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

Wolfgang Spraul wolfgang at openmoko.com
Thu Jan 17 13:29:29 CET 2008


Jeremiah -

thanks for the detailed information, it is indeed very helpful.
The file format is the last open question. We have been looking into  
it the whole day.
We are concerned that we release a file that will not be really useful  
for the purpose we are trying to achieve - allow for custom cases,  
case addons, mods.

Our internal engineers use Pro/E Wildfire 3.0. They believe an export  
to DXF would severely limit the ability to use the file in an actual  
custom case project.
Of course it may be that they are just most familiar with Pro/E.
So at the moment I am leaning towards releasing the GTA01 case design  
in the original Pro/E format (.asm/.prt), with zero loss in fidelity.  
That would also make it easier for us in the future to release more  
such data, because our engineers could make sure the files we are  
releasing are really high quality and useful data, rather than as a  
last step exporting to a format they never use, and hope the exported  
file is still useful.

It would probably be posted as an attachment in our wiki (about 70  
MB). If someone can do a conversion to a more open format as part of a  
real project, and thus keep the quality/usability of the file intact,  
that would be great!
What do you think?

Regards,
Wolfgang

On Jan 17, 2008, at 1:57 PM, Jeremiah Flerchinger wrote:

> 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
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> OpenMoko community mailing list
>>>>> community at lists.openmoko.org
>>>>> http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
>>>>
>>>>
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>>

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