Following up on this, I tried ViaCAD's Edit > Simplify Object and it does allow some of the circles and arcs to be dimensionable.

The "WriteAnalyticCurves=y" idea sounded interesting, but for IGES and STEP formats. With moujiik's comments about setting resolution and the use of the "Arcs From Curves" tool, and that he uses the IGES and STEP formats, I've got the following recipe that is getting me closer to producing dimensioned drawings:

MoI:
[NURBS Export]
WriteAnalyticCurves=y
Select All, Export as IGES

ViaCAD:
Preferences > Custom Resolution > Resolution: Super Fine
New 3D file
Import IGES export file
Type IGES
Flavor: Generic
Trim Curve Options: Follow File
Auto Heal Bodies checked (have not experimented with turning this off and on)
Select all
Model To Sheet
Method: PolyLines
Use Draw Views checked
One Part Per Sheet checked
Window > Concept Explorer > Layers
Label sheets

Now at least the data is coming through from the MoI model & I can get some basic dimensions onto a construction drawing which is a big step forward. Thanks for the help!!!!

--Larry

In MoI, do a drill down selection to an edge object, then Ctrl+A and Ctrl+C. Hide your objects and Ctrl+V the curves in, then export those to viacad with iges. Dim away....

Looks like the new dxf export does all that for you. So export as dxf, then dim away....

Thanks BurrMan, exporting only edges does simplify the process enormously...ViaCAD sees the underlying circles and arcs right away.

MoI is such an elegant tool, it is almost painful to use to ViaCAD! I'm also finding that I don't get the same results twice when I try to do things the same way again. Probably user error, but ViaCAD seems rather fragile.

--Larry

Hi Michael,
Can you look at the viacad import of this model? Exprort part as sat for a solid, then export part as dxf.

Import both files. The dxf requires choosing "mm" as units to match. Is Viacad not reading something? Or, is your dxf not writing out the units yet?

Could it be related to dxf being somewhat "unitless" and just various things will not translate the same?

Thanks.

Hi Burr,

> Can you look at the viacad import of this model? Exprort part as sat for a solid, then export part as dxf.

Do you mean the model attached to the first post of this thread? The issue is probably that it's set in MoI as "No unit system", and I don't think ViaCAD has an equivalent setting in it for "no unit system" so it probably decides to use some arbitrary default, and the default could be different for different file types.

If you set the units in MoI to one that ViaCAD supports (looks like: inches, feet, mm, cm, m) then it should likely work better.


> Or, is your dxf not writing out the units yet?

MoI does write the units to the DXF file currently, it gets written to a header variable called $INSUNITS which AutoCAD will use as the default settings for inserting the file as a block. It's the closest thing that DXF has to a units setting, and several programs will read a units value from it. I believe ViaCAD reads it from there if you set the option for File Units: "Extract From File" except I guess from what you're describing it won't recognize "no unit system" ($INSUNITS = 0) and will instead decide to use inches in that case I guess.

Let me know if any of that does not seem to make sense.

- Michael

Hi Burr, also re:

> In MoI, do a drill down selection to an edge object, then Ctrl+A and Ctrl+C. Hide your objects and Ctrl+V the
> curves in, then export those to viacad with iges. Dim away....

The 2D export file formats (AI, PDF, and DXF format currently) will automatically write out edges without needing to do any manual duplication of them, just do a "Save As" or "Export" of the solids directly and the edges of the object are what get written out.

Just be aware that you'll get a lot of stacked up duplicated 2D curves, because for example both the top and bottom parts of an extrusion both get written out, it only does a simple wireframe export and not a hidden-line removal one at least not quite yet...

- Michael

Ahhhh. Didnt notice the units set on the file posted in the first thread.. Assumptions....

With the dixf I used the 3d curves, cubic splines export and imported that over the top of the solid so I could dim the solid model up...

Thanks for the help...

This is an interesting topic. I don't have ViaCAD but I have TurboCAD and SolidWorks and I wanted to see what results I would get. TurboCAD would open the native 3dm file but would not dimension the circles and arcs as they were not recognized as such. Same with the SAT file. Although SolidWorks would open the native 3dm file it worked best with the SAT file. SAT import asked for what units the user wanted to assign and would recognize and could dimension everything.

I think it would be great if at some point Michael added the ability to create the dimensioned drawings right in MoI.

Vicad doesn't handle precise curves conversion on model to sheet, this is a feature for shark only, so, arcs and splines are only acquired on model to sheet in shark, on VIACAD you can only get polylines

See description on advance drafting notes

http://www.punchcad.com/c-30-compare-viacad.aspx
http://www.punchcad.com/c-29-compare-shark.aspx

Luis G