How to import wrl by keeping color AND correct bounding box

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Patrick Cloutier asked Nov 21, '22 Jason Lightfoot commented Nov 25, '22

How to import wrl by keeping color AND correct bounding box

I'm trying to import 3D files from a customer using SolidWorks. He exports the files as vrml 1.0.

When I open them in FlexSim, they are the correct scale and colors but the bounding box is not the right size as seen in this photo which makes it difficult to work with. The box is the size of the original FlexSim object (TaskExecuter).

In another post, I saw that the solution is to import in AC3D, then export to .ac. I did that and it fixes the bouding box but I loose the colors.

I made sure to check the box: VRML1 Flexsim mode in AC3D:

Any ideas what I'm doing wrong and how to get the colors AND the correct size bounding box?

I tried other Solidworks exports file formats but none do a better job so far.

Thanks !

Software Version:

FlexSim 22.2.3

color bounding box vrml

screenshot-2022-11-21-140939.png (99.7 KiB)

screenshot-2022-11-21-141005.png (104.4 KiB)

screenshot-2022-11-21-143234.png (28.2 KiB)

Answer 1 · 2022-11-24T20:32:47Z

Patrick Cloutier answered Nov 24, '22 Patrick Cloutier commented Nov 24, '22

I found a solution which works perfectly:

Import the wrl file into AC3D
Save the file in AC3D format (.ac)
Import the .ac file in the FlexSim Object (this sets the correct bounding box)
Import the .wrl file in the same FlexSim Object (this sets the correct colors and textures)

Et voilà !!

· 1

Patrick Cloutier commented · Nov 24, 2022 at 08:35 PM

The interface doesn't let me accept my own answer...

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Answer 2 · 2022-11-21T22:41:28Z

Kavika F answered Nov 21, '22 Jason Lightfoot commented Nov 25, '22

Hey @Patrick Cloutier, you can adjust the bounding box of 3D shapes by clicking on it, going to the Properties panel -> Visuals -> More Visuals -> Shape Factors -> Edit. This will give you a menu similar to the one found in the Visuals panel where you can change the properties of the bounding box.

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1669070432071.png (68.1 KiB)

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Patrick Cloutier commented · Nov 22, 2022 at 02:36 PM

Thanks for your answer but what I want is to figure out how to import the shape directly with the right bounding box (like .vrml) AND colors (like .ca) without having to play with the factors after import because I have dozens of shapes to import. I'm hoping somebody knows if there is something I can change in AC3D to fix that.

And, by the way, the shape factors do not change the bounding box size but the size of the object within the bounding box. To change the size of the bounding box, you have to change the size directly in the properties panel on the right. And then change the shape factors to rechange the size of the object. A big mess that I want to avoid.

Thanks,

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Joerg Vogel Patrick Cloutier commented · Nov 22, 2022 at 04:14 PM

It looks like you are importing an assembly. I am not quire sure if it has any meaning, but perhaps the bounding box is a result of the exported structure and the dimensions. So I would test if I can achieve a desired bounding box by a different feature and component structure in the cad program before I export the data into VRML1.0.

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