Exporting to 2d DWG file unjustifiably slow

Hello. I need some help understanding why exporting 2d dwg file takes so long?

I have two thesis friends who happens to seek my help in exporting their model to dwg.

Friend 1’s model (7-storey building) has been successfully exported with 4-6 hrs each elevation.
Friend 2’s model (3-storey) took 10 hours and STILL NOTHING.

I’m wondering why it’s taking THAT long when I have a decently high end PC.
Ryzen 7 3700x
RTX 3080
32gb RAM

I’m quite aware that sketchup uses one CPU core as it reflects in task manager. Is there anything else I can do to change it into GPU or something?

Any suggestions or recommendations what to do? I’ve been considering also to export it layer by layer.

Thank you!

That does seem a little - excessive.

Either there is something going on specific to you or there is something that those models have in common.
If you can share the model, I’m sure someone can take a look and advise

I am curious about the geometric complexity of the models. According to the Statistics tab of the Model Info window, how many edges and faces are there in the model (with “Show nested components” enabled)?

Thank you for responding. I might have to ask permission first to them. I’ll keep posted. Meanwhile, I’ll check what they have in common.

Thank you for responding. This was from friend 1. I think it’s kinda messy. Do you think the geometric complexity of the overall model matters when exporting 2ds? I mean, it’s just one side. Will appreciate your response.

16 million edges is an overweight file. This kind of bloat is commonly caused by indiscriminately populating the model with downloaded entourage (furniture, plants, people, fixtures like sinks and toilets or doorknobs) from the 3D warehouse without paying attention to the file size, texture detail or poly count of the things being downloaded.

Yes, even in 2d export the .dwg converter needs to calculate the location of every edge to give an accurate flattened image.

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16 million edges and 6 million faces is a pretty complex model in SketchUp terms. Yes, the geometric complexity has a direct impact on the time to export the model. All those edges and faces need to be examined and transformed one by one (generally). Even for a 2D export, even when a lot of the geometry is hidden by other geometry, it all must be examined.

As an experiment, perhaps you could create a very small model (just a simple shape with a dozen or so edges and a few faces, such as a simple rectangle that is Push Pulled up into a solid) and make sure that exports quite quickly.

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Based on the screenshot, I would recommend that you take a look at things like the balcony railings. If the parts are round and created with the default 24-side circles that would account for quite a lot of the excess faces and edges.

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Yes, the complexity will have a direct impact. When the 2D is rendered , each edge that is visible will need to be rendered. Set aside a few milliseconds per edge and you have your long render time.

Whilst all edges clearly aren’t visible , there will still be a relationship between the total number of edges in the model and the number that are a visible.
There are plugins that you can use to help streamline the number of edges - and as others have suggested there are certain culprits in a model like this often responsible for more edges than perhaps necessary.

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