Connection Extension for Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2010

Enhanced Interoperability with CAD Packages
Bring solid models from many of your favorite CAD packages into 3ds Max Design 2010 for visual enhancement and export them back when you’re done. A new, high-fidelity SAT data translator makes it easier for designers to move solids-based design data between 3ds Max Design and Autodesk® Revit® Architecture software, Autodesk® Inventor® Professional software, or third-party CAD products such as Solidworks, Rhino, and FormZ. The SAT translator offers:

• Import of geometric boundary representation data for trimmed surfaces, solids models, and assemblies as 3ds Max "bodies" (boundary representations based on NURBS).
• The ability to retain imported data as the mathematical description of the surface. Users can determine and modify the conversion to polygons at any time.

Extensive Connectivity with Google SketchUp
Develop a concept in Google™ SketchUp™ software, and finesse it in 3ds Max Design. The Connection Extension for 3ds Max Design 2010 features a powerful new SKP file translator that enables you to bring SketchUp scenes into 3ds Max Design with a high degree of data preservation. And 3ds Max Design can now read thousands of free SketchUp models from the 3D Warehouse section of the Google website. The SKP translator includes:

• Support for the double-faced materials workflow available in SketchUp, so arbitrary surface orientations don’t cause models to appear to be missing faces when displayed in 3ds Max Design.
• Preservation of original pivot and scaling values of objects and instances, so designers don’t have to redo work.
• Consolidation of material references. Multiple uses of the same SketchUp material are collected and referenced back to a single material, saving designers time if a change is required.

Streamlined Compositing with OpenEXR
Create professional-quality cinematic narratives. A rewritten OpenEXR translator makes it easier to work with compositing applications, enabling you to seamlessly blend CG animation with live action footage. The OpenEXR plug-in includes:

• Advanced options for transferring extra elements, such as camera information and scripted data, reducing the number of iterations required to achieve a final result.
• The ability to store render elements and G-buffer channels to EXR layers.

Intelligent Workflows
Save time and avoid costly geometry cleanup work with new, more effective workflows for dealing with complex scenes that enable you to:

• Optimize display and rendering of imported solid and NURBS-based bodies.
• Fix imported bodies with new repair tools.
• Map the daylight system in SketchUp to the daylight system in 3ds Max Design, for a faster, more painless visualization workflow.
• Select a layer from an OpenEXR file to use in a 3ds Max Design material. This functionality is similar to the way Adobe® Photoshop® software layers are used as textures in a material.