Imported object

Geometry from somewhere else, when a volume is too crude to be useful.

Supported formats

Mesh geometry — the shapes a 3D file describes. STEP and other CAD assembly formats are on the roadmap; today, convert to a mesh first.

Scale and origin

Two things go wrong with imported geometry, and both are worth checking immediately:

• Scale — a file in metres imported as millimetres is a thousand times too big, and it is obvious. A file in inches is 25.4 times out, and it is not.
• Origin — CAD files are often exported around an origin that meant something to the designer and nothing to you. Place the object by its origin, then check it against something you know.

Collision meshes

Detailed geometry is expensive to check for collisions. Where an imported object is only ever an obstacle, a simpler shape around it is faster and just as safe — usually a volume.