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Autodesk tsElements Plug-in starter guide Print E-mail

Welcome to Autodesk tsElements Plug-in!

Do you use SolidWorks? If so, you are on the right page. (If you use Rhino, go here to learn more about Autodesk T-Splines Plug-in for Rhino)

Step 1: Meet Autodesk tsElements Plug-in

Watch a short video explaining how to use Autodesk tsElements Plug-in.

Step 2: How to use Autodesk tsElements Plug-in


How to install Autodesk tsElements Plug-in
Example 1: how to import a T-Splines file from Rhino and edit it in SolidWorks (video by T-Splines, Inc)
Example 2: how to import a T-Splines file from Rhino and edit it in SolidWorks (video by Mark Biasotti, DS SolidWorks)
Example 3: how to import an .obj file from modo and edit it in SolidWorks (video by Adam O'Hern, cadJunkie)


Step 3: Best practices

Models with quad (instead of triangle) mesh layouts and non-overlapping, light geometry perform best in Autodesk tsElements Plug-in.

Quad mesh layouts
Autodesk tsElements Plug-in works best with clean, quad-dominant meshes. You may have triangles and ngons, but meshes that are mainly triangle based will not import well. You will need a program like Z Brush or 3D Coat to retopologize your triangle model to a quad model. Most Subd modelers can create quad models. Most scan data is triangle based.
obj Quad
Example of a quad obj file		 obj triangle
Example of a triangle obj file

Non-overlapping geometry
SolidWorks does not recognize overlapping faces as valid geometry. If you do import a surface with overlapping surfaces, then you will have holes in your model where the invalid surfaces are. You can avoid this by moving the control points and edges away from the overlapping surface.
Overlapping in T-Splines
Highlighted part is overlapping in the mesh.		 Overlapping SolidWorks
Result in SolidWorks

Light geometry
Geometry that is light is easier to manipulate and uses less memory. Always use the simplest geometry possible.
Light geometry
Example of a light model		 Heavy geometry
Example of a dense model

Benefits of importing .tsm and .tss files

The .tsm and .tss file formats are the native T-Splines format. When importing a .tsm or .tss file, you will have more predictable geometry than importing an .obj file. You can only get .tsm and .tss files as an export from Autodesk T-Splines Plug-in for Rhino.

Step 4: Resources

Still have questions?