Render crashes with cameras [solution] maybe

I'm working on a series of renders that match the frames of a series of panoramic photographic images. The scene is quite complicated with over 800 trees, 300 buildings and sports pitches. There are 6 viewpoints in the drawing and each one has around 5 cameras at different orientations.

As the project progressed, AutoCAD would either not complete the render, creating an empty file or would just crash. What I couldn't understand was why the early renders worked without a hitch but the later ones didn't while the geometry remained unchanged.

However, there was one thing that was changing and that is the number of cameras in the drawing. Up to about 20 cameras there were no problems but as I neared 30 it became almost impossible to successfully complete any render.

I should note that this only caused a problem when rendering with Sky Background and Illumination turned on - there was no problem when the sky was off.

I tried changing various settings without luck but eventually turned off the camera icon visibility and that has solved the problem. With cameras turned off, AutoCAD renders as expected.

Hopefully, this solution will help others with similar problems .

The above solution certainly helped but I still got the occasional render failure. I found that binding XRefs to the drawing helped resolve this.

Note to self: AutoCAD is clearly not up to the job. Must investigate alternatives for rendering.

I wonder if 3DS would be more stable. I need to find a new workflow because this is just painful.

Did you try removing a few cameras to check if it works as before? You might try an audit. Then redo the cameras.

I do not see where 10 additional cameras should cause this mush grief, but it is AutoCAD.

There are a few in the showcase modeling with AutoCAD and rendering with other programs, you might give those a look.

What are the computer specs?

What are the computer specs?

Specs as per the Computer Details on my profile. To be fair, the PC is 4 years old now and I am due an upgrade but I don't think this is an issue with the PC, I throw about some big files in Photoshop without problem.

I will do an audit when time allows but right now I've got to get this job out. I managed to get all the renders I need by binding the XRefs and deleting those bits of the model I wasn't looking at.

Turning off the cameras did help but clearly it's not the full story.

That's weird. I've never heard of too many cameras being a problem, but as SLW210 said, it is Autocad.

It's also strange that binding the xrefs actually helped? That typically has the reverse effect.

Try Purge, Audit and shut down/restart. Then try rendering again and see if the problem persists. Shutting down and restarting between renders may help by clearing the cache and freeing up space.

One thing I noticed in your computer specs is that you only have 4GB RAM. This can be a problem when rendering large scenes like the one you're working on. I'm sure you already know this, but when you get your computer upgrade, make sure you don't get anything less than 8GB RAM. In my opinion, that is the bare minimum for someone doing 3D work. More is definitely better.

I wonder if 3DS would be more stable. I need to find a new workflow because this is just painful.

It might be worthwhile to download the trial version of Studio Max, import your .dwg scene file and see if you have any issues rendering. Or you can zip up your CAD files, send them to me and I'll load it up in Max and take a look. But if you do send them to me, make sure they're saved in 2010 format.

I haven't done any 3D work in Autocad for a very long time, but it sounds like it's still as painful as it ever was.

One thing I noticed in your computer specs is that you only have 4GB RAM. This can be a problem when rendering large scenes like the one you're working on. I'm sure you already know this, but when you get your computer upgrade, make sure you don't get anything less than 8GB RAM. In my opinion, that is the bare minimum for someone doing 3D work. More is definitely better.

Yes, 4 years ago 4GB looked reasonable but now it looks a bit mean. I aim to upgrade over the summer and 8GB will be a minimum requirement.

It might be worthwhile to download the trial version of Studio Max, import your .dwg scene file and see if you have any issues rendering. Or you can zip up your CAD files, send them to me and I'll load it up in Max and take a look. But if you do send them to me, make sure they're saved in 2010 format.

Thanks for the offer but I managed to get what I needed eventually. I think I will try 3DS when I've got more time, just to see if it makes a significant difference.

If I were ordering a computer in the next 3 months and I was doing what you are doing I'd spec it with no less than 24GB RAM. That along with a good graphics card and at least one SSD should improve things quite nicely.

As you can see, I'm already using a Quadro FX graphics card and a SSD for my OS primary drive. I'll certainly be doing that again but this time with much more RAM. 24GB sounds like a lot - I was thinking more like 16GB - I'll need to cost it all

When I ordered a new computer for one of our electricians the base config came with 8GB as standard (a Dell Optiplex). For a mere $38 they offered to double it to 16GB. 8GB is now considered entry level. 16GB is a mere step above while 32GB is considered top shelf for an ordinary system.

Ah well, that's me showing my age again. My first CAD "workstation" was a Compaq Deskpro 386-20e with the optional 387 coprocessor and (I think) just 4MB RAM.