I’m trying to convert my electrical plan to Layout or a PDF version that can be shared with the contractor. However, when I take the plan from Sketchup, all the symbols and the key are unreadable/blurry(see attached PDF). Do you know of a way to work around this or fix this?
Ness and Jenny ADU Electric PLan.pdf (113.3 KB)
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Please upload the Layout file , it will tell more about the situation than the PDF
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Export resolution was set to Medium. Here is a version with High resolution and Jpeg compression switched off. I also tried Vector and Hybrid rendering modes but as your drawing is not a consistent 3D model all necessary lines didn’t show except when switching to Wireframe style.
Ness and Jenny ADU Electric Plan_raster.pdf (1.0 MB)
Ness and Jenny ADU Electric Plan_vector.pdf (712.3 KB)
Is there a reason you are not using the 2D symbols on the ground for your drawing instead of the 3D can lights?
Well, I’ve created a 3D drawing in SketchUp with the Medeek Electrical Extension. When I send the drawing to Layout(in standard Top View), this is how it looks. I know traditionally you would just see the can light symbol on the floor. But not sure what the workaround is for this. I am still very new to SketchUp. I’ve attached a pic of a 3D view from SketchUp.
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Thanks for this! I’ll try to figure out how to fix the resolution on my end. Can you tell me what you mean when you say, it is “not a consistent 3D model”? This is all a little over my head still as I’m just learning SketchUp.
Perhaps @medeek might give an insight about how the diagrams ought to be generated. Some of the appliances have a component that has a 2D symbol at the floor level and a 3D model above it (at the intended installation height?) while others (the can lights, for instance) are only 3D models. The wiring lines have been drawn at the ceiling level.
A standard way to produce a plan view from a 3D building model is to place a horizontal section at a level that goes through all or most wall openings. When I do that with this model, many of the electrical symbols and appliances are cut away and become invisible. The same if I create a reflected ceiling plan by reversing the cut and taking a bottom view.
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The can-lights also have 2D symbols, the visibility of which can be toggled on and off via the extension-generated tags:
- electrical_2d
- electrical_finish
- electrical_rough
- so on and so forth…
The generation of these tags can be toggled on and off in the global settings. And you can also set the plugin to only generate the 2D symbols.The height of the symbols can also be controlled in the global settings.
I would grab all the tags and put them in a tag folder with a witty name.
Sections should work just fine.
Actually all of lights also have 2D symbols that are typically drawn at 12" above the absolute (zero) ground plane of the model, this can also be adjusted in the global settings.
So if you take a section through a level of your structure you should be able to capture your electrical symbols in one scene or view.
This tutorial video explains some of this in further detail:
I may need to further refine the system better for multi-story implementations (perhaps make it a bit more granular), I will give this some further thought, there is always room for improvement but the key is to not make things too complicated in the process of making things more flexible and user definable.
Also take a look at this tutorial video as well:
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Can you clarify at what point I should be changing the export resolution? Is it when I export my file from layout? Or when my file goes from Sketchup to Layout(not sure if I can change it at that point anyway). I am having trouble getting the quality you were able to get and I don’t know how to go to vector mode…
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In LayOut: Document Setup>Paper. I set Display Resolution to Low to gain some speed, and then Output Resolution to High. When Exporting to PDF I always uncheck JPG Compression. It creates ugly pixel artifacts with the kind of lines and flat colours output generated by Sketchup - it really is meant for photographs.
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Thanks for that! I did those steps, but when I create the image in layout and export to PDF it is still quite blurry… this is really puzzling me. Also, this is a new image taking a horizontal section.
Ness and Jenny Electrical Test.layout (12.2 MB)
Ness and Jenny Electrical Test.pdf (354.7 KB)
I was able to figure out that I can change the line scale(to 20), when exporting the sketchup drawing to a PDF. This seemed to fix the issue with the blurry lines!
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Ah just finished this video… I’ll just post it anyway:
Please excuse my rushed explanation
My method was not as nearly thought-out and “correct” as yours. This video will be super helpful for me in the future!
Thanks!
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