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

Wolfgang Spraul wolfgang at openmoko.com
Thu Jan 17 15:51:53 CET 2008


Mario -

thanks, that is good to see.
After long discussions, we have settled on releasing the files in Pro/ 
E .asm/.prt format, the same as used by our mechanical engineers. Zero  
loss of fidelity. Highest quality.
Expect to see more from Michael soon.
Thanks again for the link.

Wolfgang

On Jan 17, 2008, at 10:33 PM, Rogen, Mario wrote:

> I did not follow the whole discussion but today i've read about a CAD
> Software which is free for personal use and i think it is able to
> read/import? Pro-E files:
> http://www.medusa4.com/index.php?screen=1.3&ziel=Products-MEDUSA&land=co
> m maybe someone knows more details?
>
>
> Best regards
>
> Mario
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: community-bounces at lists.openmoko.org
> [mailto:community-bounces at lists.openmoko.org] On Behalf Of Wolfgang
> Spraul
> Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 1:29 PM
> To: flerchjj at ieee.org
> Cc: List for OpenMoko community discussion
> Subject: Re: CAD files for the case of the Neo will be made available
>
> 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> <mailto: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
> 					
>
>
>
> 	
> _______________________________________________
> 				OpenMoko community mailing list
> 				community at lists.openmoko.org
> 	
> http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
> 				
> 				
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> OpenMoko community mailing list
> community at lists.openmoko.org
> http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community





More information about the community mailing list