Maxsurf allows you to export your design file in different formats.

·  DXF File

·  IGES File

·   Rhino .3dm file

·  Maxsurf V8.0 , export to earlier Maxsurf file formats. Note that this may lead to some loss of data

·  Others

You may export the following file formats to other platforms by selecting them from the Data Export dialog box in the File menu:

·  IGES

·  DXF

·  3DMF

·  Vrml

·  3dm

IGES stands for the International Graphics Exchange Standard. It is an extremely powerful format and is compatible with the majority of major CAD programs. Design information may be transferred using a 2D or 3D IGES file. If a 3D IGES file is chosen you have the option of transferring the lines that are visible in the drawing windows (polylines), or using the complete B-spline surface definition (NURBS surface).

For more information on IGES export, please refer to Appendix A Data Export from page 215.

IGES export example. An .IGES file contains all NURBS surface information.

DXF is the Drawing eXchange Format. Design information is transferred using a 2D or 3D DXF file as either a polyline file or a 3D face or mesh.

3D Polyline export example.

 
3D Mesh export example. The number of segments used to display the surface is dependent on the surface precision.

3D Face export. The mesh is divided up into a number of faces.

3DMF is the file format for Quickdraw3D.

Maxsurf is able to export models in the ISO standard VRML (Virtual Reality Modelling Language) format. This is a file format especially designed for delivering 3D models over the internet for their display in standard browsers such as Netscape Navigator or MS Internet Explorer. This feature means that Maxsurf models can be readily included in web pages; this facilitates sharing information on a global (internet) or internal (intranet) level. Further information on VRML is available from the Web3D consortium, whose web site may be found at: http://www.web3d.org/

3dm is the file format for Rhinoceros NURBs modelling software. Both trimmed and untrimmed Maxsurf surfaces can be saved in Rhino file format. Because there is no concept of symmetrical surfaces in Rhino, any symmetrical surfaces in Maxsurf will be duplicated and mirrored about the centreline when exported to Rhino using the Export | Rhino .3dm file command from the File menu in Maxsurf.

Bitmap export gives you the ability to export Rendered Perspective Views to a bmp file. This is similar to Edit | Copy (Copy to Clipboard), however File | Export | Bitmap Image allows you to specify the size of the image; the larger the size, the better the quality.  This is a useful feature for creating high resolution promotional material.

This function is not available for the Simple Shading rendered mode.