Working in the Cad Environment with large OBJ files

Roland, 

First, why you produce OBJ, instead of native 3MX (I suppose, we speak about CAD model, produced from images with ContextCapture, isn't it)?  The reality mesh from ContextCapture in 3MX format can be safely viewed by you client with free Acute3D Viewer. Moreover, when producing the 3MX, you can check the option "Web Ready" and it will create the ready to go web application, along with the model, and the only thing you'll need to do - upload the model to some website.

Secondly, if you talk about creating the integrated scene, where the reality model is augmented with some BIM data (or just some kind of 3D design over the reality mesh), still the 3MX is most efficient format for MicroStation platform CAD products (of course, it does not help for AutoCAD or other CAD applications, but why we should care of them, if we have, at least ContextCapture Editor with the same ContextCapture license, and CC Editor is basically same as Descartes on MicroStation platform). It works with huge reality mesh scenes without a lag. 

Third, if you done your integrated scene with 3MX on the background and some 3D model on top of it within any MicroStation platform application, then the legal question - how do I publish it for the client. Here you have at least two options - exporting the integrated scene to LumenRT and then saving it to LiveCube, as it was suggested by Johannes Paulus, OR, there is a trick, barely anyone is aware of... The OBJ format might very nicely help you here! Please see what formats Acute3D Viewer can open, and you will note, that one of the formats is OBJ (along with FBX, PLI and few other). Now, what you need to do:

1) if you need to mask any portion of reality mesh for your integration with other 3D models (e.g. if there should be some building concept project inserted into the existing reality, but before that you need to take off from the reality the existing features), instead of masking the reality mesh in MicroStation, create the retouched model with ContextCapture (before final production edit the scene in MicroStation by cutting the hole instead of mask, and then open it back in ContextCapture).

2) attach the retouched (with the hole for building) reality mesh in 3MX format to MicroStation design, and place into the hole the new model of the house - it's needed for adjusting the same location of the new model and your reality mesh. 

3) detach the reality mesh from your MicroStation model and export the model to OBJ format. Note that OBJ will be created with local coordinates, starting from the scene Origin (the point in the design file, which is 0,0,0 but represents the origin of the earlier attached 3MX file - you can open 3MX file with the Notepad and you will find the text "SRSOrigin": [X,Y,Z], where XYZ represent the real world coordinate, assigned to 0,0,0 of the MicroStation design file. 

4) make sure that all textures, that you have used for your 3D model in MicroStation will be in the accessible place, on the path, defined inside the MTL file, which is created along the OBJ file (MTL defines, where what textures should cover the mesh objects within OBJ file). 

5) place OBJ, with his accompanying MTL file and all the textures, listed inside MTL, next to your ContextCapture scene (the 3MX file with Data folder). Open 3MX with Notepad and locate the syntax "layers": [ {...here hoes long description of  3MX scene...} ]

6) what you need to do is to copy whole text between {} and paste it before, separating two these text blocks with comma, e.g. "layers": [ {block2},{block1} ]. Now, in the block2 replace the reference to a reality mesh with a reference to your OBJ file, e.g.:
instead of "root": "Data/3MX_retouch.3mxb"
write here "root": "OBJ/My_House.OBJ"
So you will have the 3mx scene definition with two layers, separated with coma, and one layer will command to launch the OBJ file of your new house, while second layer will command to launch the former 3MX file with a hole for the house, but both models will be loaded together into one scene.

7) save your modified scene definition to another 3MX file (e.g. Integrated_3MX&OBJ_scene.3mx). You can now open it with Acute3D and enjoy the easy of use, nice smooth navigation inside the integrated scene, even with all the capabilities of measuring distances, areas, or taking the coordinates from your new 3D model within the reality scene. And Acute3D is a free viewer - easy to provide for the client.

Hope this helps

Thanks Arunas,

we will definitely make use of all your recommendations,

and thanks once again for all your input into the workflows.

regards

Thanks Arunas,

we will definitely make use of all your recommendations,

and thanks once again for all your input into the workflows.

regards