Import DWG to Formit

[Anonymous]

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

[josh.goldstein · Accepted solution]

Hi Tom,

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

[Anonymous]

Hi Josh,

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

Kind Regards,

Tom

[Anonymous]

Looking forward to see this new function :))

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

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

[josh.goldstein]

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,

[Anonymous]

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

[josh.goldstein]

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!

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

Where is this import function located???

[Anonymous]

Hi @Anonymous

Go to:

FIle>Import>Import 3D Model

Then change the file type to dwg.

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

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.

[josh.goldstein]

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.

[Anonymous]

Hey.

Did this happen, is it available on iPad app

’Frank

[tvollaro]

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

[Anonymous]

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

?

[josh.goldstein]

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.

[Anonymous]

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

Regards

Teddy

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@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.

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