Topic: [Awaiting Reply] Import file size limit for Lumion?

[caddman97]

Is there a limit on file size for Lumion?  I currently have a .dae file that is 2.1 gigs?  Rather large Revit model export that I would like to use Lumion on.

[Morten]

Hi caddman97, welcome to the forum.

Before we proceed, I'd be grateful if you could please click here and follow the instructions in step #2, so that you get access to the forum for commercial users. Thanks in advance.

Once you've done that we'll be able to assist you with your question.

[caddman97]

Morten,

Thanks for the reply.  But I just downloaded the demo.  I don't want to purchase unless I know it will handle the files we currently have, that is the purpose of a demo, correct?

Simple models just pop right in, but our more complex ones give error messages and your FAQ's don't have any information on maximum size or limits for the demo release.

Thanks for the presale help and information.

[Morten]

Hello again, caddman97 - thanks for the details.

The reason I asked you to register your license is that some of our new licensees forget to register their (commercial) licenses, so we usually advise new forum users with company email addresses to register their license as the first step due to the fact that we have dedicated (hidden) sub forums for different subjects such as Import & Export Questions.
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It's not necessarily a problem that you're using Lumion Demo 5.3 (unless you're using Windows 8 or 10 - more on that below). However, I ought to mention that the Demo version of Lumion is 1 1/2 years old, and has several limitations in terms of content and functionality. If you're interested in a more in-depth evaluation, I would recommend our fully functional 7-day Trial version of the latest version of Lumion (6.5.1) which we offer via your local reseller. This version includes all functionality and content of the full version, and provides a more realistic impression of what to expect.
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Now, with that out of the way, let's move on to the DAE file issue you brought up. The file size limit varies from PC to PC, depending on your graphics card memory, system memory, virtual memory (harddrive swap space) as well as which version of Lumion and Windows you're using.

If you're evaluating Lumion Demo 5.3 on Windows 8 or 10, there is unfortunately a Windows-imposed memory cap of 4GB for Lumion. Once Lumion exceeds 4GB it will crash or stop responding.

In other words, if you're using Windows 8 or 10, I would strongly recommend that you evaluate the 7-day Trial version of Lumion 6.5.1 which has no memory cap in any of the Windows versions. That way, Lumion will first use the available graphics card memory (very fast), and when that's full up it will use system memory (quite fast), and finally when that's full, it will use virtual memory (very slow harddrive swap space).

That being said, a 2.1GB DAE file is indeed very large, so the first thing to check is what the Geometry Accuracy slider is set to in the Revit to Lumion Bridge plug-in. The rule of thumb is that you only ever need higher slider settings for rounded surfaces, so try to set it to low or medium and export it again to see what it does to the file size.

If that doesn't help, we will request some more information and ask you to upload the Revit file as a next step, so we can take a closer look.

Which version of Revit + the Revit to Lumion Bridge plug-in are you using?

[caddman97]

Morten,

Thank you for the information.  I am using Windows 10 with Revit 2017 and 2015 on a couple test projects.  I will also try turning down the geometry accuracy on the couple larger models for use with the demo version first.  If that doesn't I'll get the 7 day trial.  The smaller projects look great even with LUMION watermark going through it. 

Thanks again.

[peterm]

You're welcome (on behalf of Morten)  .

2+GB of export file is getting massive.  One of the other aspects, is to do with updating the model from Revit.  If exported file sizes are that large, then it is also going to take a very long time for Lumion to update/Reload the model.  This is because it needs to not only change the model, but go through all surfaces and update for materials.

We recommend for users to break the model down in to small sizes, exporting Revit selections or Visibility Views, and as Morten mentioned, using Geometry Accuracy to help control size and model quality.

Certain types of model parts such as pipes and railings that are fully curved, require lots of mesh data when exported at high settings, so in some cases selective export also helps to manage the file sizes and update cycle.