Henry Burt Posted January 18, 2002 Share Posted January 18, 2002 I have relatively good succes importing 3D files , but very little exporting. I need to be able to export a #D file so that CAD users without Iron CAD can use them. I have tried exporting to DXF and get very poor results. Is there a way to export to an IGS or STP file? Also, does anyone elses software have the ability to import an IronCad file? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Lohman Posted January 18, 2002 Share Posted January 18, 2002 I'm a little puzzled by this because we have actually experienced a great deal of success with exporting dxf's. I am aware of a problem whith non-english/us operating systems set their delimeter to a comma instead of a period and that can cause DXF problems, but can't think of any other than that. If you would like to email your scene/drawing/bad dxf files to me at techsupport@ironcad.com with an explanation of how the resulting DXF is incorrect then I can definitely figure out what the problem is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Andersson Posted January 18, 2002 Share Posted January 18, 2002 The trick is to first select the part or assy you want to export. Then go to File/ Export/ part and select a format. DXF for 3D export is not a good format to use. You will end up with a facetted modell. The best format to communicate to other CAD's i your models native kernel format. Right click your part and go to properties and se if ACIS or Parasolid is checked. If Parasolid: Export as .X_T If ACIS: Export as .SAT Then you can also use STEP, and IGES etc. Remember that if you select a assy and export to a file, that file will support the assy structure in to the reciveing CAD sys. A generally good metod during export of modells, is to reimport it. Then you know what you will send away. Robert Andersson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dorrington Posted January 18, 2002 Share Posted January 18, 2002 Easy. Highlight a part at the part editing level (Cyan). Go to File-Export-Part. There are all your choices. When exporting IGS 3d we have had best success with wireframe. (Pick Curves.) Can't really tell you about surfaces or solids in IGS) STEP has also worked well for us and is our preferred format. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Lohman Posted January 18, 2002 Share Posted January 18, 2002 Ah, thanks Rick, I was stuck in a 2D DXF mindset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dorrington Posted January 18, 2002 Share Posted January 18, 2002 You're welcome Chris. Squeak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Burt Posted January 18, 2002 Author Share Posted January 18, 2002 Thanks everyone - not sure what I was doing wrong, but youve got me up and running now. Henry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrussell Posted January 24, 2002 Share Posted January 24, 2002 I have tried importing and exporting many 3D files to and from IC. If you are interested in the surfaces, you may need to select 'trimmed surfaces' in IC. After you put the file In the new software you may need to combine the surfaces to recreate your solids. Every system is different. Also the export type file can select .sat (acis) which is more likely to be a format acceptable to other softwares. IGES is also a tricky format. It seems to me that you need to know the specific IGES format you are going into. There is online help w/iges translations. I also like RHINO3D for iges import and export. It has an excellent iges reader. They also have documentation to explain a lot about file translations. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dorrington Posted January 25, 2002 Share Posted January 25, 2002 Funny you should mention Rhino and iges. Iges is obsolete. All development work on iges has been stopped and all resources have been transfered to STEP. For those of you not yet familiar with STEP, (STandard for the Exchange of Product model data) or ISO-10303, it would be in your best interest to look into it. STEP is the future of data exchange. Most people are somewhat familiar with AP-203 even though they don't quite understand what it means. The AP's are Application Protocols. There are dozens of them, all in various states of maturity. AP203 is mature, meaning that further development is basically halted. There is an amazing amount of work being done on advanced protocols that will change the face of data exchange as we know it today. I could write pages about STEP even though I know very little about what is really going on. There is a wealth of information available on the web for those that are interested. STEP is not just a data translator like iges of dxf. It involves the addition of various levels of intelligence imbedded in the models, depending on the application protocols being used. For example, they are working on the STEP-NC (AP224) project which is basically machining a part straight from the model without any human intervention. We have been using STEP with IronCad for awhile now and can attest to the fact that it is currently the best way to exchange data. Probably will be for a long time to come. It will benefit us all to make sure that any software vendors we deal with are supporting STEP in a big way. Those that don't will be left in the dust. Speaking of Rhino, here is a piece of a recent newsletter from StepTools: This newsletter is a brief update of what is going on in STEP and at STEP Tools, Inc. If you want to know more, try the STEP Tools web site at http://www.steptools.com -------------------------------------- Rhino Marine Announces STEP Translator http://www.rhino3d.com/marine.htm Rhino is the latest CAD vendor to announce the availability of a commercial STEP translator built with ST-Developer. Here is a list of the translators we know about. If you know of any more please let us know. * AP-203/214 Translators SGI Alias, Bentley Microstation, Unigraphics CADKEY, Alibre & Rhino * CIMSteel Translators RAM & Design Data * AP-202 Translators web2CAD AG * AP-209 Translators General Dynamics Electric Boat, Knolls Atomic Laboratories, Volvo * AP-210 Translators Rockwell Collins, ATI, Boeing * AP-238/224 Translators STEP Tools (Honeywell, GibbsCAM, MasterCAM) * STEP-TAS (Thermal Analysis) Simulog * Translators in development Intergraph, Spatial, American Bureau of Shipping For more see http://www.steptools.com/office/customers.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Scott Wallis Posted January 25, 2002 Share Posted January 25, 2002 STEP has really helped me to work with customers Pro-E files with no problems. Assemblies come in and behave like IC assemblies. I used to use IGES and it was a real hassle getting all the export settings right in Pro-E for import to IronCAD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dorrington Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 I have an extruded shape that we want to have wire cut. I would like to send the 2D profile to the wire guys in IGES format. I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out how to export the 2D profile. I made a 2D shape but it doesn't seem possible to export from there. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dorrington Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 Select face_Create 3d curve_Select 3D curve_Export Iges Easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.