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⚠️ Libfredo 15.4b | Minor release with bugfixes and improvements Update

Convert metric dxf file to inches?

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  • P Offline
    pbacot
    last edited by 6 Sept 2018, 06:28

    What did you do (from the beginning). You have a SU file with mm units... and?

    MacOSX MojaveSketchUp Pro v19 Twilight v2 Thea v3 PowerCADD

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    • G Offline
      Glenn at home
      last edited by 6 Sept 2018, 13:04

      Have you tried any of the free 2D CAD programs out there...draftsight being one of them? If not shoot it to me and I'll do it for you with AutoCAD.

      SketchUp Pro 2024/2025 Dell XPS 8950 i9-12900K 64GB Ram RTX 3080

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      • D Offline
        Dave R
        last edited by 6 Sept 2018, 13:21

        How did you get the DXF file into SketchUp Make?

        Maybe, instead of struggling with getting it imported with the desired dimensions, import it and resize it to the desired dimensions. Measure that 17 in. dimension with the Tape Measure tool making sure to click on the end points at each end. Then type 8 and hit Enter. You should be asked if you want to resize the model. Click Yes.

        Etaoin Shrdlu

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        (THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE)

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        • I Offline
          ibrubeer
          last edited by 6 Sept 2018, 15:01

          @glenn at home said:

          Have you tried any of the free 2D CAD programs out there...draftsight being one of them? If not shoot it to me and I'll do it for you with AutoCAD.

          It is a file from a someone in Germany, so it is in metric. I need it to be in Inches. The dimensions need to be as they are already, so I can't just force them to be something (because I don't know the exact dimensions). I would certainly welcome your assistance, Glenn. I can't send messages on here yet. Here is a link to the file in my Dropbox though. I greatly appreciate any help that you could give me!

          Dropbox

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          (www.dropbox.com)

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          • D Offline
            Dave R
            last edited by 6 Sept 2018, 15:08

            I set the import units to millimeters and imported the file. It comes in as shown below.
            Screenshot - 9_6_2018 , 10_07_43 AM.png

            How are you importing the file into SketchUp Make? Since it doesn't have a native DXF importer, are you using an extension? If so, it must surely have a place to set the import units.

            Etaoin Shrdlu

            %

            (THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE)

            G28 X0.0 Y0.0 Z0.0

            M30

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            • I Offline
              ibrubeer
              last edited by 6 Sept 2018, 17:48

              @dave r said:

              I set the import units to millimeters and imported the file. It comes in as shown below.
              [attachment=0:3vp3ln3g]<!-- ia0 -->Screenshot - 9_6_2018 , 10_07_43 AM.png<!-- ia0 -->[/attachment:3vp3ln3g]

              How are you importing the file into SketchUp Make? Since it doesn't have a native DXF importer, are you using an extension? If so, it must surely have a place to set the import units.

              I don't really know much about Sketchup. I was only using it to convert this file into inches. I went into the menu, selected import, and set the units to mm. Then I converted the units to inches and tried to export it to a dxf file again. Can you just save it as a dxf file in inches for me? I would be eternally grateful!

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              • G Offline
                Glenn at home
                last edited by 6 Sept 2018, 19:33

                What distance does it need to be from center to center?


                Screenshot_1.png

                SketchUp Pro 2024/2025 Dell XPS 8950 i9-12900K 64GB Ram RTX 3080

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                • I Offline
                  ibrubeer
                  last edited by 6 Sept 2018, 20:12

                  @glenn at home said:

                  What distance does it need to be from center to center?

                  Well, it is the correct distance already, but it is in millimeters. It eventually will be curved slightly and fit on existing screws, so it needs to be whatever it already is. I don't want to force it to be a certain dimension. The image Dave showed looked correct though, and that was about 8.52" edge to edge. I had no idea that it would be so difficult to convert a metric dxf file to inches!

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                  • G Offline
                    Glenn at home
                    last edited by 6 Sept 2018, 20:16

                    @ibrubeer said:

                    ....I had no idea that it would be so difficult to convert a metric dxf file to inches!

                    LOL, it's not. I just wanted to make sure that I had it correct. So 8" center to center. Done.


                    Bean_Deflector_Aillio_Bullet_R1-v2-inches.dxf

                    SketchUp Pro 2024/2025 Dell XPS 8950 i9-12900K 64GB Ram RTX 3080

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                    • I Offline
                      ibrubeer
                      last edited by 6 Sept 2018, 20:19

                      @glenn at home said:

                      @ibrubeer said:

                      ....I had no idea that it would be so difficult to convert a metric dxf file to inches!

                      LOL, it's not. I just wanted to make sure that I had it correct. So 8" center to center. Done.

                      If my guy can open this, you will be my AutoCad hero! Thank you very much for the assist!

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                      • D Offline
                        Dave R
                        last edited by 6 Sept 2018, 20:19

                        It isn't difficult to convert metric to inches. I don't know why it appears that it is.

                        There no reason your fabricator shouldn't be able to handle importing the metric version of the file, anyway. If your fabricator can't deal with it, you should probably find a new one.


                        Bean Deflector.dxf

                        Etaoin Shrdlu

                        %

                        (THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE)

                        G28 X0.0 Y0.0 Z0.0

                        M30

                        %

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                        • I Offline
                          ibrubeer
                          last edited by 6 Sept 2018, 20:30

                          @dave r said:

                          It isn't difficult to convert metric to inches. I don't know why it appears that it is.

                          There no reason your fabricator shouldn't be able to handle importing the metric version of the file, anyway. If your fabricator can't deal with it, you should probably find a new one.

                          There is a lot of truth in that. This is probably the first (and last) time that I need something like this done hopefully. It seemed so simply on the surface. I need a piece laser cut from Stainless from this dxf file. I have killed a lot of time on it though. I appreciate all of your help!

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                          • S Offline
                            slbaumgartner
                            last edited by 6 Sept 2018, 22:12

                            I'm not sure if I understand your request correctly, but you should be aware that internally SketchUp always stores all measurements in inches, even if your visible units from model_info->units are metric. The units setting just determines how SketchUp formats the measurements for display (and input) in the GUI.

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                            • G Offline
                              Glenn at home
                              last edited by 7 Sept 2018, 00:20

                              @ibrubeer said:

                              @glenn at home said:

                              @ibrubeer said:

                              ....I had no idea that it would be so difficult to convert a metric dxf file to inches!

                              LOL, it's not. I just wanted to make sure that I had it correct. So 8" center to center. Done.

                              If my guy can open this, you will be my AutoCad hero! Thank you very much for the assist!

                              He should be and glad to help 😉

                              SketchUp Pro 2024/2025 Dell XPS 8950 i9-12900K 64GB Ram RTX 3080

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