CAD files for the case of the Neo will be made available

[Jeremiah Flerchinger]

Wolfgang Spraul wrote:
> Jeremiah -
> thanks for the information, that is indeed very helpful.
> Your list includes DXF, that was the preference before.
> I am concerned that the export process will corrupt the file and we 
> release a file that will be painful to actually use.
>
> From the formats you listed (Wavefront, DXF, STL), which is your 
> preference?
> Which one do you believe is a format where Pro/E can export all 
> information into, without loosing much?
I'm not very familiar with internal structure/format of DXF files, but 
have written software that uses STL and Wavefront files.  I'll answer to 
the best of my knowledge.

The most information would be lost with STL files.  DXF files would 
likely loose the least information and Wavefront would be somewhere 
between.  This is dependent on how good the converters in ProE are.  
Often only the most basic features of the Wavefront format are 
implemented in applications and a surface description equal to or only 
slightly better than a STL file is achieved.  This could also apply to 
DXF files, depending on the quality of the converter and the app that 
reads them in, but I bet the converter in ProE is pretty good.

One issue is there are many versions of the DXF file format.  A quick 
search shows Blender supports a subset of objects up to DXF version 
2007.  Art of Illusion only loads from ASCII DXF files and is limited to 
vertex information.  Of course as long as the conversion is good & loads 
well for a couple apps, we could do additional conversions on our own.

I believe an ASCII DXF format would be more accurate for most people and 
lose the least amount of information in the conversion.  There may be 
fewer version compatibility issues with Wavefront files, but DXF readers 
can also often read newer files than they were designed for at a lower 
level of detail.

Jeremiah

> Thanks,
> Wolfgang
>
> On Jan 17, 2008, at 10:37 AM, Jeremiah Flerchinger wrote:
>
>> I don't think ProE by itself is suitable, especially since you need a 
>> copy of ProE even to import it to BRLCAD.  I myself would suggest 
>> Wavefront (.obj), ASCII DXF (.dxf), or STL (.stl) file.  All are 
>> standard formats & should be in ProE and any other 3D editor.
>>
>> Instructions for converting from ProE to STL are as follows:
>>  
>> ProE
>>
>>     * File > Export > Model
>>     * STL
>>     * Set chord height to 0. The field will be replaced by minimum 
>> acceptable value.
>>     * Set Angle Control to 1
>>     * OK
>>
>> ProE Wildfire
>>
>>     * File > Save a Copy > Model
>>     * Change type to STL (*.stl)
>>     * Set Chord Height to 0. The field will be replaced by minimum 
>> acceptable value.
>>     * Set Angle Control to 1
>>     * OK*
>> *
>> I'm sure the process would be similar to convert to either of the 
>> other 2 formats.
>>
>> Jeremiah Flerchinger*
>>
>> *
>>
>> Wolfgang Spraul wrote:
>>> Esben -
>>> Interesting. I checked on BRLCAD's website
>>>
>>> Converting Geometry Between BRL-CAD and other Formats, Page 17
>>> http://ftp.brlcad.org/VolumeIV-Converting_Geometry.pdf
>>>
>>> and it seems Pro/E import is actually quite solid. However you need 
>>> a seat of Pro/E to do the conversion.
>>> Is releasing in Pro/E format (.prt and .asm files) an acceptable way?
>>> Wolfgang
>>>
>>> On Jan 17, 2008, at 2:36 AM, Esben Stien wrote:
>>>
>>>> Wolfgang Spraul <wolfgang at openmoko.com> writes:
>>>>
>>>>> Regarding the format, the original is in Pro/Engineer Assembly
>>>>> (.asm) and Part (.prt) files. That's probably hard to digest for any
>>>>> FOSS CAD software.
>>>>
>>>> BRLCAD[0] has preliminary support for this format.
>>>>
>>>> [0]http://brlcad.org/
>>>>
>>>> -- 
>>>> Esben Stien is b0ef at e     s      a
>>>>         http://www. s     t    n m
>>>>          irc://irc.  b  -  i  .   e/%23contact
>>>>           sip:b0ef@   e     e
>>>>           jid:b0ef@    n     n
>>>>
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>
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