel support way bigger file sizes but these are probably not going to be optimal for visualisation.
We are planning to introduce an LOD (Level of details) system in the near future which will improve the performance of large 3D models and allows to render multiple 3D models.

It is advisable to create a 3D model that is optimal for visualisation then Helmsman's display and NaviModel.