Hi All , so I am drawing some simple “escutcheon” plates ( an escutcheon is the shaped hole thing that goes around a keyhole or cylinder on newer locks) dxf esc test 1.skp (233.3 KB)
, drawing them is pretty easy, what I need to be able to do is export nice clean dxf files for laser cut - I have watched some sketch up suggestions on youtube, some help a bit. the closest I have got is setting the segments in the curve to the highest SKP will allow ( 65 in the one circle) them exporting it as a 3D dxf with only faces checked - it produces a readable file on Autocad truview but is still visibly a set of straight lines - not a curve
did you export as a 2d dxf ? if so, try the 3d dxf. it might require a bit of cleaning, depending on the export options you picked, but it respects circles. since your drawing started as one, it might work.
They need to read as circles and arcs in entity info, not curves, then the 3d export will create them as true circles and arcs. Curves will always be segmented.
I don’t know what version of SketchUp you’re using but this might help. This is the headline - “Check out this tip that Aaron learned from Eric Schimelpfenig in his 3D Basecamp presentation. A must see for anyone exporting 2D curves from SketchUp!”
Thanks ateliernab - I’m not so clear on this forum . is that file one you did and posted? If so it is similar to one of my attempts - I think when I did 3D export and selected edges - but if you zoom in close to the junction of the curve and the straight line they are not joined … I did the same in with faces selected and got a better result - I also tried a redraw where I selected the maximum segments in the circle before cutting it which helped a little - but still shows a series of lines when I zoom right in ( I’m opening all these with Autocad Truview) seems to do very similar in 2d export with a much smaller file size
beginning to think Librecad may be my friend for this one!
Thanks , that one made me think - I drew another model without cutting the circles - on dxf 3D export with faces option it gave a good outline but showed segments , on Faces option it showed good circles but a messy outline - it would probably work but the laser would spend a whole load of time cutting something that’s not there… new esc as circles not arcs.skp (229.6 KB) new esc as circles not arcs faces.dxf (735.5 KB) new esc as circles not arcs edges.dxf (42.0 KB)
Thanks Guido , just got around to downloading 24 , I so far have found it less intuitive than 23 but maybe a learning curve , thanks I did watch that video and tried various variants of the ideas , no 100 % success yet…
yes. that’s because when you draw a sketchup circle, you actually draw a polygon inscribed in the actual circle. you can see this better when using the polygon tool, you see the dashed circle.
sketchup will manage the inferences using the polygon, meaning you’ll snap on lines and points that are not ON the circle but slightly inside (unless you grab one of the endpoints)
when exporting in 3d dxf, it replaces the polygon by an actual circle / arc. but the other lines don’t move.
indeed. Whenever I export dxf shapes with arcs, I’ll generally adjust them in Qcad or illustrator, just to be sure.
You are of course correct - when I re-exported it as a dxf from SketchUp all the segments appeared! - but at least they were connected to the straight lines in the model - overall I think I am going to stick with Sketchup for concept stuff great for making up a "presentation pack"a few pages long - good to show clients and distribute for pricing via layout and pdf – but dxf will be via my new friend Siemens - maybe Librecad if I ever have the patience to learn it !
Although this doesn’t change @ateliernab’s advice to clean up your model with correct arc extremes, I can add a suggestion that an easier way to export 2D shapes with circle curve to DXF is possible with OpenCutList export tool.
No need to change the view,
Arcs can be exploded,
The result is a full DXF polyline.
