Importing ArchiCAD Models into Blender?

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1

Hi all,

Can anyone tell me if its possible to import ArchiCAD models into Blender and if so how?

Thanks

Lxo

2

you have to save as .dxf from ArchiCAD, then import into Blender. however .dxf should be version 14, so most likely you have to use an extra package to save as 14 since newer versions of ArchiCAD will not save that - either you use an older version of SketchUp (like 7) and open your .dxf and save as 14 or try DraftSight and open/save from here.

another work around is: save as .ifc from ArchiCAD then use SketchUp with the .ifc plug in and save from there as older version of .dxf ( version 14)

3

Great, thanks, I’ll give that a shot.

4

There is a nice simple utility (Teigha File Converter) provided by the Open Design Alliance that will convert any version dxf or dwg to any other version of dxf or dwg. Deals quite will with corrupt files as well. Isn’t a buggy piece of crapware that you will find googling for dxf or dwg converters. Win32 program. Works quite well with WINE though if on a *nix machine.

http://www.opendesign.com/guestfiles

Autodesk’s DWG TrueView can also convert dxf/dwg files.

5

I have quite good experiences exporting ArchiCAD models as .3ds, then importing in Blender. Depending on the intended use, you can choose to combine all objects that share a certain material, or export objects separately.