Help importing .dwg into layers

[Anonymous]

I have a single .dwg done in AutoCAD 2002 of a house. In this file are individual drawings for each level, basement, 1st, 2nd, attic, roof plan, side elevations, the survey, and an overall site plan. Each drawing has layers of information for labelling and so on.

How do I import the individual drawings into ArchiCADC 8.1 so that the correct levels are available/navigable within the Navigator Project Map?

The next question is what do I have to do to make the imported drawings respond like AC objects, eg. an interior wall object that is defined as 2x6 wood frame construction with 5/8" drywall on both sides, etc....?

Thanks for the assistance.

[TomWaltz]

Sounds like you have a bit of work ahead of you.

The DWG file is brought in on as 2D elements on a single story, so right now you would need to cut/paste the elements for each floor onto the proper Archicad story.

The only way to get them to be walls, doors, windows, etc. is to re-trace them.

[Anonymous]

TomWaltz wrote:
Sounds like you have a bit of work ahead of you.

The DWG file is brought in on as 2D elements on a single story, so right now you would need to cut/paste the elements for each floor onto the proper Archicad story.

The only way to get them to be walls, doors, windows, etc. is to re-trace them.

Going through this....
a) I'm ok with the fact that they are 2D.

b) By default it appears that the .dwg is opened on the 1st Story. So I'd have to create a new floor in the Navigator for each level, then cut/paste the entire level from the .dwg into the appropriate level, but al that would do is essential remove the 'clutter' of having the floors spread out over one large drawing - correct?

c) Then the fun begins... I'd then have to create a library object for each type of interior/exterior wall cross-section and then 'Magic Wand' or 'Marquee' each wall segment and 'assign' it to the desired object type - is that correct?

It almosts sounds that I'd be better off defining my wall/door/window objects and redrawing from scratch, simply using the existing .dwg as a souce for dimensions.


Which begs a couple other questions.....
I also have the structural engineering drawings for this house as a .dwg

d) What is the 'rule of thumb' amongst ArchiCAD users for the incorporation of engineering detail in among the architectural design - would I create additional floors in the Navigator, thereby having 2 'floors' per level, one engineering and one architectural - or is there some other preferred method?

e) If the answer to d) is yes, what impact would that have when I want to render a 3D image to show somebody - can I chose use/show only the architectural levels or only the engineering levels or combine both types of levels into one 3D view?


Sorry...I'm just getting my head wrapped around all this week-by-week as I learn.

Thanks.

Alan

[Thomas Holm]

You will need separate layer combinations for engineering, wether you use engineering "floors"/storeys or not. This is for controlling what appears in renderings.

I've used special engineering storeys, which is very convenient when you do the engineering work as 2D lines & symbols mostly, because it's easy to draw using ghost stories.

If you want to model the engineering details, rafters and such, it can become cumbersome with special storeys. So I'd say for fully integrated models, use layer combinations only to separate engineering items, and use the floors as intended, separating things vertically.