topic Re: Import DWG to Formit in FormIt Forum

Import DWG to Formit

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 13:36:48 GMT

Hi all,

I am wondering when there will be a DWG importer for Formit.

After researching the forum I have found that there has already been similar posts regarding this matter and it seems that all of the answers state 'It is being worked on'

I was wondering if anyone knew of an update of when such a tool/workflow will become available? The last post I just read stated that it was being worked on over a year ago....

Thanks in advance,

Tom

Re: Import DWG to Formit

josh.goldstein — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 14:29:10 GMT

Hi Tom,

DWG import should arrive a bit later this spring when we release our next major update for FormIt!

Re: Import DWG to Formit

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 14:31:39 GMT

Hi Josh,

Thank you for getting back to me on this. I am looking forward to checking out the update!

Kind Regards,

Tom

Re: Import DWG to Formit

Anonymous — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 11:22:28 GMT

Looking forward to see this new function :))

Re: Import DWG to Formit

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Apr 2017 08:40:07 GMT

Hi Josh,

I am currently checking out what has changed in the recent release. The main tool I was looking forward to was this DWG import. I can get it to work for most (small DWGs) although what I was hoping for was to import site layouts so that I can create quick massing for surrounding dwellings.

Is there a limit on the overall area of a DWG file that can be brought in? As I am going through the import process and then I am not able to find any linework at all even when using zoom extents.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Kind Regards,

Tom

Re: Import DWG to Formit

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Apr 2017 08:47:26 GMT

I am not sure whether it is perhaps a coordinate issue, or whether the area is simply too big to fit into Formits 360 environment. It could also be something to do with the units maybe?

I will private message you one of the DWGs in question

Many Thanks,

Tom

Re: Import DWG to Formit

josh.goldstein — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 15:28:37 GMT

Hi Tom,

I sent you a DM with instructions to get the file over to us for investigation. Let me know if you didn't receive.

Thanks,

Re: Import DWG to Formit

Anonymous — Wed, 03 May 2017 14:50:46 GMT

Hi Josh,

I attached the file and sent to the email address you issued me. I was wondering if you managed to receive it?

Thanks,

Tom

Re: Import DWG to Formit

josh.goldstein — Wed, 03 May 2017 18:18:38 GMT

Hi Tom,

I got the file, and fixed it so that it displays in FormIt. I'll DM you the file directly.

Here's what we found:

- The geometry was scaled 100x larger than it should have been - even when opening in other CAD software - so we scaled things back down 1/100 of the size

- Worse, the geometry was about 10 miles or 50,000+ feet from the origin, so we centered the geometry at the origin in other software and re-imported the DWG into FormIt without issue

The crux here seems to be the distance from the origin. FormIt is not designed to handle geometry that far away from the origin. So while the data did technically import, the renderer wasn't able to draw any of it.

Sorry if moving things around adversely affects your workflow - but hopefully you can get the origin closer in your "source" files so that you can roundtrip into and out of FormIt without issue.

Hopefully this helps others with potentially huge DWGs too!

Re: Import DWG to Formit

Anonymous — Thu, 04 May 2017 08:12:26 GMT

Hi Josh,

Thank you for solving this issue for me. I feel that the scaling issue is mainly to do with working in mm in the UK, everything I import into formit then needs to be rescaled even if changing Formits units to mms before an import, it still needs to be scaled correctly.

Secondly, the reason why our files are so far from the Origin point is because this is how we receive our files from mapping, as the origin point will act as 0,0,0 and the geometry will be to the correct Eastings and Northings on site. This way we can import and export into other programs such as Civil 3D, Revit, Infraworks 360 at the correct location from the get go.

This is not a big issue as setting the location and satellite imagery in Formit will be a must for us anyway, so moving the import and overlaying it correctly will not take long at all.

Once again, thank you for your assistance.

Kind Regards,

Tom

Re: Import DWG to Formit

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 14:20:18 GMT

Where is this import function located???

Re: Import DWG to Formit

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 14:24:36 GMT

Hi @Anonymous

Go to:

FIle>Import>Import 3D Model

Then change the file type to dwg.

Re: Import DWG to Formit

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 14:27:58 GMT

I'm on an iPad air with Autodesk FormIt does this work the same way to import 3D model.DWG models...???

Re: Import DWG to Formit

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 14:34:37 GMT

Unfortunately I am not that familiar with the Formit app on ipad.

I have found that the workflow of importing DWG's does not work as well as I would like it to (esepcially when in UK using UK Metric). It is a tool that was built fairly recently and I would suggest it needs further development.

I doubt that you will be able to use this workflow on an iPad, then agan I do not have an iPad to hand to check for you.

Re: Import DWG to Formit

josh.goldstein — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 15:37:36 GMT

Hi all,

The DWG import feature is exclusive to the Windows application.

As Tom mentioned, you can find it at File > Import > Import 3D Model.

Re: Import DWG to Formit

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 09:29:22 GMT

Hey.

Did this happen, is it available on iPad app

’Frank

Re: Import DWG to Formit

tvollaro — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 14:20:02 GMT

Frank,

No, this feature has not yet been added to the iPad app. Please add it as a request in our Idea Station so that others can vote on it. thank you.

Tom Vollaro

Sr. Product Manager

Re: Import DWG to Formit

Anonymous — Mon, 07 May 2018 20:09:18 GMT

Good afternoon...I have purchased an iPad Pro and FormIt recently and I was surprised that the issue was still unresolved.

I have no way to import dwg files to FormIt. Can you advise on how to go around this problem

Re: Import DWG to Formit

josh.goldstein — Tue, 08 May 2018 17:51:27 GMT

Hi Teddy,

DWG support was added in FormIt for Windows, but is not currently available in Web or iOS.

You can use the FormIt for Windows app to open/import DWG files, then save the FormIt file to A360 Drive, and open it on your iPad. You can then modify the linework as you normally would. Be advised that complex DWG files may slow down the app, so you may want to turn off Layers or delete geometry before opening on the iPad.

FormIt for Windows is a Pro app, so you'll either need to start a 30-day free trial of FormIt Pro, or get the Autodesk AEC Collection.

Re: Import DWG to Formit

Anonymous — Mon, 14 May 2018 13:26:57 GMT

Thank you for your response @josh.goldstein. I will go ahead and follow your recommendations.

Regards

Teddy

@josh.goldsteinwrote:
Hi Teddy,

DWG support was added in FormIt for Windows, but is not currently available in Web or iOS.

You can use the FormIt for Windows app to open/import DWG files, then save the FormIt file to A360 Drive, and open it on your iPad. You can then modify the linework as you normally would. Be advised that complex DWG files may slow down the app, so you may want to turn off Layers or delete geometry before opening on the iPad.

FormIt for Windows is a Pro app, so you'll either need to start a 30-day free trial of FormIt Pro, or get the Autodesk AEC Collection.