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Home > Supported File Formats > AVEVA to Universal Scene Description


How to convert AVEVA (PDMS,Marine,E3D) to Universal Scene Description (.usd,.usda, .usdc.usdz)?


PolyTrans|CAD+DCC performs mathematically precise CAD, DCC/Animation, GIS and BIM 3D file conversions into all key downstream 3D packages and file formats. Okino software is used and trusted throughout the world by many tens of thousands of 3D professionals in mission & production critical environments, backed by respectable personal support directly from our core development team.

     

AVEVA

AVEVA is the world's leading engineering IT software provider to the plant, power and marine industries.

Okino has a long direct and indirect relationship with AVEVA and its customers. One of Okino's core competencies & specialties is in the conversion of super-ultra-massive 3D models to downstream programs which simply cannot handle those models (such as 3ds Max, Cinema-4D, Maya, Unity, Unreal, etc.).

Connection from AVEVA PDMS, AVEVA Marine or AVEVA E3D to Okino software is best handled either via the DWF-3D file format or the ZGL file format. Please refer to either of these importers and their corresponding tutorial on 'How to Import from Ultra-Massive AVEVA PDMS & AVEVA Marine Models'.

As another secondary method of converting AVEVA PDMS .rvm, PDMS DGN and Intergraph PDS/DGN/DRI files, you can load those file types into Autodesk Navisworks, convert to DWF-3D files, and import into Okino software via our DWF-3D importer. This works very well and is a highly optimized + highly refined Okino conversion pipeline.

     

Universal Scene Description

The USD format (“Universal Scene Description”) is an open 3D model and scene format designed for efficient storage and streaming of 3D asset data. It is a high-performance extensible framework and ecosystem for describing, composing, simulating, and collaboratively navigating and constructing 3D scenes. An extensive overview of USD is provided in the Okino USD documentation.

Pixar Animation Studios originally created the USD platform (as its fourth generation variation after its Marionette & Preso systems) to improve studio-wide collaborative workflows. USD provides a concept of "scene composition", building a unified scene from potentially thousands of loosely-coupled source assets. For example, the mesh, rigging, materials, and animation for a single model might all come from different "layers" (files), each created and maintained by a different artist or department. Layers can store multiple "variants" of any given data, helping to solve problems of versioning/approval. The coupling between layers is very dynamic and loose, allowing for greater flexibility during the production process. The entire USD system is designed to facilitate a large studio making feature films, with all of the scale that that implies.

USD should be considered more of a code framework (“OpenUSD”) for use in group collaboration, to help with the aggregation of various 3D data sources into a unified scene through a process referred to as scene composition. A subset of that code framework provides for reading and writing USD disk-based files as well as rendering USD scenes (Hydra). The system is rather complex to implement (for software developers) and to use (from first principles) as a 3D graphics artist. The USD file format itself is not for faint of heart and is best read/written using the OpenUSD SDK + various programming APIs. More commonly used ASCII 3D file formats such as COLLADA, VRML2 and Wavefront OBJ are much easier to manipulate/understand/use on a human level basis.

File extensions used by the standard include:

  • .usd, Either ASCII or binary-encoded
  • .usda, ASCII encoded
  • .usdc, Binary encoded
  • .usdz, Zero-compression, unencrypted zip file