Redrafting the edges. Perhaps the most effective way to heal faces is to delete and then redraw the edges. This ensures that the edges are connected at the endpoints. Because drafting new edges in SketchUp can be quick, you do not need to find the exact location of a distorted edge.
Deleting and redrafting the edges at intersections is the best approach; these are the prime locations where anomalies reside (Fig. 18-16 through Fig. 18-18).
Fig. 18-16: Delete the edges at the line intersection and then redraft the lines. This ensures that the edges are connected efficiently.
This technique is particularly useful with arcs. Imported arcs are broken into single faceted edges. Selecting the edge adjacent to an endpoint, and then deleting it and redrafting it, is the best place to start.
Fig. 18-17: In this instance, the top-right intersection contained the anomalous edge. Deleting the edge revealed that it was not correctly attached to adjacent edges.
Fig. 18-18: Drafting the new edges to the connecting endpoints heals the entire face.
AutoCAD Clean-Up Ruby Scripts Method 2 centers on four custom Ruby Scripts collectively known as CAD Clean-Up Scripts. These four scripts allow you to fix almost all the distortions in an imported AutoCAD base and then generate all the surface area faces with a simple click of the mouse. A fifth Ruby Script is useful when you are problem-solving specific situations that arise with stubborn linework. With almost any site plan, the process is the same. Although there are some limitations and problems that go along with this method, the results yield a Flatwork Base with minimal effort. All the scripts are available at www.smustard.com (Fig. 18-19). These exceptional scripts were created by Todd Burch, and it cannot be overstated how useful they are.
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Part 4: AutoCAD to SketchUp
