SketchUp to dxf

Software / Firmware
1

Hey y’all

I do all my drawing in Google SketchUp, does anyone have a good converter to go from SketchUp (stl) to dxf??

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Sketch up should be able to export DXF’s directly. If it is not obvious look for “drawings” or something along those lines.

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NOTE: This has been edited from the original.

I spent a few hours messing around with that this morning. I had always gravitated to F360 because exporting DXF is easier, but this time Sketchup was better for the project.

Here’s what worked for me:

  1. Design your thing.
  2. Make the pieces you want to cut into components, copy them, and lay them out on the XY plane, rotating as necessary. If you pick the top-down view, you should see them laid out like you would cut them. I believe that ESTL looks for edges in the XY plane, presumably at Z=0.

If you use components, then these copies you’ve laid out will be updated when you change the original. Good. Use components.

For extra-credit and convenience, choose a spot in your file and create some 4x8 Ruler guides in the XY plane where you can make copies and lay things out. Some of the tutorial videos out there suggest creating virtual sheets with rectangles, but I find that this ends up interacting with the component geometry in ways that are confusing and inconvenient. Better to use Ruler guides.

Also, you can make additional guides to keep things away from the edges, etc.

  1. When you’re ready to export, you will need to copy these into a new file. The SK docs say you can choose which “entities” to export. They DO NOT mean which parts, they mean “entities” such as edges, faces, geometry, etc. So copy them into a new file which ONLY contains the things you want to export.

You don’t have to save the file. So just copy what you want to the clipboard, create a new file, paste, export. So far this is the only way I’ve found to choose which objects are exported.

Now pay attention:
5) Choose File > Export > 3D Model / AutoCAD DXF.
6) Choose Options on the file chooser dialog.
7) Make sure it’s Release 14. Uncheck everything EXCEPT “Edges.” You only want Edges.

Save your file, and ESTL should import it nicely.

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