I need to export a Pro-e assembly to 3d max to render with the ability to add shaped light sources such as a florescent tube.
What is the best way to export a file from Pro so that I can add the materials to the individual components and not have to reassemble each individual part?
I have successfully used 3dm to render an iges image from Cobalt that had each part on a separate layer, but unless doing some thing wrong will not work here.
if you export each part as .stl from a ProE assembly (rather than from the individual part files), it will remember the position and they will come up assembled in 3DS. Then you can group / ungroup as necessary to keep them together and add different matls.
Does that not just make all the parts one big mass in 3D Studio? Or have I missed an option during conversion, somewhere?
[edit] D’oh, silly me, I just realised you meant each individual part in an assembly, not as an assembly. I’ll go now…[/edit] feels silly
dont know if this works for Max. but .stl file is almost same as .slp sent to Alias. in assembly assign different colors to your parts. export the whole thing to .stl. on import to Max the parts might autogroup. relative positions should hold.
Tut tut, should have gone to the lecture… then you’d know… 
You may have noticed that I corrected myself. So NYER 
My brain is slow because of all this hot weather.
PS. I did go to the lecture on 3D Studio. Note: THE lecture.
yeah, now im just confused. 
LOL But it’s amazing what you can learn by just playing about with software. Help files? Lectures? Pha! Good old trial and error. And an all-nighter…
