How do i get smoother curves while importing from AutoCAD?!
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hey all! wanted to ask somethin..... wen i import a drawing from autocad to sketchup, all the curves appear all distorted i.e. the appear only in lik 5 or 6 edges which makes large curves very ugly... wat can i do to make the curves smoother?! i realize that it would make the model slightly heavier but i think i can handle that... is it a setting that i hav to do in autocad itself before import it to sketchup?!
Thanx a lot!!
P: iamjerine
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Hopefully Craig D can answer this for certain, but as far as I'm aware there is no way to alter the number of edges/facets that SU's dwg importer creates. I've tried changing the default 24 edges in the circle tool in a skp file and then importing a dwg, but the importer always reverts to 24 edges. Adding this option to the preferences menu is a good idea for the wishlist- I think I'll add it.
I would say though that it does encourage "best practice" in SU i.e. edit and model your number of edges according to your need. 24 edges on a table leg may be excessive, but for the edge of a curved kerb it might be insufficient.
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I'll be watching...
love to know more.
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I'm not sure about ACAD...I don't use it...but there are tools in CorelDraw and Adobe Illustrator for adding as many nodes as you like to a bezier curve, then turning it into straight line segments before export. I'd imagine there is something similar in ACAD. If not, then it might be better to export as a R11 dwg, if possible. This was before beziers the curve is likely to be reduced to tiny little segments. Too many is better than too few; it's a little laborious, but you can then group the curve then trace over it a few small segments at a time to give yourself a smoother curve.
P: Alan Fraser
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To make curves appear smoother, try this...
BEFORE importing anything eg from Autocad.
Select Circle Tool - Then Go to VCB (Box in Lower Right Hand Corner)- Type in the No. of Segments Reqd (eg 64 if you want a really smooth curve).
Draw Circle.
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Import Autocad Data
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Delete Circle
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NB
Sketchup doesn't draw curves - just straight lines - but I think you've already worked this out.
File size and more importantly, poly count can build up rapidly when you make curves look really smooth.
Choose an appropriate level of detail for the resolution / zoom factor any output will be seen at.
There are no prizes for over modelling - only reduced PC performance.
Always good to bear this in mind.
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Hope this helps
Howard L' -
@unknownuser said:
To make curves appear smoother, try this...
BEFORE importing anything eg from Autocad.
Select Circle Tool - Then Go to VCB (Box in Lower Right Hand Corner)- Type in the No. of Segments Reqd (eg 64 if you want a really smooth curve).
Draw Circle.
...
Import Autocad Data
...
Delete CircleSorry Howard- that doesn't work, see my post above.
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The number of segments of any entity that lists as a circle or an arc can be changed in the "entity info" toolbar. Go into or explode the autocad imported component and change the number of segments of arcs and circles as desired.
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@tomsdesk said:
The number of segments of any entity that lists as a circle or an arc can be changed in the "entity info" toolbar.
Wow- great tip Tom!
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Well, it certainly would be nice to do this globally, rather than entity by entity...ruby guys?
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@tomsdesk said:
The number of segments of any entity that lists as a circle or an arc can be changed in the "entity info" toolbar. Go into or explode the autocad imported component and change the number of segments of arcs and circles as desired.
Yeah, but that - unfortunately - only works for a limited time (or more exactly until you affect the geometry with something that breaks this possibility).
As for the "wish"; there is a topic about this already at the "Pro forums/Whish list" thingy...
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tomsdesk wrote:
The number of segments of any entity that lists as a circle or an arc can be changed in the "entity info" toolbar. Go into or explode the autocad imported component and change the number of segments of arcs and circles as desired.If circle have radial lines crossing circle and if you change the no. of segment of each arch. it got deformed. rather than being a circle
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Give us an image or better, an SKP file showing the original circle and the deformation.
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I came over this extension called 's4u Import DXF (for Sketchup Pro)' [Link: http://extensions.sketchup.com/en/content/s4u-import-dxf ] which pretty much solves the issue of importing the smoother curves. The only limitations are, the extension is [highlight=#ffffbf:dwz315js]not free[/highlight:dwz315js] (Use 10 day trial to test) and works only on [highlight=#ffffbf:dwz315js]Pro versions[/highlight:dwz315js] of Sketchup. Goodluck!
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I typically import typographic DWG's from an Illustator file for dimensional signage, and would have the same problem. My solution is to add anchor points to the vector art in Illustrator (Object/Path/Add Anchor Points) before exporting the file from AI.
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Brake apart the dxf or dwg file... and save it in 2004 version ACAD
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Does anyone know of any progress on this front?
the dumbed down arcs being imported is one of my most hated things about SKP. i deal with huge site plans drafted in autocad and waste so much of my time making faces from the little bits that now don't connect or smoothing out rough lines eg kerbs, linemarking (no they don't select as an arc or circle so entity info does not work)
thanks -
If you use a 3D CAD export instead of 2D, you'll get the smooth curves you're after. This has been the way it's worked for better than a decade and it hasn't changed.
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@dave r said:
If you use a 3D CAD export instead of 2D, you'll get the smooth curves you're after. This has been the way it's worked for better than a decade and it hasn't changed.
so what do I do with my dwg file that is drafted in 2d? am I meant to save it as another file type or should it have been drafted with 3d polylines?
AutoCAD 2018 -
My apologies for the confusion.
I was referring to export from SketchUp. For import into SketchUp, there's nothing you can do to create smoother curves on import. If the curves are recognized by SketchUp as arcs or circles, you can edit the number of sides in Entity Info. Otherwise you would need to redraw the curves with more segments. If the curve is non-circular I would probably use Catmull Splines from Fredo6's Bezier Spline extension to redraw them. Since .dwg files import as components, I would draw the curve outside the component using the original as a guide and then replace the original with the new one.
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