Importing Revit Models Into Sketchup With Materials

SketchUp Feature Requests
1

Hello,

I am working at a large architecture firm and we use Revit as our primary drafting tool. The firm has chosen not to use Revit as the primary rending software. I have no choice in this matter.

We use SketchUp to create renderings for our clients. This is how the process works: We draft in Revit, export the model to SketchUp, (where it imports as a blank 3D object with no labeled materials), then we apply materials to the SketchUp model to give it color. Because we make many changes to the Revit model throughout the project, we do not wish to assign materials to the SketchUp model each time.

My question:
Is there a way to link the Revit file with the SketchUp file so that when a change is made in Revit and exported to SketchUp, the materials are recognized and import into the SketchUp file?

Side Note: I personally emailed SketchUp and they gave me the link to this forum and told me they do not know of a way, but they are very confident in the capabilities of this forum and many things can be accomplished here that are not accomplished by SketchUp Services.

1 Like
2

I would guess that the FBX format is the only available Revit export format to support materials. To get it into SketchUp, you could try the Autodesk FBX converter (free download) to convert it into DAE.

If you are using the DWG format to move from Revit to SketchUp, you could try to set up your export options in Revit to create DWG layers that reflect your use of materials, and then, in SketchUp, switch your style to use materials by layer.

I have not checked what could be acieved by using IFC as the intermediary format, but I would guess that materials wouldn’t transfer through that either.

I personally wouldn’t really bother. Revit’s 3D views can be configured to get directly about the same look and feel as SketchUp, and its photorealistic renders are not that bad either. Are you using some SketchUp plugin to create your renders?

Anssi

3

Link your project into a blank project
Export 2010 DWG from 3D view
Import DWG to Sketchup

Hope this helps, it works fine for me.

4

There is a free exporter is available from Kubity that supports texture export. The plugin installs in Revit and exports to skp format.

I would also use the Sketchup ruby script by ThomThom: CleanUp3:
https://extensions.sketchup.com/en/content/cleanupÂł
The script will make the geometry somewhat usable.

5

I noticed today that the kubity export does not work in revit 2018.

6

For some obscure reasons Revit plugins seem to only work in a designated version. With yearly updates, it is a nuisance.

7

I tried this path, (Revit → FXB → FXB Converter → DAE file) but Sketchup will not import the DAE file. Errors everytime, with any file I attempt - even a file with just one simple cube in it.

8

I would perhaps use an IFC or DWG file as the intermediary.

9

This works for Revit 2021, but the free trial by Kubity has a egregiously obnoxious watermark filling half the screen. For real, when is there going to be a design software package that doesn’t involve spending [another] $100 - $700 (per year, per license) on top of the Autodesk subscription to get “concept to design to presentation to construction drawings” all in one package? Why is there no enterprise level design software?

10

I’m very late to the game on this one but maybe others are looking for the answers as I still am. I do have a vague memory from when I was working for a large firm and what I can remember is that all the materials across all platforms had the same name / id. So I was able to take a model from sketchup to 3dsmax to Revit and the materials were automatically applied. However, we had a big IT department that set all of that up. I know this doesn’t really help but maybe gives an idea for a path to take.