dwg to IGES or pro-e format?

[XXF]

Is it possible to convert autocad 2D drawing to 3D drawing in pro-e? without redrawing the whole thing? I can do some touch-ups.


thanks
Andrew

[wjbzone]

you can export your autocad drawing to IGES using the autocad command:
"igesout"

Bill

[ger21]

Originally Posted by wjbzone you can export your autocad drawing to IGES using the autocad command: "igesout" Bill

Not from native AutoCAD, you have to pay for that.

[wjbzone]

I did not realize that was not a native Autocad function. I have the Inventor series. Before that, I had the MDT power pack. Has it ever been a native Autocad function?

Bill

[ger21]

I think it may have been before 2000 or maybe before 14. I've never seen it, and I started on 14, but it may have been in there.

[bpmufx]

Save it out as a DXF. ProE can import DXF into sketch environment.

[NC Cams]

Let's think about this for a second:

How would you convert a 2D to 3D when "depth" isn't contained in any 2D drawing that I've ever seen??? If it ain't there, it can't be created or interpretted by an IGES translator.

The CAD system can "think" but not to that extent, especially when it comes to taking 2nd or 3rd axis projections and turning 2D into a "solid". Frankly, a lot of that capability fell by the wayside when 2D mechanical drafting got replaced by CAD. The engineering schools used to use the inability to convert 3D 'reality' into 2D engineering drawings as a way to weed out draftsmen/engineer's from mere wannabe's.

Besides, IGES has become unreliable for data translation from platform to platform because of interpretation issues in the newer, more sophisticated cad systems - totally different and incompatable algorhythms.

Example: I have a sketch pad that exports IGES supposely suitable for Autocad 10 thru 12. Not hardly. Some folks see the drawing and others see all the layers collapsed onto one layer. Some see the lines but the fillets are gone. Some won't even open the darn file.

IGES has gotten so poor at International Graphis Exchanges that the car company's won't accept or provide IGES in any way, shape or form. You MUST use parent CAD language or else they won't do business with them.

Sadly, you might want to plan on redoing the drawing....

[bpmufx]

OK,
lets get to the hart of the matter: IGES is a neutral file format specifically developed at a time when we were in transition between 2d & 3d. It was intended for surface data. Most apps support it without problems. In fact if there are any problems with the use of IGES I would venture to suggest that its either user error or a problem with the app or file.

As NC Cams has said expecting to export a 2d drawing through IGES is not the method of choice because there is no surface data held in a 2d file. However some CAD apps do have a higher level of IGES support giving the user the option to export lines only.
But AutoCAD is not one of these.

Therefore for you to get your data migrated to a solids package you should use DFX and drop it to a sketch then extrude that into a solid.

But if this part is important enough that you want to migrate it to a solid, you're blowing your foot off trying to use the old 2d drawing directly. The only way you'll have the feature editability of having it a solid is to rebuild it from ground up as a native solid.

[derekj308]

Hi XXF
ProE WF3 has functionality to enable fast translation of 2D to solids. Might even be in WF2. Check out

http://www.ptc.com/appserver/mkt/pro...me.jsp?&k=3643

Its called AutobuildZ. I'm not sure if it it bundled with std Pro/E. I haven't used it I just know its available. I would assume bpmufx is correct that you would be building a 'dumb' part in that you would not be able to parametrically drive any of your features. Maybe, maybe not. Check it out for yourself.

Even without Autobuild Z you can quickly make 'dumb' 3D solids from 2D sketches by importing DXF, IGES, STEP, etc as reference curves and then model from them. The catch to the 'quickly' part is to make sure the 2D sketches are 'clean' in that there are no intersections, open corners, double lines which can be a real prick to find when you're in a hurry. Ask the person you are getting the 2D off to ensure the sketches are 'picture perfect' and use the 'use edge' functionality in sketcher to trace the desired curves.

In my experience the best file format for throwing from one CAD system to another is STEP214. I have had a lot of bad experiences with surfaces turning themselves inside out, not trimming correctly, etc. when using IGES. Its a legacy format and is usually requested by people who could also be described as 'legacy' lol. I can't think of a single time when I have had issues with STEP214 excepting of course small tears in surfaces from accuracy translation.

Cheers
derekj308