Most converters fail on Z-height. Ensure your DWG has 3D solids (extruded polylines) or meshes, not just 2D plans. If your DWG is 2D, the converter will produce a flat PLN with zero volume.
This is where a enters the picture. However, unlike converting a JPEG to a PNG, converting a 2D/3D CAD file into a native BIM project file is fraught with nuance. If you use the wrong method, you might import a thousand layers with no semantic data, or worse, lose your Z-axis geometry entirely.
Pros: No software install, free for small files. Cons: You are uploading proprietary building plans to a random server (Privacy Risk). Usually, they output a "dumb" 3D model (Triangulated mesh), not a smart PLN with walls and windows. Tools like BIMDeX or Okino PolyTrans are enterprise-grade DWG to PLN converters.
New SaaS tools are emerging that use machine learning to look at a DWG floor plan and automatically generate a wall network in PLN format. These convert not just lines, but architectural logic (recognizing wall joins and room boundaries).
But Archicad doesn’t speak the native language of .dwg . It speaks .pln .
Open the DWG in AutoCAD or NanoCAD. Purge all unused layers ( PU command), explode blocks, and delete non-essential annotations. A messy DWG creates a messy PLN.
