Common materials can be auto-converted between your CAD and Lumion so that the surface will look like a material you expect without initially having to set the material in Lumion.
This auto-conversion assists in setting the imported model in Lumion with common materials. You can make other changes to the materials' properties later on, if you want.
Different CAD software will use different default names for materials. Lumion will work with those names that are common, for example glass, brick, water etc.
To Lumion 12:
Only Glass and Water were supported for auto-conversion.
Lumion 2023 and newer - further Materials are auto-converted:
In Lumion 2023.0 auto-conversion of materials now includes the following:
Refer also, Section 1.15: Lumion Importer and LiveSync
- Knowledge Base: Lumion 2023.0: Release Notes
Common Material Names Supported:
SketchUp, ArchiCAD. Rhino, BricsCAD, Autodesk FormIt, Vectorworks, Allplan:
As above table for Lumion 2023 and newer.
See also below section: Languages Supported for Glass and Water.
Revit:
The following Revit material surface types (as in the Appearance tab) are automatically converted to special glass or water materials in Lumion:
- Glazing -> Glass in Lumion
- SolidGlass -> Glass in Lumion
- Mirror -> Glass in Lumion
- PrismTransparent -> Glass in Lumion
- Water -> Water in Lumion
Otherwise the above table applies for Lumion 2023 and newer.
See also below section: Languages Supported for Glass and Water.
Glass and Water:
If your CAD material name begins with one of the words in the table below and is followed by a space, it will be converted to a special glass or water material in Lumion when importing.
This happens for both:
- LiveSync.
- Direct file import (if supported: SketchUp .skp, Lumion 10 and newer).
- LiveSync supports export to Collada DAE for Lumion ( Revit, ArchiCAD, AutoCAD, Vectorworks, etc).
For AutoCAD:
- .DWG files imported in Lumion 10.0 or newer.
- LiveSync and .DAE files: Lumion 10.3 or newer.
For Rhino, Vectorworks:
These special material types cannot be edited in Lumion. If you want to edit a converted glass or water material, you should assign a new Glass Material or Water Material from the New Material Library to the surface.
For Autodesk FormIt:
- .DAE files imported in Lumion 12.0 or newer.
- LiveSync and .DAE files: Lumion 12.0 or newer.
Opacity for Glass and Water:
For the conversion to take place the material assigned in the 3D model must have an opacity equal to or lower than 99%. Transparency >= 1 percent.
Example: Glass and Water surfaces
(Beach House: courtesy Trimble 3D Warehouse)
Languages Supported for Glass and Water:
For Rhino the support for other languages applies to Water only. #
Material Options:
A default material will be assigned to give an immediate look to the surface corresponding to the material Category.
You can change those to another material (Lumion Material) at any time by changing the Texture Map, or other properties of the material.
CAD example - SketchUp 2024 Materials - Grass (front, far right)
Each of the front boxes has a color (only: see Contains a Texture?) assigned with a material name that can be recognized by Lumion.
If you create models with the common names then you will find a faster smoother workflow through to your Lumion visualization.
Contains a Texture?
If the CAD model contains a texture, then the material will not be auto-converted. It will be imported with the texture you assigned in your CAD.
This ensures consistency to your CAD model look. And prevents some unwanted results if only the imported texture/Albedo Map was imported and the material used the other texture map slots from the auto-conversion of a material (at any time you changed the texture only in the CAD). If that occurs then the Texture Map would no longer be in sync with the other Maps.
Note: this applies only when you first import your model or if you do not change the material of the auto-conversion. If you subsequently change any of the properties of the material in Lumion, then that material is an edited Lumion Material (often a Standard Material) and those changes are saved when you Apply the changes.
The boxes in the back row of the SketchUp model all had common names for the material but also included a texture.
When does the Conversion Happen?
The automatic conversion takes place:
- When you start (Play) the LiveSync function.
- Or, when you import the file directly (SketchUp: .skp, DAE).
When the material has been auto-converted then you see the immediate result of a default look-alike material in Lumion. For example windows -> as glass windows.