Alembic Mesh 3D Node

Alembic (.abc) is a 3D scene interchange format that holds geometry along with its baked animation - meaning the animation is stored as a series of per-vertex positions (point cache), not as rigs or modifiers. The upside: any software can read the file without the original plugins. The downside: files can be heavy (each frame stores the full state of the mesh).

An Alembic file can contain meshes, cameras, points (particles), UVs, normals and animation. There are two ways to import it in Fusion:

1. Through the menu: File > Import > Alembic Scene (Fusion Studio) or Fusion > Import > Alembic Scene (the Fusion page in DaVinci Resolve). This method opens the Alembic Import Dialog (see below) and creates several connected nodes - one Transform 3D per hierarchy level, one Alembic Mesh 3D per mesh, and so on.
2. Through the Node Editor: add an AlembicMesh3D node manually and load a file. A single node, simpler but less flexible.

Recommendation: use the import menu for a real scene - the automatic breakdown into multiple nodes makes editing much easier.

• Effects Library: Tools > 3D > Alembic Mesh 3D
• Shortcut: in the Node Editor, right-click then Add Tool > 3D > Alembic Mesh 3D
• Import menu (recommended for a full scene): File > Import > Alembic Scene…

When you use the import menu, Fusion opens a dialog before creating the nodes. It shows the source application (Blender, Maya, …), the Alembic SDK version, the animation length and the detected frame rate.

Hierarchy

When checked (default), the parent/child hierarchy of the file is rebuilt with several chained Transform 3D nodes. When unchecked, the transforms are flattened → fewer nodes, better for purely animated files with no hierarchy to preserve.

Orphaned Transforms

When Hierarchy is on: also imports the transforms that parent a mesh or a camera. When off, some intermediate Merge 3D nodes won't be created - which can break the expected structure.

Cameras

Imports cameras with their parameters: Aperture, Angle of View, Plane of Focus, clipping planes. The Gate Fit is imported correctly only if the exporting software tagged it (not always the case with Blender).

InverseTransform

Imports the Inverse Transform (World → Model) for cameras. Check it if you plan to reuse the camera in another application later.

Points

Supports the Alembic Points type (point clouds, 3D positions). Useful for particles exported from Houdini - only positions are guaranteed; velocity and other attributes may be ignored.

Meshes

Enables the import of 3D models. When checked, sub-options appear to import (or skip) UVs and normals.

• SceneInput (orange) - optional. Lets you combine the Alembic mesh with another 3D scene or object in the same stream.
• MaterialInput (green) - optional. Connects either a 2D image (used as a diffuse texture) or a 3D material (Blinn, Phong, Cook Torrance…). When a 3D material is connected, the basic material tab is disabled.

Alembic Mesh 3D is used inside a full 3D scene - you combine it with a camera, lights and a renderer. Minimal workflow:

1. Alembic Mesh 3D (loading the .abc)
2. → Merge 3D with Camera 3D + Spot Light or Directional Light
3. → Renderer 3D

The Controls tab holds the node-specific controls, plus the groups shared by all 3D nodes (Visibility, Lighting, Matte, Blend Mode, Normals/Tangents, Object ID).

Filename

Absolute path of the linked Alembic file. Use the Browse button to pick another one. If the file has been moved, this field shows an invalid path - relink it manually.

Object Name

Name of the imported object. An Alembic file can hold several objects - if this field is empty, everything is merged into a single mesh. Fill it in to target a specific object.

Wireframe

Checkbox (default: off). Displays the mesh as a wireframe. Only works with a Renderer 3D in OpenGL mode (not with the software renderer).

Alembic animation is encoded in frames per second. Fusion detects this frame rate automatically on import and shows it in the Resample Rate field.

Golden rule: keep the exported frame rate. Changing the Resample Rate forces Fusion to interpolate between baked frames - the result can be choppy or blurry depending on the complexity of the mesh.

Fusion offers two major 3D import formats. A practical rule:

• FBX - for lights, cameras, rigs and static meshes. The format keeps the logical structure (named materials, clear hierarchy).
• Alembic - for complex animated meshes (cloth simulations, fluids, non-linear deformations). More reliable because everything is baked.

• File not found - Alembic stores an absolute path. If you move the project, relink with Browse.
• Heavy file - an Alembic cache of a fluid simulation can weigh several GB. Make sure you have enough RAM (the file is loaded into memory during playback).
• No visible UVs - in the import dialog, check that the UVs box is ticked under Meshes. Otherwise no texture can be applied correctly.
• Missing normals - same thing for normals. Without them, the lighting will be wrong. Tick Normals on import, or chain a Replace Normals 3D afterward.
• Mismatched units - unlike FBX, Alembic has no standard units parameter. If the mesh comes in at the wrong scale, adjust it with a Transform 3D downstream (scale 0.01 or 100 depending on the case).

These tabs share the options common to all 3D nodes: applying additional materials, transform settings (position, rotation, scale, pivot) and render parameters (visibility, lighting, matte, blend mode, object ID).