At the “Enter new or existing layout name to make current” prompt, select the desired paper space layout to use.If the model is of an assembly that you only need part of, you might opt to select objects instead. At the “Select Objects or ” prompt, I typically just press Enter for Entire Model.At the “Specify model source” prompt, type M for model space and press Enter.Enter the VIEWBASE command at the AutoCAD command prompt.This is the part you’ve been waiting for. You can Zoom All to confirm it was imported.

The model may or may not appear in the drawing view. There will be a pop-up in the lower right of the AutoCAD screen that says “Import File Processing Complete” and includes a link to the file.On the resulting Import File dialog, set the Files of type field to match the downloaded 3D model file, navigate to the file, and select it.Enter the IMPORT command at the command prompt.Enter the NEW command at the AutoCAD command prompt and create a new drawing based on the acad3D.dwt template.Selecting a 3D CAD model format on Import the model These and other formats are for 3D models. The model file(s) will typically be available in the same area as where you downloaded the 2D drawing. The process described in this article is just my preference for getting clean views in the orientation I want. There are other methods for converting 3D models to 2D views or drawings in AutoCAD, including the FLATTEN and FLATSHOT commands. This article describes a process for quickly and easily making 2D AutoCAD Electrical symbols from 3D models for panel layout.

In these cases, I make my own 2D views from the 3D model of the component when available. For example, the drawings might include a front and side view but no top view. Sometimes, however, the provided drawings lack the view or detail I need. I rarely draw any from scratch since most manufacturers or vendors provide drawings from which the symbols are easily created.

My panel layouts use 2D symbols for the components.

Autocad electrical symbol too big