Final Considerations - Autodesk AutoCAD 2013 Practical 3D Drafting and Design - page 457

• PRT, SLDPRT, ASM, and SLDASM : These are the SolidWorks files
• STE, STP, and STEP : These are the STEP files
The IMPORT command (alias IMP ) allows importing several file types. The EXPORT
command (alias EXP ) allows exporting the model or selected objects to several file
types.
Exporting to 3ds Max
3ds Max and 3ds Max Design are the 3D Autodesk software for creating high-quality
images and animations. Many users prefer to model in AutoCAD and then export to
3ds Max for applying materials, lights, defining animations, and render. Many others
want to import a 2D drawing and create the 3D model on top of it.
The best file formats to communicate with 3ds Max are DWG and FBX.
There are some basic precautions that must be taken when working on an AutoCAD
model if this is going to be imported to 3ds Max:
• The model must not have lost objects far away. The ZOOM extents before
saving is always a good advice.
• It is also wise to purge the drawing for not taking useless information.
• The model must be placed near the origin of the world coordinate system.
When opening in 3ds Max, this program places the model that is related
to the world coordinate system, which is independent of the current UCS
when saving the model in AutoCAD. If objects are too far from the origin,
we will have huge problems in Max.
• It is completely forbidden to have overlapping objects.
• The AutoCAD model should have a good layer distribution, as the normal
method in Max is to import each layer's objects as one Max object (as ed-
itable spline or editable mesh). As applying materials in Max is normally
done by an object. Also if layer distribution contemplates this, it will be
much easier to apply materials in Max.
Exporting to Revit
Revit is a 3D Autodesk software suite encompassing the following three programs:
• Architecture : This is used to project 3D architecture models