Mechanical CAD Systems and STL File Production

Import-STL addresses the problem of transferring 3D model data from Mechanical CAD Systems to AVEVA E3D Design, where the model can be manipulated more easily in the Model module and drawings can be produced via the Draw module. Popular Mechanical CAD Systems include:

CATIA

Pro/ENGINEER

I-DEAS

SolidWorks

ACIS based systems

Parasolid based systems

Unigraphics

Solid Edge

CADAM

ROBCAD

CADDS5

AutoCAD.

The output files from some other popular Mechanical CAD Systems, such as Microstation, may be imported into AVEVA E3D Design using product specific translators.

Most of these Mechanical CAD Systems have the capability to export files in the Standard Triangle Language (STL) format direct or some other standard format or CAD native format such as International Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES), Standard for the Exchange of Product Data (STEP) AP203/AP214. Translator programs are available which can read these other export file formats and generate STL files. One such Translator Program is CADfix from ITI TranscenData. The possible routes to generating STL files are shown in below.

The method of production of the STL files is an important factor in minimizing the volume of data that needs to be transferred. Applying the following factors helps to reduce the volume of data:

• All curved parts are approximated as planar faces (triangles) in the process of being exported to the STL file. All STL translator programs offer an approximation/tolerance factor to achieve this. It is very important to control the number of triangles produced, keeping these to the minimum to produce an acceptable model in AVEVA E3D Design.

• All parts of the model that are not essential should be excluded from the transfer, in particular any internal parts that are not used in AVEVA E3D Design.

• Many features, such as chamfers, are not needed in AVEVA E3D Design and these also should be excluded from the transfer.