Align 2D Drawing to 3D Model

Detailed items that are difficult and time-consuming to model are often captured only in the 2D drawing (For example, damp proof courses, wall ties, finishes). 2D drawings will also often include room numbers, dimensions, names, and tags for building parts or grids. When a 2D drawing is aligned to a model, you can view and manage their combined information.

To align a 2D drawing to a 3D model:

1. Open a 3D file.

   Note: Supports multiple 3D file formats including, IFC, NWD, RVT, DWFx.

2. In the file viewer, click .

3. Click Align 2D drawing.

4. Select the 2D file from a folder in the Files tool which contains the drawing you want to align to the model.

   Note: Supports multiple 2D file formats including, PDF, RVT, DWG, DGN.

5. Click Select.

6. Select the page of the relevant drawing.

7. Click Select page.

8. You will be guided through the next steps.

   • Step 1 - Select a surface in the 3D model. You can right-click a selected object and use the Section Plane tool to select internal surfaces.
   • Step 2 - Select two points in the 2D drawing to align to the 3D model.
   • Step 3 - Select two points in the 3D model which match the previously selected points in Step 2.
   • Step 4 - You can crop the 2D drawing by using the handles at the edge of the drawing.
   • Click Done.

The following video shows an example of a PDF being aligned to an IFC file:

Manage Aligned Drawings

1. Open a 3D file.

2. In the file viewer, click .

3. Linked drawings are drawings which have been manually aligned to a 3D model. Click the More menu of a linked drawing to:

   • Go to linked file: This will open the manually aligned drawing.
   • Remove alignment: This will remove the aligned drawing from the 3D model and 2D tab.

   

4. Use the icon next to each drawing to either hide or display the drawing.

Other drawings are all other drawings which have not been manually aligned and which have previously been added or aligned from Revit.