Suggestions for good VW import into AC 2010

[CalypsoArt]

Hi,

I'm here hoping I can get some info on a good procedure for importing VW files into AutoCad.

I am an AutoCAD 2010 user and I'm currently working on a job where several previous people have created work in VW. I imported a test VW .dwg export, and it came in the wrong size. (Well actually it imported into model space in 1/4" scale.)

I have been reading, and if I understand correctly, VW does not draw in full scale like in Autocad. In AC we draw in full scale and print to paper scale--1/4" etc--in our viewports/layouts. It seems that VW draws to a set plot scale on different pages. An import to AC from VW must then be re-sized for 1:1 to be used in AC.

In addition, the VW drawings were done all with black & white and line weights. The export/import into AC turned the layers into colors and all line weights were reset to default.

Are there any settings in VW export that I should know that would make the export/import go more smoothly? A VW friend/user mentioned "all layer to same scale"?

Thanks

[WhoCanDo]

One of the major differences between VW and AC is that AC is imperial and VW is metric.

When I import from AC I often have to re-scale by x24.5 which is 24.5mm = 1"

I think that AC use to associate colour with line weight but in recent versions it has stopped that association. It now sounds like AC uses line weights per layer.

In VW you can use custom selection to select lines of specific sizes of objects of different types which can them be changed or moved as required. Will this help?

[Benson Shaw]

Whoa - VW is metric? I think it's multi modal. As far as I know, my dwg exports are imperial if the drawing units are imperial, metric if the drawing units are metric. The export prefs make a big difference. I don't know what the AC side sees, though.

But, yes, CalypsoArt, VW can draw in any scale. The VW creators or drawing labels, or called dimensions can indicate scale of what you are seeing.

I often need to rescale imports of AC drawings. The translation is seldom perfect.

-B

[Rossford]

I am co-designing a project with an ACAD firm right now and we have had some easily resolved problems like this. I tend to draw in scale and they tend to draw real world. In our case, I make sure to convert my VW document to real world scale and have no page settings or borders.

Then it seems to import fine to ACAD and vice versa.

[VincentCuclair]

As far as I know when exporting Design Layers (Model Space) to the dwg format it doesn't matter what scale you're in in VW, the exported dwg will(should) be 1:1. (VW uses Design Layer (Model Space) scaling simply as a screen setting ie. to show what the drawing will look like at a certain scale in Sheet Layers (Paper Space).

Metric exports as metric, Imperial exports as Imperial.

Sheet Layer dwg export (Paper Space) is a whole different story.......

VW has the capability to export line weights as colors or simply as line weights, many AutoCAD users, oddly enough, still use the color to line weight setting (which originated a couple of hundred years ago for printing/plotting ie. each color was set to certain pen in plotters), though the last few versions of AutoCAD have support for 'proper' line weights and printers/plotters are intelligent now.......

Edited September 29, 2010 by Vincent C