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 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 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 [EMAIL PROTECTED] s a
http://www. s t n m
irc://irc. b - i . e/%23contact
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