Hello everyone,
I’m looking to work with point clouds (files like *.obj, *.xyz, or others) in SketchUp on my Mac.
From what I understand, the ‘Scan Essentials’ extension is required for this, but it’s not available on Mac.
Is there another way to import this type of file (other than using a Windows bootcamp)?
Do we know why ‘Scan Essentials’ isn’t available on Mac? Will it be available someday?
You can import OBJ files with one of the existing extensions: QuadFace Tools, Universal Importer, Skimp, Transmutr. For .xyz you can use MeshLab to convert or other programs.
You can use softwares like meshlab, to convert point clouds to geometry and import that from sketchup. If you want to render Vray 7 can render point clouds even on mac.
Hello, thank you very much for your feedback.
I’m quite new to all this, and to give you the full context: I work for an interior architecture agency, and I was approached by a company that sells virtual tours of properties we’ve renovated, as well as point clouds of existing buildings (apparently very precise and which would save us a lot of time on taking measurements). So I asked them to send me a point cloud file to see how I could use it in SketchUp. That’s the background.
I followed your recommendations :
I installed MeshLab, opened the “cloud.xyz” file, and saved it as “cloud.obj”.
Then I used the trial version of Skimp to import the “cloud.obj” file (since *.xyz isn’t supported), and that’s when I get an error message “The model has no faces and cannot be imported”.
I’ll attach some screenshots to make it clearer.
I must be doing something wrong or missing something, but it seems like it’s impossible to use the point clouds I’ve been given on a Mac.
Do you know how I could make it work ? Thanks in advance.
You rushed and skipped a lot of steps.
Look for tutorials and learn how to use the programs that were shown to you.
Hi,
*.obj is another format that can be used for point clouds so you just converted your point cloud format.
To obtain a mesh you need to use features like Filters → Remeshing, simplification and Reconstruction inside meshlab and then save it to a format that can be opened inside SketchUp
To answer your question about when Scan Essentials will be available on Mac, it’s technically complicated. The library we are using for this are windows only. We know many SketchUp users would prefer to have it available on Mac so I’d say it wont be available in the short term and maybe in the longer term
Best,
YS
Yes, alright, I understand that it’s not just a simple file format conversion process.
I completely get that it requires looking into tutorials related to the programs mentioned earlier.
In my case, you’ve answered my main question: I can’t easily work with point clouds of existing buildings in their current state on SketchUp for Mac (since it requires at least some training on new programs, which themselves require a paid license).
I will therefore decline the commercial offer we were given.
I’ve taken note of your responses and sincerely thank you. I’ll come back to this topic later when I’m ready to learn more about it.
Thanks to all of you.
Twinmotion on Mac supports opening point clouds and using them alongside other geometry - such as importing it from SketchUp.
This is free to use for businesses with less than $1,000,000m turnover and has a free trial.
Might be worth a look
Yeah, it’s good for context use. Alas, can’t export from twinmotion back to sketchup. Too bad.
I usually use CloudCompare to obtain a mesh from point cloud files. Meshes can be saved as dxf files and can be inserted to SketchUp.
With cloud compare you can join and simplify pointcloud files.
