IGES Import for SketchUp is a plug-in for Google SketchUp®. This plug-in gives SketchUp the ability to import solid objects from IGES files.
IGES files contain graphical data in the form widely accepted by most CAD/CAM systems. IGES Import for SketchUp converts this geometric data into corresponding SketchUp entities and adds them to the contents of the currently opened SketchUp drawing. Solids and surfaces in an IGES file are tessellated and imported into SketchUp as mesh objects.
IGES Import for SketchUp is very easy to use. Once installed, it automatically loads itself into SketchUp and adds a new submenu called "IGES Import for SketchUp" to the SketchUp Plugins menu.
The 'IGESImport' menu consists of the following commands:
# Import - Imports an IGES file
# Help - Displays the IGES Import for SketchUp help file
# Register - Registers your copy of IGES Import for SketchUp
# About - Displays the IGES Import for SketchUp About box
IGES Import for SketchUp comes with detailed documentation for each command as well as a tutorial to get you started in the shortest possible time.
The IGES File Format
The Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) file format standard was developed to address the incompatibility issue with various CAD/CAM systems. This standard allows efficient and accurate exchange of product definition data across almost all CAD/CAM systems. An IGES file is composed of 80-character ASCII records, a record length derived from the punch card era. Text strings are represented in "Hollerith" format, the number of characters in the string, followed by the letter "H", followed by the text string, e.g., "4HSLOT".