Library, Cadastre and CAD
Besides drawing by hand, there are three ways to create the roof faster.
Structure library
Add a roof by typing its dimensions, without drawing it. The structure becomes a normal drawing (planes and objects) that you can keep editing in 3D. It is placed relative to a reference vertex of what you already have.
| Structure | What it is |
|---|---|
| Flat roof (1 plane) | A rectangular roof plane; with 0° tilt it is a flat roof |
| Gable roof | Two equal roof planes joined at the ridge |
| Hip roof | Four roof planes with the same tilt, with a central ridge and hips |
| n-plane roof | Pyramid of n equal roof planes on a regular plan; you choose n |
| Sawtooth | Row of triangular teeth: base, crest position, height and number of teeth |
Each structure can be added as the roof under study (planes where you place modules) or as a neighbouring building (it casts shade but has no modules).
Outline from the Cadastre (Spain)
Find the building by its position and import it as a plane. Neighbouring buildings are imported as objects that cast shade. It uses the INSPIRE buildings service of the Spanish Directorate General for the Cadastre.
- It covers all of Spain except the Basque Country and Navarre (which have their own regional cadastres).
- With no connection or outside its coverage, the application tells you why and you can draw by hand.
Importing and exporting CAD
The editor reads and writes DXF and OBJ so you can work with your CAD program.
- Export: DXF (3DFACE faces, one layer per plane and object) and OBJ. They open in AutoCAD, SolidWorks and CATIA (via DXF/OBJ), Blender, SketchUp, etc.
- Import: DXF (3DFACE, closed polylines and meshes) and OBJ.
- Coordinates: metres, with X = East, Y = North, Z = height above the ground and the origin at the project location.
Usual workflow
Import the outline from the Cadastre, adjust tilts and azimuths with the orthophoto, add chimneys and neighbours, and export to DXF if you need to take the model into your CAD.