I'll have to see what I can do about assembling the IGES file. But even at best, it's still (obviously) a much bigger pain to work with - as compared to STEP, because the lack of naming structure and the sheer number of pieces to re-join.

In the meanwhile, I was at least able to get the Alias designer to send me a comprehensive screen grab of the potential export settings for STEP files, from Alias. Do any of these stand out as critical in regards to how MOI might best prefer?

Thanks!

Hi sneather, probably you'd want Trim curves with the "Model space" setting.

I'm not 100% sure what some of those other settings mean exactly like what in particular Alias means by a "hybrid model", that's some kind of terminology specific to Alias and not particularly a general STEP specific thing as far as I know.

Protocol type AP203 versus AP214 - either should work ok, but the 203 type contains only geometry and not any names or color information, that's stuff that has been added in by the 214 variant.

- Michael

Great. Thank you for taking the time to review these screen grabs, Michael.
I'll ask the designer to try out what you recommended, and see whether any of that helps (at least a little).

He did ask me whether I could handle WIRE format, as supposedly that's rather native for Alias. But I've never seen that as an import function for any software app I use. That could be some of the trouble, in that Alias really does work within its own proprietary world, and trying to get functionality with divergent apps might not be as easy, compared with other CAD systems.

Here you go sneather:

http://www.autodesk.com/techpubs/aliasstudio/2010/index.html?url=WS1a9193826455f5ff-54f556ca1166ac9ee9e-7a77.htm,topicNumber=d0e178529

Link this to your designer.

If the model is a "solid" (as in MoI solid) the he will use the G5brep solid option.

So there are some other options, but they really depend on what's being exported. The designer will know whether it's "surfaces" or "solids" and whatnot. You'll want to avoid wires. You would have to rebuild all the surfaces, and would loose what Alias is doing with regard to surface continuity and such.......

The hybrid model thing is exporting out "all things alias", and can cause issues.

Hi sneather,

> He did ask me whether I could handle WIRE format, as supposedly that's rather native for Alias.

Yeah it's the native file format for Alias. It's not very often supported by other software, I don't think that it's a publicly documented file format.

I seem to vaguely remember something with PolyTrans being able to do it:
http://www.okino.com/tutorials/gplugs_tutorial.htm

It's more likely that IGES or STEP would be the way to go.

- Michael

Thank you!

Thanks, Michael.

ALso, just as more added info, it may be a communication error with regard to "Wires". meaning, not necessarily the "dot wire format", but wires as in edges. Alias' export can be solids, surfaces or wires, with several options for each (the hybrid is all of those things and options) and, Alias kind of does all it's surfacing WITH wires. I don't think those would work for export though, because alias will be carrying all sorts of surface continuity information along with the wires, so MoI running sweep on 4 closed edges from alias will not produce the same surface with "edge directions" regarding tangencies.

lol