Starting with a CAD File in SketchUp

Like many SketchUp users, yous may want to use your CAD files to create splendid, useful, and lightweight SketchUp models. Importing and exporting common CAD file formats has ever been role of SketchUp's Dna, merely CAD files imported into SketchUp do have a few known quirks that yous can sidestep if you know the tips explained in this article.

Here are the known issues that you lot may find after you import a CAD file into SketchUp:

  • The size or calibration may not import correctly. This is specially true if you weren't sure what unit of measurement was used to create the CAD file. (See Importing and Exporting CAD Files for details virtually matching the units.)
  • The lines in an imported CAD file ofttimes don't connect to form SketchUp faces. Hunting down all these little gaps can be deadening — unless yous know a few tricks explained in this article.

Whether you've never worked with a CAD file imported into SketchUp before or have lots of experience importing CAD files, the tips and examples in the following sections can help you quickly kickoff modeling with your file in SketchUp .

Tip: To import CAD files into SketchUp, yous demand a SketchUp Pro license.

Table of Contents
  1. Preparing an imported CAD file for modeling in SketchUp
  2. Building a model from a CAD flooring plan
  3. Adding doors and windows to the model

Preparing an imported CAD file for modeling in SketchUp

Later yous import a CAD file, following these steps tin can help you brand certain the CAD file is ready for modeling. These steps assume that yous don't create a 3D model direct from the CAD geometry, but instead, use the CAD geometry as a reference for creating a SketchUp model.

Tip: Why employ the CAD file every bit a reference? The primary reason is considering CAD geometry is ofttimes way also complicated to create a useful SketchUp model. When in doubt, re-creating the model with SketchUp'south native drawing tools typically produces meliorate and more consistent results than trying to manipulate the imported CAD geometry. Also, imported CAD geometry is likely total of gaps that need to be closed to create faces. If you've imported a floor plan, for case, cartoon over a floor program to create a new model is easier than hunting and pecking to find and fix all those gaps. If you demand to use your CAD geometry, however, cheque out the Edge Tools two extension past user ThomThom. This extension can clean up terrain and CAD files for you past simplifying curves and closing gaps. For details about installing extensions, meet Adding Extensions to SketchUp

Hither'southward a recommended workflow for getting an imported CAD file ready for modeling in SketchUp:

  1. Check the size of the imported CAD geometry. Choose an entity with a measurement you know and check its size with the Tape Mensurate tool (). If the size is wrong, the Tape Mensurate tool also enables you to scale the entire model and so that the dimensions are correct.
  2. Make sure the CAD geometry is a single group. If your SketchUp model contained whatever geometry before the import, the imported CAD geometry is grouped automatically. If not, you demand to select all the CAD geometry and plow information technology into a grouping. Selecting Geometry offers tips on making selections, and Grouping Geometry explains how SketchUp groups piece of work. If not, start with SketchUp 2018, the geometry is imported as a component. (Earlier versions of SketchUp require you lot to select the imported geometry and create a group manually.)
  3. Line up the floor programme with SketchUp's drawing axes using the Rotate tool () or the Axes tool (). For instance, yous want the right angles in a floor programme to line upwards with the reddish and green axes, so that the SketchUp inference engine makes drawing over your flooring programme easy.
  4. Delete extra layers and place the CAD group on a new layer.

    Tip: In Decision-making Visibility with Layers, you find an introduction to SketchUp's layers feature and a video with tips for cleaning up layers in imported CAD files.

  5. Lock the group by context-clicking it and selecting Lock. You lock the group because y'all don't want to edit it, but use it as a reference for creating a model in SketchUp.
  6. Adjust the edge styles. This pace depends on your preferences, but y'all might want to turn off profiles in the Styles browser so that all the lines are same width.
  7. Create scenes to toggle layer visibility. Basically, create two scenes where visibility is the merely attribute saved in each scene. In the kickoff scene, make the CAD group's layer visible. In the 2nd scene, hide the group'due south layer. See Creating Scenes for details about creating and customizing scene tabs.

    Tip: Although yous tin also toggle layer visibility with the Layers managing director, creating scenes enables you to toggle the views with tabs at the top and close the Layers manager and so it'southward out of the way.

Building a model from a CAD floor programme

In the following video, you lot run across one workflow for creating a floor plan from an imported CAD drawing. The bones process works as follows:

  1. With the Rectangle tool (), describe rectangles to fill the outline of the edifice.
  2. With the Eraser tool (), delete whatsoever interior rectangle lines, so you accept 1 face in the shape of the building'southward outline.
  3. To create an exterior only, employ the Push/Pull tool () to create a volume in the shape of the building. Or utilize the Offset tool () to create exterior walls, and then trace inside each room with the Rectangle tool or other shapes tools to model faces for the interior walls.

The technique shown in the following video illustrates how to employ the CAD geometry every bit a reference for creating a new 3D model of a building, merely the basic process is helpful whether you're creating a new model or fine-tuning imported CAD geometry of a floor plan.

Adding doors and windows to the model

To add doors to a flooring plan, you can create one door at the desired height and copy it wherever you demand other doors.

For windows, create guides to set the get-go window at the correct tiptop. Afterward you identify one window, copy it, and permit the SketchUp inference engine help you lot place other windows at the correct peak besides.

In the following video, you see both of these techniques in action.