Importing and Exporting CAD Files

SketchUp subscribers can import and export CAD files (.dwg, .dxf). When working with CAD files, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Importing CAD Files

SketchUp supports the following CAD entities:

  • Arcs
  • Circles
  • Faces
  • 3D Faces
  • Layers/Tags
  • Lines and Line Styles
  • Materials
  • Polyline-based Solids
  • Nested Blocks
  • AutoCAD regions
  • Point
  • Ellipse
  • Spline
  • Raster Images

Sketchup does not support the following CAD entities:

  • Proprietary ADT or ARX Objects
  • Dimensions
  • Hatching
  • Text
  • XREFs

Preparing a CAD file for import into SketchUp

When you take a few steps to check and prepare your CAD file before import, you can make sure all the data you need imports into SketchUp and streamline the import process by following these guidelines:

Tip: You don't want to lose details in your original CAD file. Remember to create a copy of the CAD file and prepare that copy for importing into SketchUp.
  • Change unsupported elements – If you need to import unsupported CAD elements into SketchUp, try exploding those elements in CAD so they become primitive CAD drawing elements that SketchUp does support.
  • Delete unnecessary layers – SketchUp discards any entities that have no 3D relevance but doesn’t discard the layers holding these entities, creating empty tags in SketchUp. To avoid this, you can purge any unused layers before importing.
  • Move geometry close to the origin – Geometry that's too far away from the axis origin can cause performance issues. Check the placement of geometry in your CAD file before you import the CAD file into SketchUp.
  • Reduce the file size as needed – The smaller your CAD file size, the quicker and easier the import. Files larger than 15MB may cause performance issues. To reduce the file size, only import geometry you need or consider breaking your CAD file up into multiple files.
  • Save your CAD file in a SketchUp-compatible format – When SketchUp imports a CAD file, SketchUp strips the information to its basic geometric components. Older CAD formats may not work well with SketchUp. We recommend the most recent formats for a successful import.

Importing a CAD file into SketchUp

To import a CAD file, follow these steps:

  1. Select File > Import.
  2. Locate the CAD file you want to import.
  3. Click Options. Adjust the following as necessary:
    • Selecting Merge Coplanar Faces tells SketchUp to remove triangulated lines from planes.
    • Selecting Orient Faces Consistently tells SketchUp to analyze the direction of imported faces and orient the faces in a uniform manner.
    • Select Preserve Drawing Origin to place the imported geometry at the origin defined in the .dwg or .dxf file. Leave blank if you want to place the imported geometry near the SketchUp origin.
    • Choose a scale option. Your options are Model Units, Inches, Feet, Yards, Miles, Millimeters, Centimeters, Meters and Kilometers.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Click Import.

Working with Imported CAD Files

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

  • The size or scale may not import correctly. This is especially true if you weren't sure what unit of measurement was used to create the CAD file.
  • The lines in an imported CAD file often don't connect to form SketchUp faces. Hunting down all these little gaps can be difficult.

To help make sure the imported file is ready for modeling, follow these steps:

  1. Check the size of the imported CAD geometry and scale any incorrect measurements as necessary.
  2. Make sure the CAD geometry is a single group. If you already have grouped geometry in your model, SketchUp will automatically group the imported CAD geometry.
  3. Line up the floor plan with SketchUp's drawing axes.
  4. Delete any extra tags and give the CAD group its own tag.
  5. Adjust the edge styles as necessary.

Exporting to a CAD Format

When you export a SketchUp model to a CAD format, SketchUp translates data in the following ways:

  • SketchUp faces are exported as a triangulated polyface mesh with interior hidden lines to better simulate SketchUp geometry.
  • SketchUp uses the current unit of measurement as a reference for translation to a .dwg or .dxf file.
  • Duplicate line entities aren't created on top of a p-line entity.

To export a model as a 2D CAD file:

  1. Before you begin the export process, select make sure your model is in a standard view in Camera > Standard Views.
  2. Select File > Export > 2D Graphic.
  3. Choose a location to export to.
  4. Select either the .dwg or .dxf file type.
  5. Click Options. Adjust the following as necessary:
    1. AutoCAD Version – Choose the version of AutoCad you wish to export to.
    2. Drawing Scale & Size – Full Scale is selected by default. Deselecting that box allows you to set a custom scale.
    3. Profile Lines – Customize how profile lines appear in your exported file.
      • Select None to export profile lines at the standard width.
      • Select Polylines with Width to export profile lines as AutoCAD polylines.
      • Select Wide Line Entities to export profile lines as AutoCAD wide line entities.
      • Separate on a Layer is selected by default and creates a layer for profile edges.
    4. Section Lines – These options are available when exporting section lines or a section slice. See Slicing a Model to Peer Inside for details on how these options work.
    5. Edge Extensions – Some CAD applications might have problems recognizing line endpoints and intersections when your model uses SketchUp line extensions. Deselect Show Extensions to toggle extensions off in your exported file. If you leave Show Extensions selected and deselect the Automatic, you can enter an exact length for line extensions in the Length box.
  6. Click OK to return to the export dialog.
  7. Click Export.

Exporting a SketchUp Model as a 3D CAD file

When you export a SketchUp model as a 3D CAD file, you can select what entities are exported. To export your model, follow these steps:

  1. In SketchUp, select File > Export > 3D Model.
  2. Navigate to the location where you want to save your exported file.
  3. Select either .dwg or .dxf as the file format for your exported file.
  4. Click Options.
  5. Select the AutoCAD Version you'd like to use to open the exported file and select each type of entity you want to include.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Click Export.
Was this article helpful?