We have started getting a lot of CAD files from architects lately for a condo job we are doing. If the architect saves out as an eps, it is a nightmare in Illustrator because the CAD file has so many lines and it usually crashes the program or creates a file that isn't correct. We tried saving to a pdf and opening in Photoshop and it takes all the contrast off the buildings. Does anyone know of a way to transfer CAD files to a working Illustrator file without the headache?
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CAD Files and Illustrator
- Thread starter dkw007
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I have been struggling with this issue for over a year now in my present position.
Sometimes CAD files come in at approx 120% scale, and there is no way to realize this without checking each file as it comes in. We have one CAD user that always saves files so that I open them in illustrator and scale them 2945% and then they are at 100%.
The only fix I have seen is to ask the CAD person to save as the earliest version .DWG file possible. With the newer CAD programs this sometimes does not help, but have them save as a few versions of DWG and open to see what happens. Even if they're not 100% to scale it is a start. Hope this helps.
Sometimes CAD files come in at approx 120% scale, and there is no way to realize this without checking each file as it comes in. We have one CAD user that always saves files so that I open them in illustrator and scale them 2945% and then they are at 100%.
The only fix I have seen is to ask the CAD person to save as the earliest version .DWG file possible. With the newer CAD programs this sometimes does not help, but have them save as a few versions of DWG and open to see what happens. Even if they're not 100% to scale it is a start. Hope this helps.
If you're lucky your drawing supplier will be using AutoCad.
If so, instruct your supplier to use a "paper-viewport", this can be any size, ranging from letter to A0, and even custom sizes. Next let them use a plotter, which is based on the PostScript2-plotter. The viewport can be "hidden", shaded or even rendered. If "hidden" (hidden line removal) , you don't have to figure out what should not show. I've had quite some succes with importing Cad-files into Illustrator: place an "outline"-output on one layer, and the "rendered"-output on the another layer. Looks cartoonish but is strong as view.
Both outputs are made with the same "viewport", but with different settings, using the same "PostScript" plotter.
The fun part is that the supplier can use perspective ("dview"), and even clip the view, both front and back.
Hope this helps.
I use the same method for exporting to CorelDraw, which is also based on papersizes.
If so, instruct your supplier to use a "paper-viewport", this can be any size, ranging from letter to A0, and even custom sizes. Next let them use a plotter, which is based on the PostScript2-plotter. The viewport can be "hidden", shaded or even rendered. If "hidden" (hidden line removal) , you don't have to figure out what should not show. I've had quite some succes with importing Cad-files into Illustrator: place an "outline"-output on one layer, and the "rendered"-output on the another layer. Looks cartoonish but is strong as view.
Both outputs are made with the same "viewport", but with different settings, using the same "PostScript" plotter.
The fun part is that the supplier can use perspective ("dview"), and even clip the view, both front and back.
Hope this helps.
I use the same method for exporting to CorelDraw, which is also based on papersizes.
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