SketchUp, IFC and DXF export and import
Send the building and its design to SketchUp and other tools as COLLADA, glTF, IFC or DXF plans. Models made in SketchUp come back into the 3D view as reference models. SketchUp's own .skp files are not read or written: save them as COLLADA or IFC in SketchUp first.
PLANSScale only
Built and checked by code checks; tests for the IFC and DXF writers and the upload checks are written. Not yet tried in SketchUp itself or on a customer's files.
The problem it solves
- Your architect works in SketchUp and your studio in another tool, so the house is drawn twice.
- A client brings a SketchUp model of the villa, and the designers retrace it from screenshots.
- The MEP consultant asks for the plan in DXF and someone redraws it in AutoCAD.
- The builder's BIM model never reaches the interior team.
How it works
- Open the building's 3D view (Buildings and Rooms > the building > 3D View), or a design whose building draws its outside. Press SketchUp at the bottom left of the view.
- Under Send the building, press COLLADA (.dae) or glTF (.glb) to save what the view draws, or IFC for the building model. DXF plans lists a link for each level.
- In SketchUp, use File > Import and pick the file. COLLADA works in every SketchUp Pro version; glTF in newer ones, Blender and most 3D tools.
- To bring a model back, choose a COLLADA, glTF or OBJ file under Bring a model from SketchUp. It is kept on the building as a reference model; tick it to show or hide it.
- Place it and size it on the building's form: At X and At Y on the site plan, Raised, Turned and Scale. An IFC file goes on the building's IFC model instead.
Everything it does
Export
- COLLADA (.dae): what the 3D view draws (walls, slabs, roofs, stairs, facades, the garden, furniture). Each part is named by its level and room or element, with its colours. Pictures on surfaces are not sent; metres, y up
- glTF (.glb): the same parts with the pictures, through three.js's exporter
- IFC4: storeys, walls with doors, windows and openings, slabs, columns, beams, and the rooms as spaces; written on the server
- DXF, one per level (R12, mm): walls broken at openings, door swings, windows, slabs, columns, beams, room names and areas
- COLLADA and glTF are written in your browser from the open view; IFC and DXF are downloaded from the server
Import
- COLLADA (.dae), glTF binary (.glb) and OBJ (.obj) as reference models on the building, drawn where you place them. Not taken apart into walls and rooms
- IFC (.ifc) onto the building's IFC model, shown in the IFC panel with storeys, types and properties; zipped .ifczip refused
- Files up to 60 MB; a file that is not what its name says is refused with the reason
- .skp refused with: SketchUp files (.skp): save as COLLADA or IFC in SketchUp first
- Scale 1 for files in metres; an OBJ in millimetres is 0.001, in inches 0.0254
Who may do what
- Downloads for signed-in users who may read the building
- Adding, changing and removing reference models for users who may change the building
Not built
- Reading or writing SketchUp's own .skp files (needs Trimble's SDK on Windows or Mac)
- Turning an imported model into editable rooms and walls
- DWG files; DXF only
Who uses it
DesignerSends the house to SketchUp for detailing and brings the architect's models back for reference.
Architect or consultantReceives the IFC model or the DXF plans of each level.
Interiors AdministratorControls who may change buildings and so add reference models.
Where you use it
- Web: the SketchUp panel at the bottom left of the building's 3D view, and of the 3D designer when the building draws its outside
- Web: Buildings and Rooms > the building > SketchUp and Other Models tab, to place and size the reference models
- Not on the client's 3D page and not in the phone apps
What you control
Settings
- Per reference model: name, Made In (SketchUp to start with), Shown in 3D, At X, At Y, Raised, Turned, Scale, notes
Works with
SmartMy ConstructionThe same SketchUp panel is on Construction's building in 3D, so a builder and an interior studio exchange the same building.
Questions
Can I open a .skp file directly?
No. In SketchUp use File > Export > 3D Model and save as COLLADA or IFC, then add that file. Reading .skp needs Trimble's kit, which does not run on our servers.Does a SketchUp model become editable in SmartMy?
No. It shows in the 3D view as a reference model where you place it. Rooms and walls are drawn in SmartMy, for example with Trace Plan.Can I send the design to AutoCAD?
Each level's plan downloads as a DXF in millimetres with walls, openings, door swings, room names and areas. DWG is not offered.Has this been tried in SketchUp?
Not yet. The export and import are written and checked in code, with tests for the IFC and DXF writers. We try it with your SketchUp version before you rely on it.Related features
DESIGN STUDIOThe house outside, the site and the sunDesign the outside too: outer walls round every level, roofs, terraces, stairs and railings, facades, the garden and pools, gates and compound walls. All are priced under Outside and the Site. Walk the client from the gate into the rooms and set the sun to any date and hour. Make lifelike photos in the browser and open the builder's IFC model in 3D.DESIGN STUDIODrawings made from the modelFurnished plans, elevations of every wall, tile layouts, ceiling sections, ceiling and electrical plans come straight from the 3D design. They form a numbered drawing set with a cover, an index and a title block. Each issue is a revision in the drawing register for the client to sign off.DESIGN3D designer with a price on every boxDraw the rooms wall by wall and put your own kitchen and wardrobe boxes on the walls. Each box shows in 3D with its materials, its price and anything wrong with it. The client turns the design on their phone, tries other material sets with their prices, and approves.MEASURE AND MAKECut lists, nesting and CNC files from the approved designThe design the client approved becomes the cut list. Every panel has its cut size, edges, grain, groove, drilling and a barcode label; each board gets its sheets after nesting. The panel list goes out as a CSV, and each panel as a DXF drawing for your CNC or panel saw.
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