LAV25Modeling
From DigitalBlacksmith
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[edit] LAV25 Modeling
Part of our work is being funded by the United States Marine Corps. We are using our ARMAR framework to help Marines service and repair parts of the LAV-25 Light Amphibious Vehicle.
In order to build this application, we need very detailed 3D models of the LAV-25. This page is dedicated to the process of creating these 3D models.
[edit] Geometry
We are using GeoMagic 9.0 as our main geometry shaping and normalization application. We use this tool to convert the point clouds captured by our 3D scans of the LAV-25 into polygons.
[edit] Texturing
We are also using GeoMagic 9.0 for our first round of texturing. This includes projecting photos as well as vertex coloring.
[edit] Maya to Valve
We are using the powerful Maya (version 8.0) modeling application to integrate our final geometric models and texturing. We primarily use Maya for:
- Fabrication of geometry that we couldn't get from the 3D scans. Maya allows us to easily create nuts, bolts, brackets, etc.
- Additional fine tuning of texture data
- Creation of the final 3D models that go to Valve Source
General Maya Tricks, Tips, Tutorials
[edit] Getting from GeoMagic to Maya with Textures Intact
1. Save the GeoMagic model as VRML2.
2. Use the the wrl2ma command line tool to create an ASCII Maya file (.ma)
- The wrl2ma tool is a command line tool for converting from VRML2 to ASCII Maya format.
- It is located in the Maya bin directory - e.g. C:\My\Maya\ProgramFolder\bin
- On WINXP, the PATH variable should include this directory, so you can just execute the following
from the directory where you saved the GeoMagic VRML2 file:
X:\marine_data\scratch>wrl2ma -i elevation_90.wrl -o elev_test.ma -v
Note: I included the verbose (-v) option which is handy to watch the process, which can take some time.
3. Open the .ma file in Maya.
4. In the view port: Shading->Smooth Shade All. Then Shading->Hardware Texturing.
You should then be able to see your GeoMagic geometry and textures.
[edit] Exporting from Maya to Valve
Click here for my page on exporting from Maya 8.0 to Valve
Click here for my page on exporting from Maya 8.0 to Valve using PSD Networks
--Admin 12:47, 6 January 2008 (EST) wrote:
One of the things we are running into is an aprox 10K polygon limit on studiomdl.exe for the SMD files. This means we can shove our scanned geometry (300-1000K models) directly into an SMD and compile.
To work around this, use Maya to recreate decimated geometry by hand. Sometimes, this still results in models that are too large.
Therefore, it is often necessary to subdivide the model into parts, export each part as an SMD, then compile them in a consolidated .qc file. This allows for creation of models beyond 10K.
Example:
The CDA is now two models - on of the entire CDA minus lights, and another for the lights. I first use the Maya smd generator to generate a reference smd for all the light geometry. All the lights are added to the reference layer, then I follow normal Maya to Valve export procedures. Note: although I made a physics smd for the lights, I'm not using them now. We'll have to see how this plays out in the demo..SO All I care about at this point is a reference smd file called cda_lights.smd
I then isolate the CDA *minus* the lights. This gets compiled as a reference smd, idle smd, and physics smd.
I then create a QC that looks like this:
$modelname cda\cda.mdl
$cdmaterials models\cda
$surfaceprop "rock"
$staticprop
$scale 1
$body "Body" "cda.smd"
$bodygroup studio
{
studio "cda_lights.smd"
}
$sequence idle "cda_idle" fps 1
$collisionmodel "cda_phy.smd" {
//Mass in kilograms
$concave
$mass 2.0
}
$upaxis Y
This compiles and works nicely!
