[juan]

i have another problem..besides my swmaxwell2006 plug i have anotherone (old one) in my add-ins list that i cannot remove..i just un-ticked it for now

EDIT:
sorry i found it in the add-remove-programs list..sorry, now i was able to unistall it..i forgot the older versions had installers
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*hidden cats emitting 540 becquerel or more can easily be found with a geiger counter*

[juan]

Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 10:06 am Post subject: Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post Delete this post View IP address of poster
juan wrote:
Jonathan,


But as I say, I am not very sure this is your problem. First of all I need to know when SW crashes. Please check if the mxs file is written before the crash. isn't it? The last instruction in the scene analisys is a call to the mxcl command (which launches maxwell app) and I had to change this call in the last release of the plugin for some reasons. Just before this call, the mxs is written so if you have this file in the right path, we know where the program crashes. This call depends on several settings of your system and it would explain why we have not seen this in other computers.

If you have not the mxs file then the problem is a bit more complex. Get a big assembly, do not apply any maxwell material, and press the render button. You will see the percentage of the process in the status bar below. does the crash happen when the status show 0%, 100% or a middle value?


Juan


The MXS file does not even start - I hit the render button and before any Maxwell windows open, SW screen stays for perhaps 3 seconds and then dissappears and is replaced by the SW RX window asking if I want to run a diagnosis. I don't know if you are familiar with SW RX but it gave my SW system the all clear, but I don't think this actually means much.

Like Wiskey - I also get the SWmaxwell1 appearing in my addin list - but unlike him Maxwell or next limit does not appear in my ADD/Remove Programme list. The only Maxwell unistall I have is in the Start/Programme List and this does not actually unistall Maxwell.

I think my system is screwed up so I will delete all installs of Maxwell and SWmaxwell and start again.

TTFN


Jonathan

[juan]

Jonathan,

even it no maxwell window is opened before the crash..could you check if the mxs file is created? You select the location of this file in the render tab of the Maxwell Property manager, see the image below. Please check if the mxs file is placed there and tell me.
also, have you seen any change in the status bar after press the render button, just before the crash?? see the image below..
Best,

Juan
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Next Limit Team

[juan]

Juan, is it a simple thing Very Happy to correct the behaviour of the swMaxwell menu ? I really find it frustrating that it changes location relative the "window" and "help" menu in part, assembly, or drawing mode. my reflex for selecting the view menu is hard to unlearn, so it would be nice if swMaxwell stayed like this: swmaxwell - window - help. Thanks!!!

Daniel
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SolidWorks+Rhino+Maxwell
Dell P4 3.2 + 1gbRAM + Nvidia FX1000

[juan]

PostPosted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 2:00 pm Post subject: Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post Delete this post View IP address of poster
Quote:
What i am asking, is why do you need complete integration in the modeler and not just an export plugin with simple save as...

Please juan dont get me wrong. i am not trying to be hostile.
I just try to understand.


Hey Buffos

I cannot speak for other applications. But for the SolidWorks community. I think it is a must for a product like MW to run inside Solidworks. Specifically because it removes the need to learn a new UI etc... Exporting into a stand alone verions of MW is a great extra benifit, but for the power user...

Running inside SW offers advantages such as the ablity to run in newer versions of SW. Creating a converter means it needs to be updated for each new version of each application. So in some ways the software maintanence is less than stand alone.

Joe[/img]

[Eric Lagman]

Can the solidworks plugin create and resume an mxi, or is that not implimented yet? I didn't see it anywhere, just want to make sure I am not missing it if it is there.

[juan]

Hi Eric,

At now you can make it through the command line options. But I will add an interface to do it easier very soon.

[jjs]

Jonathan,

even it no maxwell window is opened before the crash..could you check if the mxs file is created? You select the location of this file in the render tab of the Maxwell Property manager, see the image below. Please check if the mxs file is placed there and tell me.
also, have you seen any change in the status bar after press the render button, just before the crash?? see the image below..
Best,

Juan
________________
Next Limit Team

Juan - no mxs file was created - I just looked.

Unfortunately I did not look at the 'progress area'. I am sorry.

I unfortunately have now removed maxwell ( i think) from the computer and will try and re-install tonight.

I think my computer is not a very good test bed as I have recem=ntly had my admistraor profile currupt on me and it has thrown all sorts of programmes into doing funny things.

I'll let you know how I get on.

While we are talking about interfaces - can Maxwell use 'drag and drop' - By this I mean it woul dbe really great if we could create a library of 'Materials' tht can be kept in a Windows folder and then dragged and dropped into a SW part or assembly when in maxwell mode. We could drop the 'material' into the list of materials that are created in the SWmaxwell 'Material' tab. It would be great to then either modify the material for that part or modify the original material. It this way I can see us sharing 'materials' and so we would all benefit over time.

Juan - now you are going to say we can do this already - or there is a better way.

TTFN

Jonathan

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[juan]

Hi Jonathan,

I think my computer is not a very good test bed as I have recem=ntly had my admistraor profile currupt on me and it has thrown all sorts of programmes into doing funny things.

Please let me know your progress. I hope you fix it quickly. If you visit SW forums you can see that there could be issues in the addins if the administrator count is corrupted. So I hope a clean intallation helps.

While we are talking about interfaces - can Maxwell use 'drag and drop' - By this I mean it woul dbe really great if we could create a library of 'Materials' tht can be kept in a Windows folder and then dragged and dropped into a SW part or assembly when in maxwell mode. We could drop the 'material' into the list of materials that are created in the SWmaxwell 'Material' tab. It would be great to then either modify the material for that part or modify the original material. It this way I can see us sharing 'materials' and so we would all benefit over time.
Juan - now you are going to say we can do this already - or there is a better way.

There is not a better way at now. I will investigate drag and drop methods to do the best plugin possible. But anyway I have written a method in the manual that can be useful for you, I am not sure if you know that, we all hate to read manuals (you can imagine about write them! ). When you create a material in a part or assembly, a maxwell material file (.mxm extension) is created in the same folder where your scene is placed. So if you are working in a part called "myPart.sldprt", you will see a maxwell material file named "myPart.mxm" in the same folder. In this mxm file is contained all the maxwell material info. If you want to apply this materials in other scene, for example in "myOtherPart.sldprt". Just copy the mxm file to the folder of this other part, and rename it as "myOtherPart.mxm". The next time you open this other part you will see the maxwell materials loaded.

So it would allow you to have a big mxm file with a lot of materials and apply it to all the scenes you want.

Also there is another maxwell file, with mxd extension, (maxwell data file) that contains all the rest of the info (maxwell camera, sky, ...) You can work with it like with the mxm file.

We will try to provide all the possible features that allow you to have the most powerful plugin. If it is possible to implement drag and drop in maxwell, we will do it. Anyway the materials are going to be huge improved in october and it will be the best moment to rewrite the material handling.

Yours,

Juan

[Eric Lagman]

speaking of materials. It seems if I copy a sw group of files from one folder to another then open the file it looses its materials. For example I took a project I was working on from my desktop copy and pasted the folder to my laptop with the mxm and everything in it. Opened it up, and the materials were not there. Anyone else have this happen? Looks like camera settings etc are lost also from the mxd file also.

I like the idea of drag and drop, but would it be easier to create a bunch of complicated materials that it sounds like the MW standalone will be able to do then save out all or selected ones to an mxm. Then import the mxm into the plugin to put them on objects. This could get complicated with texture texture maps though I imagine?

[jjs]

Hi Jonathan,



Please let me know your progress. I hope you fix it quickly. If you visit SW forums you can see that there could be issues in the addins if the administrator count is corrupted. So I hope a clean intallation helps.




Juan

Well it now works !! Ye ha! Funny thing - I cleaned out the registry using CCLeaner and then re-installed maxwell and sw plugin ( by the way the version on your website is not the latest SWplugin version you have released ) - I created a license.txt file and it has worked.

Getting back to the interface - I see what you mean about having a large *.mxm file that will have all possible materials in it. However it does mean having to keep this file upto date by adding materials to it as we create them. Or is there a way of combining mxm files?

It would be great if each material could live as a discrete file and a little jpg thumbnail of the finish. This discrete file would be the one drag and dropped into the SW part/assembly being worked on. And we could trade these materials amongst ourselves and like Lightworks, could create definitions of existing realworld finishes. GE Plastics - Ral Paint and Powder coat finishes - Wall piants etc.

Anyway all this is for the future ! Every journey starts with a single step.

By the way - Juan - your're working late!! I'm on holiday in Scotland and the kids are in bed and no pub near by - What is your excuse ?


TTFN


Jonathan

[juan]

speaking of materials. It seems if I copy a sw group of files from one folder to another then open the file it looses its materials. For example I took a project I was working on from my desktop copy and pasted the folder to my laptop with the mxm and everything in it. Opened it up, and the materials were not there. Anyone else have this happen? Looks like camera settings etc are lost also from the mxd file also.

Eric, It should not happen. It will test it hard tomorrow, but I have never got that issue. the name of the part (or assembly) and the name of the mxm file is the same, is not? perhaph you have changed some lower-upper case? If you copy the entire folder you should not have problems. do you have the same version installed in both computers?

Best,

Juan

[juan]

Well it now works !! Ye ha! Funny thing - I cleaned out the registry using CCLeaner and then re-installed maxwell and sw plugin ( by the way the version on your website is not the latest SWplugin version you have released ) - I created a license.txt file and it has worked.

I am happy to know that. Enjoy it!

your suggestions about materials are very interesting. We have the things clear about the new improvements of the new material engine, but it is still a bit soon to know details about the way to communicate it with each concrete platform. We will work in this issue from now. I will have strong in mind your comments.

By the way - Juan - your're working late!! I'm on holiday in Scotland and the kids are in bed and no pub near by - What is your excuse ?

Soooo late!!!
No excuse!! I stay on holidays in two days and I have to finish a lot of things..

PS. Scotland is cool. I had lived in Edimburgh for three very happy months, so many years ago. I hope visit it again one day.

Yours,

Juan

[Eric Lagman]

Ok I did a test with emitters strength between rhino and SW plugins. It seems they are resonably enough close from my images below. I did discover something about the rhino plugin though that I will post in that forum also.

Just in case anyone is interested. The imported geometry in Rhino takes forever to render for some reason. I brought in the model from solidworks as a step (step is considerd good format) to make the lighting comparison betweeen the two plugs. See the images below to see how horrible the rhino plugin handled the imported geometry. I built the exact geometry on top of the imported geometry to see if that would make the render happen faster and better quality. It did. Im not sure what this means, but I hope this info is of use to the Rhino plugin developers. Like I said I will post this issue in that forum also. I am curious now if it was the step geometry. I will import as iges and see what that does.







Edit: Here is with imported IGES something not right here.