@slbaumgartner Ok please would you mind having a look at this file… This is an old file from which I have exported a dwg and cnc person has had no problems with opening… from 2019 software and on old laptop
re the circles etc still no good here?
Thanks!
Old file for test forum .skp (374.4 KB)
OLD files for test forum.dwg (1.3 MB)
Unlike in the other model, the z axis location of every vertex I checked in this skp is exact to the whole mm out to six decimal places. No strange trailing digits, and consistent values at all vertices of a face.
Looking again at the earlier file, I notice that the entire thing is tilted slightly off the xy plane (see screenshot below). That is probably the source of the issues, and has nothing to do with 2023 vs 2019. I also see that the x and y coordinates of corners have strange trailing fractions on them. Why did you draw this model in free space instead of starting at a known point such as the origin? That could also be a factor in the issue, especially if you had length snapping turned on at any point.
It’s time for me to cook supper now, but if I get time later I’ll try redrawing the first panel using 2023 and see if it comes out crooked for me.
So I saved the problem file as a 2019 SU file and exported the dwg in 2019, and he was able to open an read without problems / triangles on autocad and solidworks - so 2023 dwg export is the problem !
Not disputing those drawings were off axis etc but it was so small and isn’t the problem I am having.
I can save the whole file in 2019 after drawing it and then export using 2019 but it’s a bit of a pain. Does anyone have any ideas how I can fix this problem in 2023?
Thank you so much
I didn’t have time until now, but as promised I reworked your panel model to more exact dimensions and placement. I saved both as SKP 2023 and SKP 2019 and exported to dwg from each (using SU 2019 for the latter). I notice that the dwg exported by 2023 is considerably larger than the one from 2019, which indeed suggests there was something changed in the 2023 exporter (the skp is much smaller because the skp file format was changed in 2020 to be compressed). But looking at both files in ODADrawingsExplorer (the only dwg viewer I have), neither of them shows any triangulation.
Please try these out and see whether you observe any differences and whether the problems still remain in either of them. Let us know what you find.
Panel for forum - fixed 2023.skp (86.5 KB)
Panel for forum - fixed 2023.dwg (458.3 KB)
Panel for forum - fixed 2019.skp (209.0 KB)
Panel for forum - fixed 2019.dwg (201.6 KB)
My comment is completely unrelated to the problem a hand, but I notice that the 2023 dwg file contains a segment comprised of 0x00040000 zeros. That’s 256K bytes of zeros.
Hi there, could any of the pro’s here please check my model to avoid triangles after exporting it to DWG? Although it is a rather simple shape with 3 planes, I am getting tons of disruptions in the DWG format and can not really think of anything causing it… Thank you in advance.
omega_profil.skp (616.2 KB)
Your profile says you are using “Free Plan” of SketchUp 2020. Does that mean you’re using a cracked version?
In SketchUp 2024 I don’t get any triangulation. Maybe it’s time to upgrade.
“Does that mean you’re using a cracked version?”
Ehm… is it safe to say so here? 
I don’t see any triangulation in ma current SU version either, neither it DWG file when I open it wit Autodesk DWG Trueview, however some other CAD/CAM manufacturing SW see them big time:
So that means you are?
Maybe it’s a thing that needs to be fixed in the other applications.
ok, thank you for your advice sir.
By the way, don’t be a thief. Get a legal subscription for SketchUp.
Technically, what a face turns into when you export it to DWG is a Polyface entity. AutoCad treats Polyfaces as triangulated “under the hood”, with the internal triangle borders hidden. Not all CAD or 3D applications support polyfaces so they show the triangulation.
Cool, is it safe to say then that no matter what version of SU I use neither the tool/option within SU itself (e.g. smoothing planes etc) there’s no guarantee I won’t get the triangled DWG model after export?
Could anyone be so kind and export it in newest SU version to save me great hustle (and disappointment) obtaining it? Thank you in advance.
I would guess that is so. Why does it matter to you? I understand that you are moving models to be used in a CAM application - that doesn’t support polyfaces. What happens when you send a triangulated model to your CAM device? Have you used other model sources than SketchUp? What format are they? Doesn’t your CAM triangulate them too? I don’t think it should matter as it is the surfaces that get processed, not the edges. If your CAM software really requires solid model geometry to work you will have to use a solid modeller (Solidworks?).
It is not a matter of version. This part of the DWG/DXF specification has not changed for decades. Has your CAM software a newer version available?
Thank you for your valuable answer. What am I basically aiming to is get the part manufactured out of sheet metal and for that I’d like to have nice and “clean” blueprint. Thing is, I do not own any other CAM modelling software to get it done and also I am not sure how if such “corrupted” drawing will be a culprit for real production. Thus the effort to try to make it crisp first.
It seems you don’t own SketchUp either…
¯_(ツ)_/¯
I don’t use CAM either, but to me it seems that when exporting DWG or DXF for cutting sheet material, the best option is to export only the edges (outline, holes etc) of the part to be cut. The faces are not needed. Or you could take a look at using extensions like OpenCutList.
Ok, Thank you, I will look it up.
