ArcGIS Multipatch – Exporting SketchUp Model

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I have a very large model made in Google Sketchup v 7.1. I would like to export this to a Multipatch featureclass, so that I can view it in ArcScene, with other 3D data.
I have tried several things, but none of them have worked. I have tried the following things:

  1. Used the Sketchup Plugin for ArcGIS; For this I have saved the model as a sketchup 6 model, and on a machine which has Sketchup Pro 6 & ArcGIS 9.2, used the export as ESRI Multipatch. This works for small and simple models, but fails on my Large Model.

  2. Exported the Model as KMZ, and then tried to use the QuickImport using the InterOp Extension of ArcGIS.

  3. Exported the Sketchup 6 Model as Google Earth 4 KMZ. Then, I tried to use the QuickImport using the InterOp Extension of ArcGIS. This does import the KMZ to Multipatch, but it does not fall where I expect it to fall. Its size is very large as well (when compared to actual or expected size).

Has anyone else managed to do something like this?

Best Answer

If you can upgrade your version of Data Interop then you will find that there is now direct SketchUp support included. That would at least eliminate the export to KML step.

Also the 3D support with this extension is improving all the time, so upgrading may eliminate the other issues you are experiencing. The way to test would be to install the evaluation version of FME 2010 (the engine behind that extension) and try it using that. If it works then you know if an upgrade will help or not.

Disclaimer: I am the Senior Product Specialist at Safe Software Inc.

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