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I've been trying to populate a scene with geometry instances (3D) generated from a list of points (and 3D mesh "originals"). Here and there throughout the help files you get the impression that FME supports instanced geometry (GeometryInstantiator, Deaggregator etc.), but nothing I did seemed to have the desired effect. Some of the most direct clues about instancing I found in the Python API documentation, and I've finally managed to create a workspace that does what I want, using PythonCaller transforms to store geometry definitions in the FMELibrary and then set my aggregates to use the appropriate references. The Inspector confirms that my workspace is working as intended, but the problem now is: Is there any writer/format that supports instancing? I have confirmed that the 3DS format supports it (export/import from 3D Studio MAX retains instances), but the FME writer doesn't seem to.
To answer my own question, i just discovered that the Sketchup writer actually supports it! I'd still prefer to be able to use the 3DS, OBJ or DAE formats though.

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