Working with CAD and Other Programs

Collection of assorted stuff for "CAD-lovers" and other people who integrate other programs with their SketchUp workflow.

Prepping CAD imports/exports

File preparation is the key to success. Import only what you need, comprised of elements SketchUp can recognize. An often-used strategy in preparation for import is to work with a sacrificial copy of the CAD file. Look into what’s actually in the files you are trying to import. Here are just a few of the things to consider when CAD import problems occur: What’s in the file in terms of unsupported* CAD elements? DWG/DXF Supported CAD Elements

Was the file properly prepared for import? How should I prepare a CAD file for import into SketchUp?

Were the Import Options set correctly? The Import AutoCAD DWG/DXF Options dialog box

SketchUp YouTube videos Official SketchUp videos



Edge Prep Plugins

  • Architect Tools ThomThom - A plugin with a suite of tools to work with imported DWG data.

  • BezierSpline Fredo6 - After segmented lines have been welded into polylines, this plugin will add curve control nodes.

  • CADspan Suite of tools, including solid checking, to make a model ready for 3D printing and a cloud processing.

  • CleanUp³ ThomThom - Helps to clean up models.

  • CloseOpens Todd Burch - It helps to clean up sloppy imported CAD models - a cleanup script.

  • DynaSCAPE CAD Cleanup Dynascape - Automates routines to clean up CAD files for SketchUp.

  • Edge Tools² ThomThom - Edge tool collection to help clean up CAD imports.

  • fixSolid GWD - Closes holes.

  • Flatten Todd Burch - Flattens 3D objects to 2D, placing all entities on the Z=0 plane. Fee

  • Flatten and Extrude ThomThom

  • Flatten to Plane TIG - (requires workplane.rb plugin)

  • MakeFaces Todd Burch - Loops through your model and creates faces where faces need to be created.

  • Manifold TIG - A plugin which helps prepare a SketchUp model for 3-D printing. (Solid detection introduced in SketchUp 8 mostly replaces this plugin now.)

  • Recurve Diggory Blake - Welds connected edges into a polyline.

  • Simplify Contours SketchUp - Makes topo lines, contour lines, less complex to be easier to use in SketchUp

  • Solid Inspector ThomThom - The plugin checks if Groups or Components are solids or not, highlighting holes or areas or errors. Can be used to find gaps and stray edges in messy CAD imports. Pre-SketchUp 2014.

  • Solid Iinspector² ThomThom - Newer version for SketchUp 2014 and above.

  • SolidSolver TIG - Works with ThomThom's Solid Inspector to diagnose model problems.

  • Weld Smustard - Welds connected edges into a polyline. Afterwards can use Bezierspline to finetune the polyline shape.

Tip: To get a clean, 3D export of true geometry (ie, true arcs), delete all faces before exporting. Using 2D Tools also makes clean geometry exports.

When you import a DWG or DXF into SketchUp Pro, you should check in the import options (Options button on the Import File dialog box) that the import unit is set to the same unit that was used when creating the file. The default import unit is Feet. SketchUp does not read the unit from the file automatically, and the import unit is set independently of the unit you use when modelling. Also, when importing DWG/DXF files exported from SketchUp into some other application, note that the SketchUp exporter has a small bug that leaves the unit factors that are embedded in the file to wrong values (except if you are using inches) so also in other applications the import unit should be set "manually".

When you export 2D views from SketchUp to DWG/DXF, note that you can only define a scale if the view you are exporting uses Parallel projection (Camera menu) instead of Perspective. A scale relation to reality is impossible and irrelevant to a perspective view.

Another thing that causes crashes or missing geometry is the import unit (see what is behind the Options button on the Import dialog box) being too small. If the file has very small triangles, it may even be necessary to import using a larger unit than originally used to model the thing, and to scale the model back down when imported.

If you made it with AutoCad Architecture or some other "vertical-market" version of AutoCad, the 3D objects like walls, roofs etc. are in a proprietary format that cannot be imported directly into other software. AutoCad Architecture has an "Export to AutoCad" function that converts these objects into standard AutoCad 3D geometry.

If AutoCAD files are older than version 12 (released about 1993 or 1994), some problems might arise. You can convert old files (from release 10 or newer) to newer formats with the free DWG TrueView from Autodesk. Note that SketchUp cannot import the latest (version 2013) files yet. Usually the reason why DWG files won't open in SketchUp is that they contain objects that are not supported, like AEC objects (like walls and doors created in AutoCad Architecture).

Zombies

After the DWG/DXF file is imported, a SketchUp dialog will list ignored items.

AutoCAD Entities Ignored:

Empty Blocks: 1

Zombies and Others: 5162

The "zombies" the report refers to are most probably an indication that the file consists mainly of just the kind of proprietary objects. Zombie objects are proxies that refer to objects created in an application that is missing. Standard AutoCad can display them with the help of so-called "Object enablers", but to convert them into something that SketchUp can read you need the full originating application and its "Export to AutoCad" function.

Anssi

CAD-ish convention for SketchUp modeling

Dashed Lines

    • Draw line > select line > right click > Divide into many small segments > hide every other segment with Eraser + Shift.

    • Draw line segment (or rectangle with hidden edges for added width/color options), select it then make a linear array with the Move tool. Group the geometry.

    • Use one of the plugins listed below


Hatches

        • 120 Skalp materials NEN arceringen Free hatch patterns from Skalp

        • 2D Tools TIG - 2D drawing options similar to those found in CAD, includes hatching patterns tool. User can add more textures.

        • AutoCAD hatches Jim Patrick - 43 popular hatch patterns to be used as SketchUp materials. xxx

        • Concrete Hatch klog1947 - 3D Warehouse model. Save the embedded materials in one or your own collections through the Materials browser in SketcUp.

        • Hatchfaces jolran - Hatch-making plugin - real geometry hatches.

        • Hatch patterns Gully Foyle shares some hatch patterns.

        • Skalp Extension which includes special hatch patterns that work like materials inside SketchUp but will export as geometry to CAD applications. Fee

        • Search the internet for AutoCAD hatches to be used in SketchUp as materials.



PDF to DXF (note: Macs will natively import PDF vector files, but Windows requires a file converter.)


Poché


Title Blocks

    • Matt_Cartouche Matt666 - Plugin to add a basic title block.

    • Rich Text Render Plus - Wizard on RpTools to create editable image with rich text, images, more. Fee - Windows

    • Title Block Pro thread covering the use of custom-made fonts

    • Watermark Add a background or foreground image with the title block information.


Relevant Plugins

Note: To download plugins from SketchUcation, join the forum and logon.

Note²: For any plugins at the Ruby Library Depot, open the Wayback Machine and paste the old Depot link there to view archived captures of the internet.

    • 2D Tools TIG - 2D drawing options similar to those found in CAD, including hatching patterns and dashes.

    • Add Layer Jim Foltz - Controls and edits Layer visibility in Scenes while setting up Scenes/Layers or after.

    • Angular Dimension slbaumgartner - Draws angular dimensions.

    • Architect Tools thomthom - A suite of tools to work with imported DWG data.

    • AreaTextTag TIG - Adds 3D text tag component of face area glued to face.

    • Axo + Iso View TIG - Sets camera for axonometric or isometric view with appropriate zoom extents.

    • Break Edges

    • CADLayers Exports layer states from AutoCAD and import into SketchUp.

    • CADup TIG - Makes line drawings views of SketchUp Groups and Components for CAD programs.

    • CleanUp thomthom - Variety of model cleanup options.

    • CloseOpens Todd Burch - It helps to clean up sloppy imported CAD models - a cleanup script.

    • Construction Lines

        • Construction Line Clark B - Converts selected edges to construction lines. Context menu plugin.

        • Construction Line Styler TIG - Style guide lines via context menu with various patterns.

        • Construction line tool Jim Foltz - Draws guide lines line as easy as using the Line tool. Several line styles.

        • Guide Tools thomthom - Set of tools for creating construction points.

        • Xline Rick Wilson - Convert edges to construction lines. Context menu plugin.

    • Convert DWG Layer Names to Materials Al Hart

    • Create Section Drawing tak2hata - Tools to create and work with multiple section cuts and export section DXFs.

    • Dashed Lines

        • 2D Tools TIG - 2D drawing options similar to those found in CAD, including colored, dashed lines (the dashes are actually arrayed, painted faces. This will add a lot geometry to the model.)

        • ChrisP_ColorEdge Chris Plassaiis - Make colored edges and dashed lines.

        • DashedLines Todd Burch - Converts regular lines to dashed lines. Fee

        • dashes Didier Bur - Creates dashes on roads, starting from a selection of connected lines

        • PenTools+ Rich O'Brien - Draws various edge types.

        • Polyline tool Wizard in the toolset RpTools by Render Plus. Fee - Windows

    • Dibac for SketchUp Iscarnet - Draw in 2D and get 3D dynamically. Nice auto-fill section cutting too. Free trial, Fee

    • Dim/Text Visibility TIG, Defisto - Control the visibility of dimensions and text.

    • Divide Angle TIG - Bisect an angle.

    • Double Line Didier Bur - similar to dline.lsp

    • Double LIne 2 DrawArcs Didier Bur - Different methods for drawing an arc.

    • DXF_In Importer (alpha) by honoluludesktop.

    • Edges/Construction Lines Converter Michaelv - Interchange edges and guide lines. Change line/edge color.

    • Edge Tools² thomthom - Edge tool collection to help clean up CAD imports.

    • EditInPlace Opens another SketchUp session to work on small details of larger models. Fee - Windows, Mac

    • ElevTag TIG - Adds elevation tags to model.

    • ExtendCloseLines Todd Burch - A CAD cleanup script.

    • Face Flattener cerevellum - Flattens selected geometry to a single plane - retains face.

    • Flatten Todd Burch - Flattens 3D objects to 2D.

    • Flatten and Extrude thomthom

    • Hatchfaces jolran - Hatching is geometry. It will get detected in other CAD-programs (hopefully) through export.

    • LandF/X LandF/X - A landscape architectural add-on to create planting and site plans from AutoCAD plans. Free

    • layers_materials Didier Bur - Convert DWG layer names to materials.

    • MakeOrthoViews Jim Foltz - Copies a Group to create Orthographic Views for 2D CAD export.

    • Milling Tools thomthom - Creates Dog-Bone fillets on the faces you click on.

    • Parking Rick Wilson - Draws parking lot lines.

    • Plan Tools thomthom - Tools to help fix DWG data imported into SketchUp.

    • realSection GWdyouw - Create real sections with different materials.

    • RotateView SketchUp God, aka r - Rotates workspace orientation. Works in Top View only. Plugin menu.

    • RpTools Render Plus - Toolset adding things like inserting 2D rich text documents and exporting PDFs with custom line attributes, creating proxy components, etc. Fee - Windows

    • Skalp Sections and patterns. Fee

    • StrayLines Todd Burch - Label, Select, Delete or Show all the open-ended line segments in a drawing.

    • TECLA bomastudio - Tools for insert walls, floor, columns, like in ArchiCAD, AllPlan etc

    • Text

    • thicklines Rick Wilson - Creates multiple edges close to each other to make a thicker looking line.

    • VisTools Dana Woodman - AutoCAD-like visibility tools.


Bypass - or co-ordinate with - CAD applications by using LayOut (included with SketchUp Pro)


'Other' Modelers A sub-section on the Sage Resources page which lists some CAD programs that play nice with SketchUp.

ArcGIS

ArcGIS to SketchUp and Back New workflow on working with ArcGIS 10 and SketchUp.

Adobe Stuff

Spreadsheets

Tip: On Macs, save the CSV file for Windows CSV (which is used to move files to Windows/XP) to make the Cloud plugin work.

    • More tips on using SketchUp with spreadsheet data for terrain models.


Plugins

Note: To download plugins from SketchUcation, join the forum and logon.

Note²: For any plugins at the Ruby Library Depot, open the Wayback Machine and paste the old Depot link there to view archived captures of the internet.

      • Cloud Didier Bur

      • Construction Guide Context Tools TIG - Context menu tools to help manage all those guide points.

      • Connect the Dots sdmitch - Reads a CSV file with one x,y,z coordinate per line and draws lines between them.

      • Coords Text Tag from Datum TIG - Import a CSV coordinates file with option to mark the locations with a guide point and text tag.

      • Curviloft Fredo6 - Loft and skin a model using the contours generated in SketchUp from the imported cloud point data.

      • Curvizard Fredo6 - Interactive tools to work on the contours generated from the imported cloiud point data.

      • Export Cpoints to CSV TIG

      • Export Vertices to CSV TIG

      • Extrude Tools TIG - Extrude a model using the contours generated in SketchUp from the imported cloud point data.

      • gsi_importer Jim Hamilton - Will import Leica TXT data (in feet) into SketchUp model (using FEET units) from Leica model Builder 100.

      • Inventory3D for Excel Luno - Graphical 3D 'inside-plan' inventory, design, bill-of-materials calculation and facilities maintenance using Excel spreadsheets database. Fee Windows

      • Point Gadget CMD - Import, create, visualize and export points. More features than Total Station Point Importer.

      • pointools Plugin to work with large point cloud models.

      • points_cloud_triangulation Didier Bur

      • SU2XL Wisext - Exchange data between SketchUp and Excel.

      • Triangulate Points TIG - Alternative version to points_cloud_triangulation.

      • Total Station Point Importer CMD - Places points in SketchUp from total stations and other precision measuring devices CSV and txt files.