1. Hey guyz. Welcome to the All New Phlatforum!



    Sign Up and take a look around. There are so many awesome new features.

    The Phlatforum is a place we can all hang out and

    have fun sharing our RC adventures!

  2. Dismiss Notice

DXF to SKP file conversion Problem!

Discussion in 'Sketchup Help' started by xtremeRCpilot, Jan 30, 2011.

  1. xtremeRCpilot

    xtremeRCpilot Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    736
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Location:
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Hey Guyz!! I noticed that when I make an object in CorelDraw 8 and then export it, when I import it into SKP these little arrows show up in random places( I believe only on curves) as well as there being double lines!! Any help would be appreciated!
    Thanks
    John Attached files [​IMG]
     
  2. 7up

    7up Moderator Staff Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    1,090
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Location:
    Kentucky
    John, I may be wrong as I don't use CD but I believe that is where your problem is. The arrow looks to perfect to be produced by SU during DXF import. SU has issues producing an exact copy of a DXF when importing (scattered and stray lines) but like I said, that arrow looks to have been part of the original DXF. :questions:
     
  3. 3DMON

    3DMON Moderator Staff Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    2,380
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Location:
    Sebastian, Florida
    I think Buk is right. I've never seen a dxf do that before in Sketchup. Maybe someone in a Corel forum would know of a setting to fix it. I would try opening the dxf file in a different cad program to see if it shows up there too, just to be sure. It almost seems that the arrow is referencing to the direction of the arc??
     
  4. kram242

    kram242 Administrator Staff Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    6,311
    Trophy Points:
    13
    Location:
    NJ
    That's really interesting? It nice to know that you can see the direction of the arc but there must be an option to turn it off some where? Maybe in the dxf export options?
    Hope you figure it out John and wish I could help but CD is not my strong point either.
    Mark and Trish
     
  5. xtremeRCpilot

    xtremeRCpilot Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    736
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Location:
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Thanks guys!!!! I will check the settings in Corel and see if I can come up with something, I think Flashsolutions uses Corel so maybe I will send a PM !!!! :p

    Thanks for all your input!! You guys are the best!!
    John
     
  6. navionflyer

    navionflyer New Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    220
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Location:
    Richland, MI
    John,

    Post a .dxf file and I will check it in Autocad.

    Tim
     
  7. firetrappe

    firetrappe Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    192
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Location:
    England UK
    John, That's a strange issue you have there. I use CD quite a lot and haven't seen that before. Corel's DXF export can be a bit weird at times depending on the settings that you use. Have you tried importing the DXF back into Corel to see if the extra lines show up? You could also try my workflow mentioned here : http://www.phlatforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=101&t=302&p=16809&hilit=plt#p16809 to see if it makes any difference.

    One other thing you could try (although it may be of no use if you are using CD8) is to download the free trial of DXFTools : http://www.coreldrawtools.com/standard/index.html. This is a plugin for Corel specifically for exporting DXF files for CNC use. It exports curves as arcs which solves a lot of problems when you import the files into SU.

    Si.
     
  8. xtremeRCpilot

    xtremeRCpilot Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    736
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Location:
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Thanks Si, I just tried importing back into CD and the only difference was now the file has hundreds of nodes... I have obtained this file from CD symbol library so there should not be a compatibilty issue! It appears that only when you import into SKP that we have this issue, like alot of DXF files when imported into SKP the double line thing always show up for me... I also notice when I zoom in onthe dxf file in CD that the lines are thick so I can see why there may be a double line in SKP it must recognize this as an inside and outside line for some reason!!
    I really need to try that free version of DXF tools , I was wondering if there was a way to correct the curve issue, thank you Si for helping out!!!
    John

    Hi Time, here is a file that once you import into SKP zoom in around the loop and you will find a couple arrows HMMM :)
    Thanks guys
    John Attached files Graphic1.dxf (44 KB)Â
     
  9. rcav8r

    rcav8r Moderator Staff Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    1,193
    Trophy Points:
    38
    In AutCAD 2002.... a whole bunch of nodes.... No other stray lines. Lines are rather wide, and are gray. Not sure if that matters.
     
  10. xtremeRCpilot

    xtremeRCpilot Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    736
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Location:
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Thanks Tim, did you open it up in SKP and see what its doing !!!
    John
     
  11. xtremeRCpilot

    xtremeRCpilot Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    736
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Location:
    Cleveland, Ohio
    There is only less than a dozen nodes prior to me exporting it from Corel !!!Weird ..... :girl_cray2:
     
  12. firetrappe

    firetrappe Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    192
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Location:
    England UK
    John, I just imported the dxf file you posted above into SU7 and it seemed to work ok :?
    Have a look at the attached file, the outline is what imported, the version with the face is the result of triple clicking the edge and using the 'RepairBL and Phlatten' Plugin.

    Si.
    Attached files symbol test.skp (57.5 KB)Â
     
  13. navionflyer

    navionflyer New Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    220
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Location:
    Richland, MI
    John,

    I opened it with Autocad 2006. It brings it in as a Polyline with a global line width of .003 (no arrows). Can you change the line width in Corel Draw to zero? (I also imported it into SU7 and I can see the same arrows.)

    If I explode it and import to SU, it imports ok other than the fact that you have hundreds of little line segments rather than the curves. Can you explode the curves prior to export to .dxf? When I explode it in Autocad, I get 485 tiny line segments about .045 in length (some are shorter). I attached the same file after exploding in Autocad.

    I don't use Corel Draw so I am not familiar with how it operates. Are you grouping the curve segments or something like that? I also notice that it has 4 layers although all of the drawing is on Layer 1. You might try flattening to one layer.

    Tim Attached files Graphic1_explode.dxf (124.4 KB)Â
     
  14. scraighamilton

    scraighamilton Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    79
    Trophy Points:
    6
    Location:
    Coeur d'Alene, ID
    I imported it into V carve pro6. Everything looked fine. So I exported it back out then opened it in Sketchup and everything looked good. Not exploded or anything. weird. If you still need it here it is.

    Attached files Graphic1.dxf (41.8 KB)Â
     
  15. navionflyer

    navionflyer New Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    220
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Location:
    Richland, MI
    Craig's .dxf has it as a polyline as well, but the width is 0. I think that is the issue.

    Tim
     
  16. xtremeRCpilot

    xtremeRCpilot Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    736
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Location:
    Cleveland, Ohio
    That is weird Si, it looks perfect there, I opened it in SKP 8 pro so maybe that is the problem... I will open it in 7 and see what happens. I also use the Phlatten plug in and Repair BL HMMM
    Thanks
    John
     
  17. xtremeRCpilot

    xtremeRCpilot Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    736
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Location:
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Thanks Tim, Yea, I need to see if I can find a setting but it appears Si opened it fine in SKP 7, I think I have Gremlins LOL :D I would really like to use the DXF Tool to try and preserve t he curve for generating the phlatscript.. I have Corel 8 so I need to find a newer version. Also I dont use this program alot so I am working on the learning curve! Thanks for all your effort on this!!
    John
     
  18. xtremeRCpilot

    xtremeRCpilot Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    736
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Location:
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Thanks scraighamilton.... There must be a setting I am overlooking now that two of you are opening it fine!! Do you think it is something in SKP? Maybe in the edge style... I am going in boys to see whats happening hear!!

    Thanks
    John
     
  19. xtremeRCpilot

    xtremeRCpilot Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    736
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Location:
    Cleveland, Ohio
    OK Guys, I think I just found the problem but dont know why exactly :p When I go to import the file and went to the option box before opening the file I changed from inches to millimeters and WALLA perfect single layer line with no arrows :dance3:
    If any of you could answer why this was a problem I would be grateful!!

    thanks for all your help!!!
    John
     
  20. scraighamilton

    scraighamilton Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    79
    Trophy Points:
    6
    Location:
    Coeur d'Alene, ID
    Form me, Importing a dxf file into sketchup is always hit or miss, depending in what program it was generated in. Seems like I aways have to bring it into v carve first.
     
  21. firetrappe

    firetrappe Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    192
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Location:
    England UK
    Glad to hear you found a workaround John. I didn't think to try and import the dxf in inches as I always work in mm. I've spoken to a few guys on here about importing DXF's in the past, a lot have problems with the files importing at the wrong size and in the wrong place with regards to the origin co-ordinates. SU definitely has some problems with these files depending on how they were originally created and saved.
     
  22. xtremeRCpilot

    xtremeRCpilot Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    736
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Location:
    Cleveland, Ohio
    I am just glad for you guys so we can work through these problems together, its always nice to not have to do it alone, it sure gets frustrating at times :)

    Thanks
    John
     
  23. kram242

    kram242 Administrator Staff Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    6,311
    Trophy Points:
    13
    Location:
    NJ
    Good find guys! This will help others out for sure.
    Thank you for working this out sharing :doubleup: This is what makes the Phlatforum great! :dance3:
    Mark and Trish
     
  24. navionflyer

    navionflyer New Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    220
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Location:
    Richland, MI
    I have issues with them importing the wrong size as well. They are always the an exact scale off though, either 1/12 or 1/25.4 though so it is easy to scale and move them.

    Glad things are working for you now John.

    Tim
     
  25. firetrappe

    firetrappe Member

    Offline
    Messages:
    192
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Location:
    England UK
    Tim, that's interesting. 1/25.4 is the conversion between mm to inches.

    I found a post on the Adobe forums which might shed some light on the issue too :

    Having scale issue exporting pdf as dxf for Solidworks/Mastercam

    The scaling is due to the scale ratio. DXF and DWG use "units" which is a generic "unit" and can be anything. When exporting Illustrator must consider something a unit, so it uses points as a default. Here is how to export and keep the size you want.

    EXPORT DWG or DXF from Illustrator:

    Note: Illustrator will allow for open paths to have shape fills. For instance if you draw two sides of a triangle in illustrator, it will make a fill even though there is no third side. If you want closed paths, ensure they are closed before exporting.

    1. Select FILE, EXPORT, DXF or DWG.

    2. This is the easiest way. Set the Artwork Scale to 1 point = 1 unit. It is important that you select points for this step. Illustrator uses points as the 1:1 scale basis.

    3. Now set the Artwork Scale from "points" to whatever unit is actually in use. Illustrator will do the math and change the scale.

    For instance, if you are using inches then FIRST set the Artwork Scale to 1 point = 1 unit, then NEXT select inches, and it will show 0.0139 inches = 1 unit.

    1 unit = 1 points
    1 unit = 0.0833 picas
    1 unit = 0.0139 inches
    1 unit = 0.3528 mm
    1 unit = 0.0353 cm
    1 unit = 1 pixels

    Now when the DWG or DXF opens in Illustrator again, or a CAD program, the scale is the same. If prompted you can use the ratio above. I advise sending the ratio with the file. (e.g. 1 unit = 0.0139 inches)

    Si.
     

Share This Page