Bulk File Translation - EXB to DWG (CAXA)

[Malcolm Crowe]

If you need to create DWG files of your 2D Drawings for clients (or for archiving purposes), with IRONCAD DRAFT (CAXA) you have 2 options.

1. You could automatically saved your 2D drawings as DWG instead of using CAXA's standard EXB file format.

2. You could use CAXA's "Bulk File Translation" tool. This is a great tool, as you can create DWG versions of a complete folder of EXB drawings in minutes.

Attached is a video demonstrating the "Bulk File Translation" of 194 EXB files inside one folder to 194 DWG files in another folder.

Malcolm

Edited March 11, 2023 by Malcolm Crowe

[Stefan_S]

Hi Malcolm,

are there any pros and cons regarding using dwg/dxf  or the exb file format? Do i loose some capabilities? I mostly use icd for detailing 3d Models.

Or should dwg only be used for archiving.  We have a lot of dwg legacy data. Would it be better to convert it or should i leave it as it is.

 

Stefan

[Malcolm Crowe]

Hi Stefan,

From a capabilities perspective I haven't experienced any difference between saving directly in *.dwg format verses CAXA's *.exb format. So you can work only in *.dwg if you want.

However, there are some settings within CAXA that will only access CAXA file types (*.exb and *.tpl). So even if you choose to work in *.dwg you will need to have some files saved using CAXA's file types (*.exb and *.tpl). See the attached images.

For projects that we create within CAXA, we use CAXA file format *.exb. However, when we are editing existing DWG files from another project (or from our other software) we save directly back as *.dwg, as there is no advantage in saving as CAXA's *.exb file. So regarding your legacy *.dwg files, there is no need or advantage to convert them to *.exb.

In the 3D modelling world STP is the standard for exchanging 3D files between different CAD systems. Any 3D system that doesn't fully support the STP file format is at a serious disadvantage when it comes to archiving or sharing files. In the 2D Modelling and Drafting world, the standard (by default) is DWG. Any 2D CAD system that doesn't fully support DWG is at a serious disadvantage. That is why large competitors of AUTOCAD (including SOLIDWORKS and MICROSTATION) have worked hard on improving their DWG compatibility. Apart from being more capable and versatile than ICD, this DWG compatibility is the key advantage of CAXA.

2D drawings created in CAXA can be saved without loss of data and with full DWG functionality. These DWG drawings can then be opened and edited in other 2D CAD systems. For example, drawings created in CAXA can be opened and edited (as DWG) in SOLIDWORKS (which does a pretty good job handling DWG these days). Some 2D CAD systems like ICD have limited DWG compatibility, and are not ideally suitable for collaboration or archiving purposes (because data and functionality is lost during conversion).

Malcolm

[Malcolm Crowe]

Hi Stefan,

Note that DXF is a stripped down version of DWG, so there is some data loss with DXF.

From an archiving perspective DWG is better (and more compact). Only use DXF when sharing files with CAD or CAM systems that don't support DWG.

The attached document might be of helpful explaining this.

Malcolm

CAD - A Guide to DXF Files - 20190810.pdf

[Stefan_S]

Hello Malcolm,

 

thank you very much for your detailed answer, particularly the compatibility bit. CAXA is more likely becoming the main drawing enviroment.

Stefan