AutoCAD Lighting won't work

[Cad64]

Alternatives to rendering your CAD models in Autocad or Studio Max:

 

One option would be to import your CAD model into Sketchup and use Vray for rendering and animation. You'll spend about $500 for Sketchup Pro and another $800 for Vray, but that's a lot less than the $4k you'll shell out for Studio Max. And Vray can network render.

 

Sketchup + Vray animation tutorial:

Sketchup + Vray network render: http://www.vray.com/vray_for_sketchup/manual/distributed_rendering_in_vray_for_sketchup.shtml

 

Besides Vray, there are lots of other rendering options for Sketchup. See here: http://sketchuprendering.com/rendering-add-ons-for-sketchup/

 

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Another option would be to export your model from Autocad in .stl format and then import it into the free "Blender" program. Blender can network render and it can do animation. And like I said, it's free.

 

Blender animation tutorial:

Blender network render:

[Rewind23]

Cheers for all the feedback folks tis much appreciated. @ Rewind23 What i meant when i mentioned the lighting is that there are 24 lights inside the house but i still can't see them in rendered images. I had the light intensity set to 120 which i changed to 350 but still nothing. My machine is an Intel Core i3-2120 CPU @ 3.30 GhZ. It was put together by a friend specifically for 3D Cad but I think I will probably have to upgrade it a smidge. I was careful when I put the model together to avoid duplicates but i think there are over 20,000 components overall. 11,000+ are in the fencing alone. Tomorrow i'll remove the fencing and try to render another clip but not getting my hopes up AutoCAD is gone so buggy right now it's doing my head in. Video format is .avi because they are compatible with Youtube. Obviously if i thought it could be done on the cheap I would use a render farm, again I'll look at it tomorrow but judging from the sites i looked at today Cad64 is probably right about Cad not being network render compatible. I am keen on being able to make these clips though. I am currently trying to find work as an Architectural Technician or 3D cad drafter so I'm trying to put together a showreel of sorts. In the past I studied construction where I learned 2D CAD, it is only in the last three months i have started learning the 3D side of things in my spare time so any tips or suggestions are greatly welcomed As far as other programs go I've never used Mental Ray or 3D Studio Max but I am starting a course on the latter in June.

 

 

@OckMC - As you mentioned, about over 30k components + 24 lights + animation it will shred your machine its just my opinion with no offense. There are techniques to speed up Render & Animation you might want to check it online with our friend Google (I'll try to find one If I have a chance). What they suggest are good options if you opt to, and using other programs will also make you more flexible in terms of 3D/animation but still all depends on your preference. Getting a rendering machine for personal/educational purposes is an investment and I can say it's a must have If you we're venturing to rendering & animation everything will fall into place since you were planning to build your own 3d render/animation portfolios for career advancement in the future. I can say with only 3 months working in 3D your in the right track and the sooner you'll be expert in that field which means a better chance of getting your target career . I myself let's say was in a bit of luck when I was hired 2 years ago in a Mfg. industry as CADD Operator I do Mechanical 2D drawings & 3D modeling up to its assemblies though I'm just a graduate of vocational course in an Autodesk Training Center here in the Philippines & Architectural modeling is just part of my hobby during free time and I keep loving it with the rendering in Max I'm also planning to build my portfolio soon - of course when I decided to venture to 3D Visualization not now soon . Goodluck to your practice & studies. And remember don't stop, the learning process are continuous and I believe 3D Rendering takes several years to master.

[Cad64]

My machine is an Intel Core i3-2120 CPU @ 3.30 GhZ. It was put together by a friend specifically for 3D Cad but I think I will probably have to upgrade it a smidge.

 

How much RAM do you have in your machine? Anything less than 8GB is going to be a problem. And since you're trying to do animation, I would say you need to bump that up to 16GB. And as Stykface mentioned, you need a Core i5 processor as the bare minimum. A Core i7 would be better though.

 

I was careful when I put the model together to avoid duplicates but i think there are over 20,000 components overall. 11,000+ are in the fencing alone.

 

You need to optimize the fence. Group a section of the fence into a block, (include one of the main posts and the 9 pickets that go in between the posts), then copy those around the perimeter. The fewer individual components you have, the better off you will be. And check to see if there is any way to optimize the rest of the model. Blocks are a great way to save on resources. Anything that can be made into a block and reused will help when it comes time to render.

 

You have a lot of windows that appear to all be the same size and shape, so instead of having them all be their own individual entities, make one of them into a block and then copy that around to the other window locations.

 

The front gate can also be made into a block. Delete the right half of the gate, make the left half into a block and then mirror it across. The same goes for the large columns on either side of the gate. Make one of them a block and then copy it across to the other side. The same can be done for the double doors. Make one door a block and mirror it across.

[SLW210]

Or, instead of few blocks in one drawing you could have separate drawings with blocks and XREF them into one main drawing.

[OckMc]

@Cad64 I think the ram is 4GB but in fairness it rendered the last house I made(see link below) so maybe i just need to be smarter...The fencing, small windows and front gate/pillars were already blocks. That said I think the biggest problem is the internal details. I tried to make my kitchen unit into a block but every time I do it hangs up! I also have wall tiles in the downstairs bathroom and stair banisters too which is probably affecting matters too. The drawing only really became sluggish and glitchy once I started to apply materials to objects. @SLW210 Your probably right I'm working tomorrow but I'm gonna take a hatchet to it on Sunday and divide it up into multiple drawings, make everything into blocks and reassemble it.

 

[tzframpton]

I'm gonna take a hatchet to it on Sunday and divide it up into multiple drawings, make everything into blocks and reassemble it.

I would advise against this. There's no benefit at all when you can use good layer control and Layer States for performance enhancement. Breaking things out to multiple drawings as XREF only complicates things, adds unnecessary steps and things to keep track of and most importantly, you lose the ability to reference all the objects and geometry at once unless you cross reference all the DWGs in an Overlay fashion.

 

XREF'ing has only ONE arguable benefit.... Unload Reference. But this one benefit is not justifiable in my opinion. Hope this helps.

[Cad64]

I tried to make my kitchen unit into a block but every time I do it hangs up!

 

Making your entire kitchen into a block is not going to help. When I said you need to make blocks, I meant individual objects that occur multiple times in your scene, like the windows, section of fence, etc.

 

Have you tried running a PURGE and an AUDIT on your file? There may be junk in the file or errors that can be fixed by running these two commands.

[tzframpton]

Core i3 and 4GB of RAM just isn't cutting it. That's basically the specs of a "high-end" netbook. You really need a new computer, sorry.