You could try splitting the repeating objects from the main model so they don't get scattered around like in LayoutUV, do LayoutUV on the main object, then select all objects and place your overlapped repeating pieces by hand.
Hey Maya People, perhaps a dump question but I could not find any answer and can't belive there's not answer to this simple problem. I have an object with a repeating structure (e.g. grills or blades of a vent) and for several reasons (different scale and material) I DON'T want to make instances. But I do want to let the…
So always when I have an object with small but many same looking objects and I don't want to waste space in the UV I cannot use the "LayoutUV" Function and have to layout and scale myself? Wow that's not what I expected :( Will send a feature request to Autodesk. Thanks