Plugin: ldraw.rb

The ldraw.rb can import ldraw.org .dat files.

The ldraw format does not lend itself well to SketchUp. In a nutshell, ldraw was developed at a time when parts were created in a text editor by hand. So to make that easier, dozens (if not hundreds) of primitives were created upon which parts were built. So when you load an ldraw part into SketchUp, the parts are pretty heavy with nested components and duplicate edges. I might add an option to "explode primitives." That would create a single component per part, and take care of duplicate edges.

Another major problem is face orientation. Faces are drawn arbitrarily facing in or out.

Yet, if you need a complex part that already exists in ldraw, this plugin can be a time saver.

Download ldraw.rb


House With Porch by Jeff Stebel

5 comments:

Jaycephus said...

The link is no longer working for some reason.
- Jay

Anonymous said...

Please update LINK!

RunnerPack said...

Love the plugin. Re: the "random face orientation" thing: the standards committee has ratified a (backward-compatible) update to the file-format to support back-face culling. It addresses the polygon handedness issue.

Thanks for all the great plugins!

DannyStaple said...

I love the idea here - I've found a version and I'd love to get it working. Any chance that you'd allow me to put it onto github? Perhaps we can find a "By Attribution" license, such that your name will not be removed from it.
Thanks,
Danny

J said...

Hi Danny, I'm open to the idea. Please contact me via my Contact form - I cant find one for you.

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