SketchUp QuickTips - Flatten crappy CAD drawings
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 8:39AM
Make your files behave! This video teaches you how to flatten crappy CAD files that you thought were 2d, but were actually really sloppy 3d drawings so you can use them as a base for a 3d model of your design.
Sometimes we get files that look like they are 2d but really aren't. The lines go all over the place in 3d space, but from the top view they look fine. I'll show you how to use a workflow that smashes all those lines down flat so the file is usable and you can start extruding shapes over the top of it.
We start out in AutoCad, but this really applies to any Cad package. Then we move the file into SketchUp and run it through the ringer!
Reader Comments (8)
Excellent Tip, I want to learn Bonzai3d also, please some more tutorials on Bonzai3d.
this is a great tip. so simple and yet it solves a real headache.
I will surely share this with my students.
keep the sketchup tips coming, please.
Wow, that was a really helpful tip!
The flatten command from AutoCAD can be a really headache, never works right and runs a lot of internor errors.
Thanks for the advise!
Thais, I'm glad you liked it. I hate the AutoCAD flatten command. This is one of those things that just makes life easier.
Great job! Thank you so much for this very helpful tips. I'm so glad, I've encountered this kind of blog.
Thanks Bella! I'm glad you are here!
Thankyou for the tip!
this is great, thanks for putting together the video with the great instruction and also posting it for others to view- this was a creative work-around to the flatten command. Saved me lots of time, thanks a bunch.