flatten imported dwg

[notamondayfan]

hey guys,

just a quick question -

i have imported a dwg file into my max file, and all the imported data is on one layer. it looks perfect from the top view, but when i look from the front, its all over the place, instead of laying flat.

any one know a quick way of flattening all the verts onto one dimension?

ive heard this is possible in autodesk, so jus wondering if theres a way in max.

thanks, dean

[IceAged]

I've had this problem as well, it's usually caused by draughtsmen working in X and Y unknowingly moving geometry on the Z axis. People aren't generally thinking in 3D when they produce technical plans, which is why this goes unnoticed.

I'm not sure if there is a quick way to solve this in MAX. I recieve a lot of these files and have given up trying to use MAX to sort them as some won't even import at all... Often you will get the message 'drawing extents unknown' showing in the import dialogue box - generally a sign of trouble.

Usually it's a lot more effective, (if not awkward), to deal with the dwg directly in AutoCAD. That way you can solve the problem where it originated rather than deal with the limited options in MAX's import box.

If it's of any help i can explain how to fix it in AutoCAD...

[Brian Smith]

Somebody has probably written a script for it but the few times I needed to do it, I went to Edit Spline, Explode to Elements, used the Align command, reattached the splines back together, and welded the end points. However, I fix the problem in AutoCAD first, most of the time.

[Brian Smith]

Actually, I remember another way I've done it with meshes that would also work with splines. Edit mesh your splines, go to vertex mode, highlight all the vertices, go into the top view, right click and select View Align, go to Edge mode, select all edges, scroll to bottom of panel, select Create Shape from Edges, select Linear and OK. Close out of Edge mode and delete the mesh. You are left with a clean object and all you're original splines aligned together.

[antonio_frias]

If it's of any help, in Autocad go to the Express tools/Modify/Flatten objects

[jackb602]

When I import screwy DWG files into FormZ, a quick solution is to select all, and scale everything in the Z dimension to something like .0000001. I imagine Max can do this too.

 

Jack