DWG Import Resolution Problems

[zoomer]

What I don't get at all is,

if you import a DWG at a wrong Scale/Units,

the Object's (Off) Scale itself between objects is totally ok.

But the Location of (some?) Objects is wrong and some Objects spread all over the drawing.

 

It looks like there are no problems in Z heights, just dislocations in XY plane.

I think often only one Axis is affected.

(I am not 100% sure about that)

 

If I re-import that file at a correct Unit Setting again, I have to choose Millimeters

as DWG Units, everything is fine as it should.

 

I noticed that behavior over many years and VW releases.

So I do not understand what the problem is, that Objects come in fine but not their Location.

 

 

Why import in wrong Units happened at all :

In this case I worked in a DWG file that had "Working" Units set to Meter and VW was set to Meter.

It looks like the "File" or System Units Standard internally may be in Millimeters though.

Whatever or which side does wrong reading or exporting the correct Units,

- I would have expect to import Meters

- VW expects to import in Meters

 

And it is just a Factor of 1:1000 off + everything sits directly around file origin.

Edited November 5, 2017 by zoomer

[zoomer]

So for @Nina Ivanova

 

I had another test file in Millimeter of that Villa.

Now in DWG I scaled the whole geometry by 1/1000 and set INSUNITS from Millimiter to Meter.

So the villa's scale is correct in DWG.

 

BTW

If INSUITIS set correctly in DWG VW, import recognizes these and automatic scale does work fine.

So my Import into VW looks successful at first look.

 

 

But now I run into the Block Scaling issue as my scaling in DWG means that the Blocks get a scaling.

The Blocks are Windows in that case.

It works for most of the Window Blocks fine except for one.

 

That Block contains just 4 Solids.

- a triple Window Frame

- 3 Glass Panels

 

The Frame and 1 Panel are fine but 2 Panels lost their scaling.

And they even refuse my manual repair scaling attempts in OIP.

They ignore my inputs.

 

What went wrong ?

And why does it not happen to all Blocks, or all Parts inside this Block ?

 

VILLA_TEST_2.dwg

 

 

[Nina Ivanova]

Zoomer,

 

An error appears during the DWG import when we try to scale the solid. So scaling is actually not done. The same error appears when trying to scale the solid from the OIP. This is something, which needs to be looked at by an appropriate engineer. I will enter a bug report.

 

BTW, by now I have not seen a problem on import of solids when they are placed inside scaled symbols. It is normal to have solids inside blocks and it is normal to scale the blocks. So that is why I was curious to read about such a problem. Now I saw the reason - your scaled blocks are anonymous. This means, that on import we will convert them to Vectorworks groups (this is the correct workflow) and will scale all the objects in the group appropriately. If your solids were in a normal, named DWG scaled block, we would create a symbol instance, which would be scaled appropriately and all the solids would look perfectly. I did this test: just did a simple modification inside AutoCAD placing the solids in a non-anonymous block and after importing in Vectorworks everything was correct. 

 

Thank you,

Nina

[zoomer]

Hi Nina,

 

thanks a lot for creating the bug report.

 

 

I searched for an VW import option setting to get Symbols instead of Groups but did not find something better.

I am not familiar with any ACAD workflow.

I also looked in Bricscad if something may be wrong or locked inside the block.

But I can't edit/see it in BC as it is a "referenced Block" !?

 

So the Block is in a App resource file and will be imported/referenced when you add a Window.

(Basically a standard DWG with 3D Geometry and some 3D constraints)

That is what you meant :

1 hour ago, Nina Ivanova said:

your scaled blocks are anonymous.

So is this something like "Pseudo Cells" in Microstation, Cells/Blocks/Symbols that have no specific name ?

So in VW terms, a mixture between a Symbol and a Group.

A "Symbol" as it is saved one time and spread in instances, not a Symbol because you can't edit it ?

 

 

BTW,

looked into such a Window preset (but newer version), the 3 Glass Panes are all Solids there.

Not (nested) Blocks (in Window Block) from the first Pane that scaled well.

Edited November 10, 2017 by zoomer

[Nina Ivanova]

Anonymous block inside AutoCAD can be copy-pasted, thus creating more instances, but you can not insert it as you do with the named blocks and you can not edit its "definition". The only way to edit such an instance is to "explode" it and do the necessary changes. No way to change in one step all the instances. This is close to Vectorworks groups, so that is why we convert them to groups. There is no need to have an import option for this conversion.

[zoomer]

I wonder what Autocad people do.

Normally I was used that my DWG imports had 90% of content as Symbols.

Even a lot of things that appear only one time in a file, like whole parts of 2D plans.

I have never seen much groups in my imports.

In the past Microstation there were a lot of "pseudo cells", which you can't edit and

have to explode as you said. I always thought these were actually groups in ACAD.

 

 

But I also think the conversion into a Group is useful.

But for the Solids, I see one Wall that was cut for an walkthrough, so in fact

2 non-touching Solids. (Like what you could do with an "Add Solids" in VW)

These come in as a Group also, but unfortunately as separate NURBS Surfaces.

 

I have seen that often from imported DWGs for some Parts/Symbols,

although it is just 1 Volume. That requires always :

- select all touching NURBS surfaces

- Add Solids

- Convert to Generic Solids

 

Would it be possible to keep those Solids in a Group ?

Edited November 10, 2017 by zoomer