Need Workflow to get Rhino Data into Octane - HELP PLEASE!!! Tweet

[cfrank78]

Hello Guys, hello Octane Team!

First of all - sorry for my bad english. i try to explain my problems as clear as possible for me!

Every time i want to get my Rhino data to octane, this is simply a nightmare. i tried everything in the OBJ export options, but it is allways the same result - i get unbelievable many single Materials! i tried the obj export, that comes with rhino and i also tried the new and updated one, from the mc neel site. allways the same result!

I use Rhino 4 SR9 and the Rhinogold Plugin for my Jewelry Design. No - i cannot use Rhino 5, cause my plugins are just for Rhino 4 and it will take a long time, until they will work in Rhino 5, but i need them for my design work! So switching to rhino 5 is no option so far.

So what did i do so far? everytime my model is done, i make sure each material is on a seperate layer which is called like the material i wanna apply to. Alll the parts that will be one material (for example my gemstones) are also grouped. i also apply materials from rhinogold to it. you can see how it looks like in the pictures under this text: (Rhino Materials and RhinoShaded)

Rhino shaded

Rhino render view!

I once worked with Keyshot and there was a plugin for it in Rhino. It was a simple click and Keyshot opened and the Materials where exactly like the Layers in Rhino. so when i applied materials in keyshot it just took seconds to apply all materials to the 3D Model and i could start with setting lights and begin to render. even if a had a 100 gemstones! it looked like this: (Keyshot1.jpg)

Keyshot rendering

I also added pictures, how i export at the moment to OBJ:(obj export 1 and 2 . jpg, how i set layers jpg)

obj export settings 1

OBJexport1.jpg (107.1 KiB) Viewed 8288 times

obj export settings 2

how i set layers

If i then drag n drop the created obj file into Octane i get a 9999999999999999 different Materials. Each gem stone is seperate, each prong, and so on. applying Materials to each and every part???? Takes muuuuuuuch to long. Thats no workflow. i need it like in for exapmle keyshot. 6 different Materials and DONE. This is an absolute no go. no one who will need it for business, can work like that. no way! It looks like this when i import: (Octane 1)

Material list in Octane

I also tried the rhino plugin from this page. (RenderOctane_A.zip 159kb)
After i installed it, i tried it. I set the octane path and so on and then i wanted to export. it made me a OBJ but when it wanted to start Octane i got that error message: (PluginError1.jpg)

Plugin error

i tried to drag n drop the new made OBJ to Octane but it looks exactly the same, like my own made obj - so it is anyway useless!

So.....please. I need to know, how i have to export from rhino, so that i have just 6 different Material groups - Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Ruby, Emerald, Iron. Please. Your help is really needed

Kind regards Chris!

[zivko]

theres no easy way to fix this
you need to create meshes yourself and join all the meshes that use the same material _BEFORE_ you export the scene to octane
select everything in a layer and create mesh, then hide all the geometry and only meshes will remain visible in that layer, select everything in the layer again (only meshes will be selected this time) and click join
you have to repeat it for every layer and that can be time consuming on a bigger project, but it reduces number of nodes in octane to a minimum
once you converted geometry in all the layers to meshes go to 'file>export selected' and select all the meshes

[jitendra]

Try this for the .mtl file.
http://rhino-3d-obj-mtl-fix.zzl.org/

[Refracty]

Why don't you open your scene in Rhino5 export the mesh and done.
You can still continue your work in Rhino4.

[cfrank78]

@Zivko - thank you very much for your reply.

if i understand you right you mean i have to make of each nurbs objekt a poly mesh, join it, take care that it is on the right layer and group/mesh all objekts which are on one layer, then export to obj. i tried that but it is a lot of work. it worked but....how can a businessguy who has to make about 5 to 10 designs and renderings a day work like that? at least this works now but i am sure there must be a beter workflow. i am looking for a workflow like in keyshot. klick, apply material, done! this is how it should be. it is a programm to do business with - not a hobby play program thats why i bought it Its Christmas time and i have a lot of work.....thank god!

@jitendra: also - thank you very much for your help. i tried it and it worked. my problem is - when i export obj and mtl file, it gives every gemstone an individial material name. so if i have 23 stones - material 1, material 2, material 3 and so one. this piece hat 48 gemstones. each stone has 4 prongs. you can calculate how many different parts i have in OBJ. about 400 . apply to each part a material is HORROR. so the mtl converter does not delete the material and sort it, cause he thinks i have all unique materials and i dont know how to export in OBJ that the mtl files writes: YellowGold, Platin, Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, Iron .....aaaaaaaand done. you know what i mean?

@refracty: to be honest i am a little bit sad, that one of the octane render team tells me.....ok you bought octane.....but now please buy another program just do do the quick export. so...ummmm....i dont know how to react on that. just buy rhino 5, a few 100 bucks again, just to export? i don´t know if thats a good idea! anyway i downloaded now the trial from the mc neel site and give it a try. could you please post a picture here of the exact OBJ export settings in rhino 5? i have absolutely no experience in rhino 5 so far. i just do this, cause i like octane so much. please make a picture of what i should check and what not and i give it a try then.

Thank you all for your help - i really appreciate it. Thank you very much!

Kind regards Chris!

[Refracty]

You have a few options here. I know it is no fun to walk around this Rhino4 bug / behavior.

1.Like Zivko said you can try to convert the NURBS objects to meshes and join the meshes by layer / material.
2. Or like jitera indicated you can simply try the mtl fixing script (see link). just copy paste your text from the .mtl file here and let it be cleaned.
3.Or open the scene in Rhino5 and export it. At least you can do this 25 time for uncommercial work and then think about an upgrade.

Rhino5 has more obj options. The things you have ticked in the obj export dialogue look right.

[cfrank78]

Hi Refracty!

Thanks for answering! I understood everything they wrote and tried it. So i know what my options are. And it is simple to say......octane can not deliver a one klick export method like other render engines like brazil, arion, keyshot, maxwell,........ can deliver. Rhino 4 has a bug? I did not know that - so why can the other companys make an export so simple, even if rhino has an obj export bug? THATS why i am a bit sad. How can a business profit of the fastest render engine, when setting up the scene takes a 3 times longer, than in other render engines?

When the computer renders...i do other work. What costs is the time to set up the scene. While my machine renders i can do a lot of other work...and the computer makes the rest! So.....all algorythms, all complex structures are nothing worth, when the export and applying materials are not a good and fast workflow.

So telling me: You have one of the fastest render engines or even THE fastest - but sorry man.......building a scene takes much longer than in other programs. live with it or take a few 100 bucks and buy a programm that you dont need, but then you can export quickly. To be honest - if others ask me about octane - other rhino users, what do you thing i will tell them? Use octane if you use maya or 3ds max, then its nearly perfect......but as a pure rhino user....um....ahm.....hmmmm.....sorry man....!

Pls Refracty/octane team - try to give us users a fluid workflow - for ALL programs. At least other companys can do it - so it cannot be THAT hard!

Kind regards - Chris!

[zivko]

so far the answer has been 'its a beta software, dont expect it to be perfect', but i guess devs cant really use that as excuse anymore

i'm hoping we'll eventually see a full rhino plugin like 3ds has, but i dont expect them to do it soon as rhino users are a minority in octane community, thats prolly the biggest reason why we have such a bad support...

[cfrank78]

Zivko you are right....it WAS beta!

i dont wanna have a integrated window.....i am fine with the stand alone. i thing a live window in rhino would be wishful thinking. all i would want is - click button, tell them how many polys you want....and then automaticly octane standalone opens and voila - parts are in and the materials like i had them in rhino. thats all i would want. as i allready said - like in other programs.

apply materials, setup lights/hdri or whatever - adjust materials to its best - render - post product in PS. it could be so easy, simple and fast.

Rhino? Minority??? Not from my point of view. At least very, very many persons i know working with 3ds, Cinema4d, Maya, also work with Rhino. Why? It is still the best program for nurbs on the market, and anybody who prints 3d or does CNC milling like me, has a much better workflow using nurbs instead of sub-d or a poly mesh! At least rhino is not the ONLY program, but so many users i know, still need it for this and that. why does gemvision, tdm solutions and many other companys for jewelry industry or car building industry just build plugins for rhino and not other programs? you know the answer if you use rhino hehe!

At the moment i feel like i drive a ferrari in the 2ndg gear. its allready fast, but not nearly as fast as it could be. You earn money........but not as nearly as much as you really could. That can be frustrating!

Kind regards Chris!

[Refracty]

Rhino 4 creates material duplicates in the mtl file. Rhino 5 does not. For me this is a bug.
Rhino and Octane would be the perfect match. I agree.
I am not sure why they don't push the Rhino development. Is it the relation with Autodesk? Don't they understand the demand and growth of the Rhino user group? No developers around?
VRay, Maxwell, Arion for Rhino but no integrated Octane plugin. Yes it is a shame, but I am sure that they will put more attention to this soon.
The best thing you can do is find developers and link them with Otoy.