I have a cardinal problem → to make face from a shape (originally exported from autocad). Tried tu use and combine various plugins to make it flatten and have all Z coordinates at the same level - find some gap in between particular lines and tired to make face (Unwrap and Flatten, Edge Tools_2, Make Face plugins…). Nothing worked to solve my issue. When I tried draw a rectangle on the shape, it didn’t intersect at all. Please see the picture below.
aaah sorry, here we go: the shape.skp (159.8 KB) (SKP version 2016)
The shape is not coplanar - the question could be then: how to make non-coplanar shape complanar - which tool or plugin use? I already made lot of effort to answer myself, but no success here…
You have a number of issues.
In no particular order…
Model Info > Units switch snapping OFF.
When you imported the CAD file you must have chosen to keep the CAD origin.
This was a mistake.
Change that import Option and reimport into a new empty file, so the geometry is then near to the model’s origin…
As it is the geometry is many many miles away from SketchUp’s origin, causing all kinds of weirdness.
Once the geometry is located better you might find that it’s more coplanar.
However you are not going to get a face forming with a non-continuous set of edges.
Use a Style with profiles and end-points set.
You should then see the few small gaps which need ‘healing’ into a loop…
Then try some of the ‘flattening’ plugins to force all vertices onto a large rectangular face, and make-faces with intersection etc…
Hello TIG, thank you for your answer and sorry for my late response. At last the fastest way was to draw it again/repair it in Autocad and export again, as you advised me. This part (uploaded file) of a model is far away from origin because is part of really big urban plan (GIS model export). For this purpose I used copy/paste in place to go there and back.
By the time trying to find optimal solution have found some useful plugins. But just for potential future issues haven’t found any “flattening” plugin which would work well, have any recommendations?
I’m planning to write such a plugin. Can someone tell me if there’s nothing the same already in existence? So I can go and do something else?
I tested :
Eneroth “face creator” [does not work on jittered edges .]
s4you “make face” [does not work on jittered edges ]
Unwrap and flatten faces [ does work, but needs a face already, which is not the case with OP’s shape ]
Utilities-tools.create face [ does not work: Error: "Selected edges are non planar ]
Didieir Bur’s Projection tool works partly but with some steps to achieve this particular result.(See below)
a) Create a face, roughly perpendicular to the jittered edges
b) Select the jittered edges
c) Use the tool from “Projection tool” named “Project lines(s) perpendicular to face(s)”.
d) Select the face you created at (a)
e) Answer No
f) exit the tool
g) Now we have all our edges in a flat face.
h) Last step to overcome a little bug in Sketchup, cut the new edges and paste them in place.
This creates the needed face.
So is there a plugin already available that does create a face for non coplanar edges?
I agree with you that here is no absolute solution for this problem. But when the edges are merely co-planar
one can construct some plane as a best fit. I think that’s what OP wants.
Most of these problems occur at importing from other programs. Edges that originally form a face get jittered
somehow and refuse to form a face in SU.
