3DMport Lite - Help & FAQ

Feature - Select and Import

This is the core function of 3DMport Lite. It allows the user to select a 3dm file and import and convert it to Revit .rfa files with editable geometries. The button is only active if a Revit model document is active.

The Revit family name created by the import process will be equal to the filename of the source 3Dm file. Layer names from the Rhino® 3Dm file will be converted to subcategories in the Revit family.  

Step 1 - Locating the "Select and Import” button

If the 3DMport.Addin is installed, and the “Select and Import” button will be located in the “Voyansi” Tab -> 3DMport Ribbon -> “Select and Import” button.  Simply click on the “Select and Import” button to initiate the function.

Step 2 - Selecting the .3DM file

Once the “Select and Import” button is clicked, a file selection popup window will appear for the user selection of the appropriate Rhino 3dm file. Navigate to the target directory and select a 3dm file to be imported.

Step 3 - Confirm and Import

After selecting the target 3dm file, click on “Open” on the file browser to start the import. After the import is complete, a new .rfa family will be created in the same directory as the 3dm file and 3DMport will load the new family into the active Revit document.

Step 4 - Complete

On successful import, a completion notification will appear. Click OK to dismiss the popup and finalize the import cycle leaving 3DMport in a ready state for additional importing. 

If the import process fails, a notification will appear and upon clicking OK an operational log will open for the user’s reference.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 3DMport a separate tool from Revit and Rhino?

No! 3DMport is an enhanced 3dm file importer operating from within Revit. You don’t need to install Rhino on your machine in order to run it.

What are the supported geometry types?

The Lite version of 3DMport only supports ACIS solids and NURBs.  More geometry types will be supported in future updates.

What versions of 3dm files are supported?

It is recommended to work with Rhino 7+ 3dm files for the best import experience.

Where are the .rfa files saved?

The generated .rfa files are saved in the same folder as the source 3dm files.

Does 3DMport support sublayers?

Yes.  3DMport reads information from the layers that contain the objects.  Layer names from the Rhino sublayers will be converted to subcategories in the Revit family.

I’m getting a message that says “Geometries are not detected or supported by 3DMport Lite. Please convert the geometries to Solids or NURBs and try again.” What happened?

This message may indicate that the 3dm file you selected does not contain any supported geometries, or that you have selected an empty 3dm file containing no geometrical data.  Please review and revise the 3dm file to comply with the requirements for the import to work correctly.

I got a log message that says “The family already exists in the current document. Please rename the .3dm file and try again.” What happened?

3DMport detected an existing family with the same family name you are trying to import.  This is a protection system to prevent unintended overwriting of existing families in the active Revit document.  Please review and revise the file name of the selected 3dm file and try again to resolve this issue.

The installer that ran when you downloaded this app/plug-in from Autodesk App Store will start installing the app/plug-in OR simply double-click the downloaded installer to install the app/plugin. You may need to restart the Autodesk product to activate the app/plug-in. 

To uninstall this plug-in, exit the Autodesk product if you are currently running it, simply rerun the installer, and select the "Uninstall" button OR click Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features (Windows 7/8.1/10/11) and uninstall via the built-in Windows functionality as with any other application.

If you have previously installed Voyansi Tools at a version less than 1.0.2, please update Voyansi Tools prior to installing 3DMport