Part 3 – Exporting and Importing to 3DS Max

Prepare Plant 3D objects for export and import into 3ds Max

Open AutoCAD Plant 3D and open the file STR-Rack-01.dwg. You will notice the steel is rendered as lines on the screen as shown on the screenshot below.

The lines will be imported as 3DS Max Spline Shapes if you don’t correct them in Plant 3D. Here’s how to fix it.

In Plant 3D, Select the Structure tab.
In the Parts ribbon, select the Line Model drop down list.
Change Line Model to Outline Model or Shape Model.

Outline Model will export the mesh as simpler model with less verticies to weigh down your 3ds Max scene.
Shape Model will chamfer the interior edges of the steel and will result in a higher face count in 3DS Max.
Right Click on the STR-RACK-01 file in the Plant 3D Project Manager and select Export to AutoCAD
You will be prompted to save the file. I created a directory called P3D Export in My Documents Do not overwrite your project file.
Repeat steps 4-5 on the PPG-PIPING-01 file and STR-BUILDING files respectively
You are now ready to import your models into 3DS Max.

Importing your Plant 3D model in 3DS Max

Press the 3DS Max button in the upper left of the screen or press Alt+F
Click Import and browse to your exported Plant3D dwg folder
Select STR-RACK-01.dwg and you will be presented with AutoCAD DWG Import Options screen.

Change the weld threshold to .001
The Smooth Angle option will smooth out mesh objects with adjacent faces. If the angle between the two face normals is less than or equal to the smooth angle, the faces are smoothed
I find that importing by Layer, Blocks as Node Hierarchy give the most flexibility once the model is inside 3ds max.
Play with some of the other options and go with what works best for you. For me, the above settings usually work best.