Importing Splines from 3ds Max to Three.js

When importing splines from 3ds Max into Three.js, you might encounter challenges because splines are typically represented differently across different 3D applications.

Possible Approaches

Based on the available Three.js curve classes, you have several options for working with splines:

1. Export as a mesh/geometry: Instead of trying to import the spline directly as a curve object, you could export it from 3ds Max as a mesh or geometry (perhaps as an OBJ, GLTF, or FBX file) and then use that in Three.js.

2. Extract curve data: If you need the actual curve data for animation or other purposes, you might need to extract the control points from your 3ds Max spline and recreate the curve in Three.js using one of the available curve classes:

   • CatmullRomCurve3 - For smooth interpolated curves
   • CubicBezierCurve3 - For cubic Bezier curves in 3D space
   • SplineCurve - For 2D splines

3. Custom parsing: Depending on the export format, you might need to write custom code to parse the spline data and convert it to a format usable by Three.js.

Example of Creating a Curve in Three.js

If you have the control points from your 3ds Max spline, you could recreate it like this:

JAVASCRIPTCopied
import * as THREE from 'three';
import { CatmullRomCurve3 } from 'three/extras/curves/CatmullRomCurve3';

// Points extracted from your 3ds Max spline
const points = [
  new THREE.Vector3(-10, 0, 10),
  new THREE.Vector3(-5, 5, 5),
  new THREE.Vector3(0, 0, 0),
  new THREE.Vector3(5, -5, 5),
  new THREE.Vector3(10, 0, 10)
];

// Create a Catmull-Rom spline curve
const curve = new THREE.CatmullRomCurve3(points);

// Create a tube geometry from the curve
const tubeGeometry = new THREE.TubeGeometry(curve, 64, 1, 8, false);
const tubeMaterial = new THREE.MeshBasicMaterial({ color: 0x00ff00 });
const tubeMesh = new THREE.Mesh(tubeGeometry, tubeMaterial);

scene.add(tubeMesh);

Unfortunately, there isn't a direct way to import splines from 3ds Max while preserving their curve properties. You'll likely need to extract the control points and recreate the curves using Three.js's curve classes.