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Hi,
I'm trying to code some ArchiCAD lamp objects which will have an emitter material applied (amongst others), so automatically emit light when arriving in Maxwell.

However, I'm hitting the 'Triangles associated with emitter material' issue when it gets exported to Maxwell.

I've thought of a possible workaround but not sure how to best implement it:
Some objects seems to export as a single Maxwell object with multiple materials.

Others, however, arrive in Maxwell as a group of Maxwell objects within a containing folder.

Tests show me that Maxwell doesn't have a problem with one of the objects in the folder being an emitter.

Exporting an object which arrives as a group of elements with one element being an emitter works fine.

If I can get my GDL lamp object to arrive in Maxwell as a series of separate elements rather than as one multi-material object, then problem solved.

Does anyone know what determines how Maxwell breaks up or combines the various object parts? It doesn't seem to be whether or not they're touching in 3D space. Must be something in the way they're GDL coded?

Thanks,

Derek

Hi Derek,

Separation is normally determined by how Maxwell receives the object from the ArchiCAD API.

In case of Lamps, the plugin tries to separate the emitter part of the lamp object from the non-emitter part, so it shouldn't cause this error.

Maybe you are using more different emitter materials on the same object?


Márton

Thanks Marton, but it's a very simple object - two cylinders which use user-determined materials, and a sphere which uses a single premade Archicad emitter material.

Here's my 3D GDL code:
Any ideas?

(I also have the subtype set to Electrical Element / Light, so it knows it's a lamp object)

Hi Derek,

Could you send me a simple scene?

Márton

Thanks Marton - PM sent.

Thanks to Marton, we narrowed down the problem. I had the 2.7.3 plugin. Once I've updated to 2.7.5, the problem is sorted - the lamp exports to become two separate elements in Maxwell.

Right, this is weird - the problem is back.

Using the new exporter, the lamp object that exported fine before is now throwing up the error again.

I've also made two other lamp objects from scratch, all with different code (one for a spotlight, one for a striplight), and all three give the error.

Anyone had any further thoughts about why the exporter can't separate the emitter material? Any help on this would be great!

Hello Derek,

Please send me the scene to check.

Márton

Hi Marton, I've tried sending a PM but it's sitting in my Outbox and not sending, so posting link to ZIP file here instead:

http://www.lsiarchitects.co.uk/Emitter%20Issue.zip

Thanks,

Derek