Importing 3D models
Bring GLB, STL, OBJ, or SketchUp Collada files into your build — optimized automatically and sized to fit your van.
Supported formats
The Import button in the Library accepts four formats: GLB (the standard web 3D format most tools export), STL (3D-printing files, e.g. from manufacturer sites), OBJ, and Collada (.dae) — SketchUp's export format. Files up to 30 MB are parsed entirely in your browser; nothing is uploaded until you press save.
Imported models become components in My Components, so they place, stack, snap, and resize in the van exactly like catalog items.
Importing a model
The import dialog walks you from file to placed component in one pass:
- In the editor, open the Library tab and press Import.
- Choose your file. Heavy models show Optimizing model… while they're processed.
- Check the 3D preview — drag it to inspect from all sides. A line underneath reports the triangle count, and how far it was reduced.
- Adjust the name (pre-filled from the filename).
- Set the real-world size in meters. Proportions are locked — change one axis and the others follow — and nothing can exceed your van's interior dimensions.
- Press Add to library & scene. The model uploads, lands in My Components, and drops into the van selected.
Exporting from SketchUp
SketchUp (including the free web version) doesn't export GLB directly, but its Collada export imports perfectly:
- In SketchUp, open File → Export → 3D Model.
- Choose Collada (.dae) as the format and export.
- Import that .dae file into VanPlot — colors and materials come across as flat low-poly shading.
- Export just the piece of furniture, not your whole SketchUp scene — delete everything else first, or the bounding size (and file size) will be wrong.
Automatic optimization
A camper scene full of raw CAD models would crawl, so every import runs through an optimization pipeline in your browser: duplicate vertices are welded, meshes are merged per color, and anything still above a 60,000-triangle budget is progressively simplified until it fits. The before → after triangle count is shown under the preview.
The optimized geometry is what gets stored, so the editor stays fast no matter how heavy the source file was. In VanPlot's low-poly art style, the simplified silhouette is usually indistinguishable at room scale.
- A manufacturer STL of a fridge or diesel heater can carry hundreds of thousands of triangles — let the optimizer do its thing rather than pre-simplifying yourself.
- Layout-wise the model behaves as its bounding box: it stacks and snaps by its overall dimensions, which is exactly what you want for space planning.
- After placing, set the item's weight, cost, and power in the Inspector so the Build Sheet and payload stats stay honest.