how to import a 3d model in LabVIEW

[affy]

Hello all, I am a new user in LabVIEW, how can I import a 3d model (eg. .max or .3ds file) in LabVIEW? Thx:)

[Robert M]

Unfortunately, LabVIEW is not designed for 3d object modeling and therefore does not support or recognize any 3d model formats, including .max and .3ds.

What are you looking at doing with the models in LabVIEW?

One possibility for integration is to access the model through ActiveX. If the application that you created the model in provides an ActiveX interface, then you could create an ActiveX container on the front panel of your LabVIEW VI to show and manipulate the model through. There's an example that ships with LabVIEW that illustrates the idea of doing this, only with Internet Explorer. It is called "ActiveX Event Callback for IE.vi".

If this does not answer your question or if I'm misunderstanding your question, please let me know and I'll be happy to look further into it.

[lion_hikary]

Hello

The thing you can do is export your 3d model in a ASE, STL or VRML file and use the file loading and add it to the 3d picture control. It sounds easy steps but is quiet difficult for me because I'm trying to do it rigth now and I don't know how to do that too lol.

But you can check the solarsystem.vi example for studie it.

Bye

[gigiozzi]

Hey

Does someone in this thread know how to display a 3d .stl mesh in the 3d picture control? I can't seem to figure it out. The control remains black.

Thank you

[daveTW]

I had a similar problem, showing a free-form 3D-object from a construction program. I tried to import the model from a VRML file, but the appropriate VI "Load VRML File.vi" couldn't handle the complexity of the the file. I suppose this is also true for the other file loading VIs.
My steps were:
Exporting the 3D- Object as a VRML- file. I checked the correct export with the free VRML viewer/editor "White_Dune". Since my object was a free form object, it didn't consist of geometrical forms, such as cylinders or cones but a great number of points, describing the surface. In the .wrl soucefile this is to be seen as a long row of numbers, surrounded by [ ] brackets. These numbers are the x-y-z coordinates of the points. I copied them to another file and made a VI to translate them to an array of <x;y;z> - clusters. These clusters could be used to view the points in a 3D Parametric Surface Control. I used this to determine the points, which are necessary to describe the object with adequate detail level.
Next step was to translate this cloud of points in a form suitable for the mesh- functions used by the 3D- Picture Control. I chose the easy way and projected all points on one plane (e.g. the x-z-plane) and determined the hull points of the resulting 2D geometry. This I could easily feed into the Mesh- VI. But this is not the solution for every problem.
If you have some questions or need explanations in more detail, please ask.

greets, Dave

[daveTW]

P.S. In the example for using meshes there is described how to set up a light source and how you can move it around. I think, very often it is the missing or wrong-positioned light, which leads to a black "screen". The most fail-safe method ist to set up a diffuse light source, which scatters the light equally over the scene.

[Hillary_C_E]

Hi gigiozzi,

You might want to take a look at this discussion forum. It seems as though the 3D Picture Control only accepts ASCII stl files and not binary.

Hillary