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Print at Dec 18, 2025, 9:58:41 AM

Posted by jgriessen at May 27, 2010, 4:00:25 PM

Re: importing models from CAD

Is there more added to the .obj text file that helps you stretch a window, shelf, counter, etc?

Sweet Home 3D uses standard OBJ + MTL files (everything in OBJ format isn't probably supported, but what is supported is enough).

Thanks for the link to .OBJ file specification info. I will probably
make a script to translate from a STEP file to OBJ.

Does MTL files refer to "Specifies the material library file for the material definitions
set with the usemtl statement. You can specify multiple filenames
with mtllib. " from OBJ format?

Is IGES easier to convert (by a python script I write) to OBJ so it can be used in SweetHome3D?

In other words, which of STEP or IGES is more like a .OBJ file used for a stretchable object in SweetHome3D?

STEP or IGES boundary representations can be output by pythonOCC, a free-open 3D creation tool good for CAM, so those are what I am thinking of. It is possible to create a new exporter in pythonOCC that starts with open cascade model primitives if STEP or IGES lack some detail needed, but that sounds like more work.

What do you usually use to create furniture models?

I use Art of Illusion or Blender.

So far in Blender, my .obj exports always are given more triangles
so they become meshes rather than boundary-reps. Can you stretch a .obj model with many triangles in it in SweetHome3D? I was thinking it would have to be an edge defined, ( b-rep), model to stretch it.

My goal for pythonOCC CAD is to output CAM data and cut shapes, as well as convert or generate data that SweetHome3D can use for stretchable furniture objects. Blender might also be used for marketing illustrations derived from the other data. Blender can't be used as a starting point for me, since it is so easy to accidentally make models with face edges that are close, but not touching, and so not useful for CAM.

John

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Dec 18, 2025, 9:58:41 AM