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I am trying to convert an .fbx file to a .dae (Collada) file. I have tried using an application for this called FbxConverterUI, however when I drag the Collada file into Xcode it doesn't load all of the animations, meshes and textures from the .fbx file. I use Blender to create the .fbx file. I did try to export it in Collada format from Blender however only a single animation loaded with multiple copies of that one, the animation was also different than how I keyframed it so I bumped into exporting it in .fbx which was loaded correctly when I imported it back into Blender to check that the .fbx format would work.

I lastly tried to export it in usdc and obj but I wasn't bothered with obj because it filled my desktop with like 100 files, the usdc didn't work either because there was not textures or colour and no animations, just a white mesh.

If you could explain how I could convert .fbx to Collada with all of the animations, textures and mesh stays the same that would be great. Or if there is another way to export it in Collada (from Blender) with it working properly. Any other methods that work which you suggest me do would be amazing.

Thanks.

Ariel Developer
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  • This can be quite tricky, certainly if the FBX contains animations. I had a similar problem once and then had succes with this: upload FBX to: https://modelconverter.com/convert.html download glTF output and import to blender then export as collada (it does not always work, but better than anything else I was trying) – ZAY Dec 22 '21 at 15:16
  • Thanks however as I was uploading the .fbx model to the website you had attached it gave an error upon something being wrong with the format. – Ariel Developer Dec 22 '21 at 16:33
  • Probably you could re-save the fbx from blender (or another tool) again as fbx, and then give it another try with the online converter. Depending on where your model comes from, you can file a complain or you could ask them to do a file conversion for you, or request another kind of file format. FBX Errors in common are hard to solve. Best solution would probalby be the oroginal file of the model and do it with another tool than blener (maya, autocad...) – ZAY Dec 22 '21 at 18:46
  • Thank You! I Will do so and try if it will work. – Ariel Developer Dec 22 '21 at 20:34
  • That doesn't seem to work, is there another way to maybe convert it into Collada file or export it correctly in blender. Is there any Blender add ons that you suggest will work when I export in directly into Collada? I've looked at using AssimpKit for Xcode so it can use fbx file format but not sure how to use AssimpKit. – Ariel Developer Dec 23 '21 at 08:13
  • Unfortunatly I dont know this AssimpKit. Probably on GitHub you can find some example code. And nope, I don't know any other tools. Usually Blender Collada exports are 100% accurate. I am working on a SceneKit Project with hundrets of models with and without animations. I re-work and adjust everything with Blender before using in scenekit, but if the original model hase some "bugs" even blender cannot fix this automatially. In this case you'll need someone who's knowledge goes way deeper into 3D Models and Animations than mine :) Good Luck! – ZAY Dec 23 '21 at 08:29
  • Thank you, I will now go to the blender website and ask if anyone knows this fix. I appreciate the help though. – Ariel Developer Dec 23 '21 at 10:03
  • Just to make sure that I export the Collada file correctly from blender, what settings are you using for your export? – Ariel Developer Dec 23 '21 at 10:17
  • when I import the character to Xcode in Collada I only get one of the animations instead of both, I also get an animation for each bone which is quite annoying resulting me with many animations. I think that Xcode is not importing the character correctly (or I am doing it wrong). When I re-import the character (Collada format) back into blender to check that it exported it correctly it seems perfect. If you have any idea why this isn't working with Xcode please explain it to me so I can fix this. – Ariel Developer Dec 23 '21 at 10:30
  • I usually export the model with the rig into the main character file (DAE), but without animations. Then for each animation sequence I generate a separate animation file, that contains only the animation, but not the model and not the rig. then I Apply the Animations trough SCNAnimationPlayer. You can choose anything within the collada export settings, just check or uncheck the respective checkboxes. – ZAY Dec 23 '21 at 15:26
  • welcome to SO... – ZAY Dec 23 '21 at 17:30

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In case you need some kind of guidance, this are my "prefered" export settings from Blender (v.3.0) when it comes to animated models - and I usually had success with it. I am using a separate DAE File for the Model, including the rig - and for the animations I create separate DAE files, containing only the animation, that can be applyed to the node containing the rigged model using SCNAnimationPlayer. (do not convert the those type of DAE files to SCN files using XCode - this may break the file in some cases)

There are many more settings to tweak. (in my example picture anything else is left default)

Keep in mind: This is for SceneKit. For other rendering engines, things may vary.

collada export settings for blender

ZAY
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