My team is working on this feature which could export DWG from sketchup (not layout) to CAD. And all the process will be completed in CAD. Here’s the current result of the DWG file in CAD. Faces in Sketchup will be exported into material image clipped with rectangle.
We have organized few requests from the forum ahead. Please let us know your thoughts of each question below.
1 Do you need the components to be exported to blocks? And why?
2 Do you need all the layers remain intact in DWG file? And why?
3 What about all the patterns in layout? There’s no fill tool in layout which means you have to redraw shapes for patterns. Do you think transfer material images into hatched in CAD is a good idea? This means you have to do all the filling works in CAD.
We are definitly able to do everything above, but when all the features combined, it brings up the workload and takes much more time to debug. So please tell us which one is the most important or you have something else prior to everyone above. Btw, we are unable to complete these features with Sketchup export API or modify the export API.
Groups and components should be exported as filled blocks. Geometry below should exist below these.
Yes, layers should to be intact. If I’ve constructed a layer structure in my model, I want it to be exported as such so my associates/consultants can turn off the unneeded layers aswell as have some indication of what that layer is representing.
Not sure? Ideally, layout would drive the process.
In my fantasy, SU would export dwg in a manner that each layer was built on top of the lower. Each layer would have filled geometry of groups/components so if my lighting designer wanted to turn off my lighting layer, the result would still be a coherent drawing that doesn’t just have random lines with missing geometry of behind the layer I just turned off.
I’m not an AutoCAD user, but my 2D program, PowerCADD can use either DWG or PDF for import.
• First priority is simply export with layers
• PowerCADD is a polygon or surface drawing program like, say, Adobe Illustrator, so filled polygons would be extremely helpful. That would be second priority.
• PowerCADD doesn’t support group content spanning over multiple layers like SketchUp does, so I’m not sure what features of groups/comonents or block translation to pursue.
I think that exporting embedded or referenced raster images to AutoCad is not a very great idea. Can you make the hatch substitution happen already at the export stage?
Same here, I’m using Qcad, but work with people using autocad.
export by layers is by far the main thing. Right now, it’s the bypass we’ve found, instead of exporting the whole view, turn on one or two layers, export, then combine on different layers.
Even if in SU an object touches another object, if they are on different layers, they become easy to regroup in 2DCAD softwares. Especially if they are composed of polylines and polygons instead of raw loose geometry.
Components to Blocks is required because that’s what they are. Otherwise selecting any one object means making a potentially laborious selection set. It keeps things separate. Its expected.
Layers in DWG are Priority because that’s how we control Viability and Line Types.
Converting Images to Hatches seams like AI stuff but your method of selecting a Hatch would be greatly appreciated even if it is manual sizing and origin positioning. Drafting Tile Patterns with vector lines is tedious and revisions become a dread. Placing a texture is like fun time schematic design and then making it a hatch is like saying its done. ( I always thought that Converting a Texture to Vector lines would be an interesting plugin even if it wasn’t perfect… like Adobe Illustrator Tracing Tool.)
