Exporting Data from 3dmax to Houdini in right scale

[Ahmed Saady]

Hello Guys , 

Im facing an issue with my workflow from 3dmax to Houdini 

 

The problem is from the geometry which it comes from 3dmax so when i import it inside Houdini it comes really big even when i made it in right scale inside 3dmax.

 

I can scale down the scene inside the houdini and fit my camera normally but if i want to make a sim then re export again to 3dmax it will come really small based on what i have before.

 

So how can i solve this issue?

 

Thanks 

[michael]

the issue is that max uses, I believe, cm as it's units, but Houdini uses meters

the best solution for this is to scale down your assets by 0.01 in max - then export to Houdini - do you sim or whatever - and the scale up by 100 - then export back to max.

I prefer scaling first - but you could also scale on import.

or change your units in max - don't change them in Houdini, you can but it will probably screw things up in DOPs

[Ahmed Saady]

the issue is that max uses, I believe, cm as it's units, but Houdini uses meters

the best solution for this is to scale down your assets by 0.01 in max - then export to Houdini - do you sim or whatever - and the scale up by 100 - then export back to max.

I prefer scaling first - but you could also scale on import.

or change your units in max - don't change them in Houdini, you can but it will probably screw things up in DOPs

Thank you for fast reply 

well if scale down the file inside 3dmax to 0.01 it will be so small even in Houdini and if i scale it up to 0.1 it will come as a good size there 

but i tried to export the file as is from Max then scale it down in Houdini to 0.01 then i have to multiply * 1000 so it will retain back to its original size .

 

but as you know the sizes are diffrent from scene to scene so im wondering if there is basic procedural way to fix this issue?

[bonsak]

You could make a box in Houdini (it defaults to 1x1x1 m) and export it to max. Then figure out how you have to scale that in Max to match a box in there being 1x1x1m or 100x100x100cm. That will be your scale factor.

When exporting from Max to Houdini then just scale your scene on export by the scale factor.

It's usually good practise to work in real world units when you're ding any type of simulation in Houdini.

 

-b 

[f1480187]

cm/in is also a common factor when dealing with scales. Try 0.0254 first if 0.01 is too small.

[ahmedsheeraz]

what i normally do is in max, customize ->units setup-> click system unit setup button -> 1 unit = 1 centimeter, change it to meters...1 optional step is to change the grid box size also by right clicking 3d snap toggle -> home grid and change grid spacing to 1. now export ur model to houdini

[Ahmed Saady]

Thank you all guys for this great information.

I will work on what you explain.

 

Best regards