SU
SketchUp Sync panel
Real HtmlDialog: Max status, Sync / Update / Live.
🔄Lotuz Arch
Lotuz SyncSketchUp to 3ds Max sync
Native geometry transfer between apps — no FBX, no axis flips, no broken texture paths.
$40/ year
Lotuz Arch yearly — unlocks Sync, GIS and Max dashboard.
Requires: SketchUp 2025+ ⟷ 3ds Max 2025+ · Windows
Inside the plugin
Real SketchUp Sync + Max dashboard
Real plugin UI captures (HtmlDialog + Max dock). Callouts mark daily controls.
Live
Dirty groups
Only dirty groups update — no full rebuild.
Real SketchUp Sync + Max dashboard
Captured from Lotuz Sync production UI
Max
3ds Max dashboard
Environment tab: HDRI, geo sun — real dock shot.
Render
Corona path
Post-sync result without FBX.
SU
SketchUp Sync panel
Real HtmlDialog: Max status, Sync / Update / Live.
Live
Dirty groups
Only dirty groups update — no full rebuild.
Max
3ds Max dashboard
Environment tab: HDRI, geo sun — real dock shot.
Render
Corona path
Post-sync result without FBX.
Real captures
Shot from the live plugins
No mock marketing UI — real SketchUp / 3ds Max / Photoshop panels from Lotuz workflows.
Audience
Who it is for
Architects SketchUp → Max
Massing in SketchUp, Corona/V-Ray in Max — no FBX every revision.
Interior studios
Fast layout in SU; keep tuned Corona materials on Update.
Small teams
Both apps on one machine — Live sync for midday reviews before overnight renders.
Workflow
How you work — step by step
- 01
Install & sign in
Install Lotuz Arch (SketchUp + 3ds Max). Same lotuz.ai account unlocks Sync on Arch Pro / plans with Arch.
- 02
First full Sync
Open SketchUp model → Full Sync. Max gets geometry, units, transforms; materials map by name.
- 03
Update / Live
Edit a few groups → Update dirty only. Live: edit SU, Max rebuilds ~2s. Scene sync moves cameras + sun.
- 04
Render in Max
Tune Corona on Max. Later syncs do not wipe named Corona materials.
Deep dive
Features in depth
▸
Native live-link
No FBX middleman — fewer Y-up/Z-up flips, unit bugs, broken texture paths.
▸
Dirty tracking
Only changed groups/faces travel. Large files stay practical on Update.
▸
Name-matched materials
SU “Glass_Clear” hits Max Corona “Glass_Clear” — gloss/IOR preserved.
▸
Camera & Sun (Max)
Max panel: HDRI + geo/custom sun, scene cameras from real dock captures.
▸
SketchUp Dashboard
Sync tab in Lotuz Dashboard: plan status + open Sync panel.
FAQ
Common questions
Which SketchUp / Max?+
SketchUp 2025+ and 3ds Max 2025+ recommended. Min host follows Arch release notes.
Does Sync burn AI credits?+
No. Sync/GIS are time-based Lotuz Arch — not Photoshop credits.
One seat or many?+
Default 1 concurrent machine. SU + Max on the same PC count as one device.
500k+ faces?+
Split groups. Partial Update helps; purge with free tools before huge first Sync.
Why not FBX
Four fixes you always do by hand
Export FBX then import into Max is the common path — and where most rework is born.
✕
Model tipped on its side
SketchUp exports Y-up, Max expects Z-up. Rotate every time.
✕
Wrong units
Inches become centimetres; the model is tens of times too big.
✕
Broken texture paths
FBX writes relative paths that point nowhere on the Max machine.
✕
One solid becomes a thousand pieces
Split by material, then merge again by hand.
Lotuz Sync owns both ends — a SketchUp plugin and a 3ds Max tool — so geometry moves natively with no intermediate format. Those four problems disappear because their cause is gone.
Real results
Corona renders from this pipeline
Modeled in SketchUp, synced to 3ds Max, rendered in Corona. No FBX, no reassigning materials.
Four actions
Which button, when
📦
Full-file Sync
First pass, or when you want a full rebuild.
⟳
Update
Later passes — only push what changed, much faster.
🔴
Live
Turn on and keep editing in SketchUp; Max rebuilds after ~2s.
📷
Scene Sync
Bring cameras and sun direction from scenes into Max.
🎨
Materials by name
Existing names keep your Corona materials; only new names rebuild.
🧬
Smart instances
50 identical chairs transfer once; Max instances share one mesh.
Honest limits
What it does not do
- !
No raw CAD dumps
.dwg imports with hundreds of thousands of junk faces are skipped instead of freezing the machine.
- !
Heavy objects skipped
Default cap is 100,000 faces per object. Split first if you need them.
- !
One direction only
SketchUp → 3ds Max today. Edits in Max do not push back to SketchUp.
- !
Windows only
No macOS build yet.
Other Lotuz tools
🧹
Lotuz Clear
SketchUp cleanup — free
Purge, merge duplicates, scan heavy models, compact saves. Cleanup suite free with every Lotuz account — no credits, no expiry.
Learn more →📚
Project Manager
SKP · SKM · texture library
Manage 3D models, SKM materials and textures inside SketchUp. ~20,000 free curated materials — browse, preview, drag into the scene.
Learn more →🌍
Lotuz GIS
Planning maps & terrain in SketchUp
Pick a region on the map and get urban massing plus terrain ready in SketchUp — site context without hand modeling.
Learn more →🧩
Plugin Manager
Block · Remove · Manage · Add SketchUp plugins
One place to control extensions: toggle, block conflicts, uninstall broken plugins, install more, and review hotfixes — free with Lotuz.
Learn more →🛣️
Lotuz Unban Road
Parametric roads in SketchUp
Generate roads from parameters — curbs, lanes, components — without hand-modeling every segment. In development; join early access.
Learn more →🎨
Lotuz Photoshop
AI for Photoshop
Generate, relight and upscale with AI without leaving your open document. 17 models, 118 architecture prompts.
Learn more →