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DWG Export - Extrudes


zoomer

Question

I wish the DWG Export had an option to convert all Extrudes to Generic Solids before exporting.

 

Currently all my Extrudes, a Geometry Type I really like, inside VW,

get exported as lose DWG Polyfaces.

(Even only when "Triangulate to preserve Fills "activated, otherwise just un-filled Polylines)

 

Currently, to avoid that, I would need to :

- "save as" File Ccopy for export

- check and set Layers/Classes visibilities

- Select Similar > Extrudes

- Convert to Generic Solids

- Export

- Close Export File

- re-open VW File

 

 

 

Same wish for FBX Export.

Edited by zoomer
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15 answers to this question

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Zoomer,

Do you have the option "Export Solids as ACIS Solids" set to ON? Extrudes do export as Solid objects to DWG if you have this option set to true. If you have the option set to ON and you still receive faces, then your extrudes might be defined by more than one profile object?

 

 

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Hi Zoomer,

 

Yes, the reason to receive faces instead of a single solid is that (most of ) your extrudes are defined by multiple profile objects - dark grey extrudes from Extrude Multi class, but also two of the generic solids from Solid Generic class and 1 of the solid additions from Solid Add from Solid class. For these single objects inside Vectorworks the ACIS/SAT third party library creator, which we use to generate the info for the DWG file, will return multiple objects - and if we pass such info to the DWG, it will not be accepted. Solid additions from solids and from extrudes, which have intersecting profile objects, are created as a single object by the ACIS/SAT creator and that is why they export as 3D solids.

 

I do not see problems with 3D solid presentations inside AutoCAD - opening exported by me DWGs from both Mac and Win and even opening your attached DWG gives the result, shown on the image below. Probably the application, in which you are opening the files presents them in this way?

 

Exported.png

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@zoomerInitially I get the same look in the dwg file as you in B-thing when opening the file (in my case it was in 2D workspace mode when I opened it). When I switched to the 3D modeling workspace and then use the quad cursor to move the faces/solid object, the facets disappear and then they appear as "normal solids".

 

See attached dwg file for how it looks after "moving" the objects (the movement can be minimal and will then no longer display the facets)

GEO_EXPORT_move multifacet solids.dwg

 

So it seems to be a display issue rather than a geometry issue. You may want to file a support request with B-thing support to look into this.

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Yes, things like Push Pull Tool operations heal them.

Better is the Simplify Command, which can clean up the whole file in one go.

 

But I would prefer if that just would not happen/tesselate.

As this will happen when importing into Modo too and is not so easy to control there.

 

Maybe a fix would need to rewrite VW completely, but maybe it is just 3 words of code 

in the DWG Importer or Teigha library interpretation ...

 

 

 

And as @Nina Ivanova hinted, Extrudes itself "solidify" well,

but my special Extrudes with multiple 2D Source Objects,

which I need to circumference a whole bunch of VW weaknesses,

are completely crap from the beginning when converted to the dark side, even when

converted to Generic Solids in VW before.

 

(Although they work fine, or better in the same way (1 flipped face normal) as standard Extrudes,

in standard 3D Mesh exports like C4D or FBX)

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3 hours ago, Nina Ivanova said:

I do not see problems with 3D solid presentations inside AutoCAD

 

 

Thanks a lot Nina !

Sorry, nearly missed your post because I entered the thread over notifications ...

 

Is there in Autocad also a command like solidedit or check, clean like BC has ?

 

Looks like this in BC, unfortunately mixed with german :

 

: _solidedit
Geben Sie eine Körper Bearbeitungs Option an Fläche/Kante/Volumenkörper/Zurück/beEnden: _body
Geben Sie eine Körper Bearbeitungs Option an Prägen/Trennen/Schale/Bereinigen/pRüfen/Zurück/beEnden: _check
Wähle 3D Volumen: AL
Checked:
  1 lumps
  1 shells
  0 wires
  6 faces
  6 loops

  24 coedges
  12 edges
  8 vertices
Geben Sie eine Körper Bearbeitungs Option an Prägen/Trennen/Schale/Bereinigen/pRüfen/Zurück/beEnden: P

 

 

I can switch of the display of these coedges in Bricscad, but for Modo these behave just like any other "real" edges.

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This is the English version of zoome's dialog text if it helps

 

: SOLIDEDIT
Enter a solids editing option Face/Edge/Body/Undo/eXit: b
Enter a body editing option Imprint/seParate/Shell/cLean/Check/Undo/eXit: c
Select 3d solid: all

Checked:
  1 lumps
  1 shells
  0 wires
  6 faces
  6 loops
  24 coedges
  12 edges
  8 vertices
Enter a body editing option Imprint/seParate/Shell/cLean/Check/Undo/eXit: P

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10 hours ago, Nina Ivanova said:

For these single objects inside Vectorworks the ACIS/SAT third party library creator, which we use to generate the info for the DWG file, will return multiple objects - and if we pass such info to the DWG, it will not be accepted.

 

I haven't seen any "multi" Solids with different Volumes that don't touch each other either in

any App in the past. I would be very fine for me if VW cuts these into separate objects when

converting into generic solids in VW, or when exporting special Extrudes out of VW to CAD.

 

I would just like to still be able to use my my Extrudes with multi content inside of VW,

as these allow full 2D edit abilities + editing of more than one 3D Element at a time + export

many objects as one single Mesh for 3D Mesh Apps.

(that often have problems with deep hierarchies of many separate mesh items vs few items 

with many many polygons inside)

 

But at least I learned that simple Extrudes itself convert to ACIS solids.

Edited by zoomer
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I see I get a lot of Generic Solids into Bricscad as lose 3D Faces only.

These are especially those special VW Generic Solids that have multiple Volumes

that don't touch each other.

 

And these always happen in operations like Subtract Solids,

where you will cut out something.

I think it is ok that Subtract Solids stay one single Object in VW to keep history and edit ability,

but at least as soon as I convert that into a Generic Solid, VW should divide these

into separate Solids for each Volume.

 

You don't have much fun in VW with such multiple Volume Solids in VW either.

And there should be a command to manually clean such Solids when you find them later.

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And I noticed some other anomalies.

The Stairs of 1 Story (the one on the active Layer when exporting ?)

were exported as a 2D representation only !?

While all other Stories Stairs came as 3D Blocks.

 

It didn't happen in another attempt where I excluded more parts of my geometry.

 

 

Stairs, and especially all VW Walls export in DWG as lose 3D Faces only.

Isn't there any way to create Solids from PIOs by temporarily put them in Add Solids

or such things while exporting them ?

Edited by zoomer
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7 minutes ago, zoomer said:

VW Generic Solids that have multiple Volumes that don't touch each other.

VW should divide these into separate Solids for each Volume.

 

You don't have much fun in VW with such multiple Volume Solids in VW either.

And there should be a command to manually clean such Solids when you find them later.

I find this type of Generic Solid a bit frustrating. You should be able to Ungroup them at a minimum, like you can when you want to break up a group of objects you extruded together.

 

Kevin

 

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