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What is supported when importing into EASE 5?

• The EASE 5 DWG import currently allows the following modeling elements
  • 3D Polylines
  • 2D Polylines
  • LW Polylines
  • 3D Faces
  • Polyface Meshes
  • Arcs
  • Circles
  • Ellipses
     
• Layers and Tags that have been created in your preferred CAD Tool will be imported into EASE 5. All layers provided by the DWG file are converted to Selection Sets.

• The following units of measurement are supported by EASE 5
  • For metric systems: millimeters [mm], centimeters [cm], meters [m], kilometers [km], decimeters [dm] and hectometers [hm]
  • For US customary systems: feet [ft], inches [in], miles [mi] and yard [yd]

• Block references which contain the above-mentioned modeling elements are supported and will be resolved during import

Polyface Meshes enable using DWG files exported from Trimble SketchUp. Faces in SketchUp are always exported as Polyface Meshes.

What do I have to consider when drawing my model within a CAD tool?

• 3D Polylines must be planar and must not cross themselves.
• 3D Faces must be planar and must not cross themselves. 
• The acoustical orientation of the imported face of an AutoCAD export depends on the direction in which the vertices were set in the source file. If the vertices were set clockwise, the CAD tool user looked at the acoustical side.
• Project files created in SketchUp should be exported in a clean way, where only faces are exported and no edges. This option can be configured in the export options, where the "Edge" field must be unchecked in order to not generate any warnings upon import.
• Faces that have been hidden in a project within SketchUp are imported into EASE 5 as visible faces.

How can I identify problems with the import?

• The log file for the import gives the first indications of what kind of elements may not have been imported.
• The EASE 5 hole detection tool shows you where holes or non-permissible surfaces are located by highlighting them in orange or blue.
• If there are holes or non-permissible faces in your project and they have an influence on subsequent calculations, the status strip of the room volume in the Acoustic Parameters window will show a red color.

What types of issues can occur and how can I handle each of them?

• Loudspeakers: The drawings of boxes are imported as faces into EASE 5. These faces must be deleted and loudspeakers from the EASE 5 database must be inserted.
• Details such as Humans and Interior: The drawings of the objects are imported as faces and must be deleted as long as they are not relevant for acoustic simulation.
• Actual Holes: Can be identified by the Hole Detection tool and have to be closed by inserting faces.
• Disorientated faces where the acoustically relevant side is turned outwards: Can be identified in the Hole Detection tool or in the X-Ray with Orientation view and need to be inverted.
• Faces which are one-sided free-floating in the room: Can be identified by the Hole Detection tool. A backside must be added by using the Add backside tool in the Surfaces tab.
• Audience Areas: Must be replaced by EASE 5 Audience Areas. Imported audience areas can be moved to the floor space, then the Area Above Face function can be used to add the new audience areas with the respective ear height. Finally the imported audience areas must be deleted.

Can projects also be exported from EASE 5 in dwg format?

Yes, projects created or modified in EASE 5 can also be exported in DWG format for further use in CAD tools:

• The Save As command on the File ribbon allows storing projects in DWG format for further use in CAD software such as AutoDesk AutoCAD or Trimble Sketchup.
• Faces are exported as polyface meshes.
• Materials assigned to faces are converted to layers (tags).
• Loudspeaker case drawings are converted to polylines and grouped by loudspeaker. These elements are assigned to a separate, single layer.
• Intended for reporting, documentation, and archiving. Full roundtrips are not supported.

In general, please make sure your project is created or adjusted in the external CAD tool in a way that it can be used further as an acoustical model, not a fully architectural one.