Exporting to DWG: walls as solids

[tsw 12]

I'm having an issue in Vectorworks 2019 when exporting the model space to DWG. When I open the file in AutoCAD (or re-import to VW), it seems all walls are converted to 3D polygons. Is there a way to retain them as solids? Other objects (extrudes, generic solids) are coming in as expected. I've attached a screengrab of my export settings and a sample file I've been using to test.

 

I'm able to export walls as solids in other formats (SAT, STL, etc), but then I lose any layer/class information.

 

 

dwg test.vwx

[zoomer 732]

I suffer from the same problem.

 

VW can import DWGs nearly lossless.

But brings only half the information out when exporting DWGs.

 

Walls are a special case.

(Stair even much worse)

as they are no Solids in VW either.

Slabs and Extrudes have some Face Normals flipped.

 

If you you get loose 3D Faces from each piece of Wall

and Walls touch like where they have mitered joins,

so Faces touch or are coplanar,

you have no change to "Solidify" them ever again.

(You could delete those double inner Faces manually and

STITCH all Walls into a single large Solid at best)

 

 

I also find no satisfying way to even create Generic Solids from VW

Walls inside of VW.

AFAIK, when converting a Wall with Windows in Wall,

you get a Solid but the Windows and Openings will disappear.

Ungrouping may work better but you end with 3D Faces and have

to Stitch later and such things.

 

 

My only workaround to get VW Walls out of VW as Solids, into a DWG App,

is by exporting by IFC instead.

No clue why such Solid Export it works in IFC. Maybe IFC is also Faces only

but IFC import in Apps can use IFC formatted stuff better to generate Solids

while importing.

But IFC Export is also more tedious and has its own issues.

 

So I second,

if Export of VW PIOs does work somehow in some other Export Formats,

it would be great if DWG Export could be improved too.

(also e.g. Material Export and such things)