Macro required

Does anyone have a macro to put drawing views on different layers? This is
to enable flat patterns to be on the same drawing as model geometry to allow
CAM data to be easily extracted.

Adrian

 

What I do is put the flat pattern on a separate sheet without title
block and at 1:1 scale. No dimensions there either. I export to dxf
from that sheet. What version of SW are you using?

 

CAM software should read the model geometry, not the drawing
scale.
Scale on the drawing or in views should be immaterial.

 

Why not just put the flat pattern on it's own (documented) layer?
They might like a few dimensions too ...

 

Cliff,

I think what he needs is output for a laser, waterjet, or CNC turret punch.

Today, most of these machines come with their own propriatery 2D CAM
systems. By and large, these programs read DXF or DWG files. This has to be
1:1 because DXF doesn't contain scaling data. DWG "can" contain this
information, but these single purpose systems can't read it.

Regards

Mark

 

Hi cliff that is completely correct that is why we would like to put the
flat pattern on different layers the CNC. punch programs can turn lays off.

 

Hi Mark that is completely correct that is why we would like to put the
flat pattern on different layers the CNC. punch programs can turn lays off.

 

But you wanted the view an a different layer, not the geometry,
IIRC. Which I found a puzzle <g>.

View-dependant edits also exist but ....

Then there's the issue of that 1:1 scaling that Mark mentioned ...
I cannot believe that any CAM program would not read the model
geometry at it's actual size nor that any CAD program could
not scale views as requested to fit on a drawing.

What's missing here?

 

So why not just do it when creating it?
Generally the active layer is where any new geometry is
created by default IIRC. And you can always change the layer
of entities too, right? Even copy them if needed?

 

Suppose my part is too large to fit on one drawing sheet at 1:1?

One should never machine drawings.

 

Cliff,

Actual size is a variable determined by the current scale of the 2D layout
at the time the DXF is generated. If I have a drawing of a 1" square block,
and the drawing is set at 1/2 scale when I generate the DXF, the "actual"
size of the geometry represented in the DXF will be 1/2" square. DXF doesn't
carry any scaling info.,so as far as the CAM system on machine tool is
concerned It's a 1/2" square Solidworks and Autocad both do this. In this
sense, it's more of an output issue from the originating system.

Most CAM systems, even the limted ones that come on these machines, can
scale geometry. This, however, only helps if you know the scale, and it adds
a possible error into the process. It's much easier, and safer, to just send
1:1 geometry.

What Adrian wants is a quick way to add this layout to the rest of the
documentation.



Mark

 

Mark,
And when the part is larger than the drawing sheet size ???
What silly CAM system cannot read some form of exported model
geometry ?????

 

Cliff.

The sheet size is irrelevant with regards to 2D DXF export in Solidworks.
You just don't use a sheet format template, and it exports just the
geometry.

The way we do it, for our laser and waterjet, is we have a seperate drawing
sheet (usually the last one) that contains the unfolded, nested parts at
1:1. The geometry on this sheet is exported to the machines at 1:1.

What would be really nice is an add in program that can auto-nest the 2D
shapes.

I don't think I ever said they couldn't. They can usually read either DXF,
DWG, or both. Our laser can also read Postscript. These are single purpose
CAM programs that are shipped with the machine. Most of them are resident in
the control

What I did say was that they were (for the most part) limited in their
ability to manipulate geometry. The machine manufaturers don't expect you to
draw the shapes at the control. In some cases you can (like our Omax), but
its clumsy, and the data isn't associated with anything.

When our parts change, this sheet is updated and sent to the machine for the
next rev. On waterjets and lasers this is simple. It's just a 2D profile so
you just tell it how thick, and what the material is. A turret punch is a
bit more involved.


Mark

 

Then that might be a better way to go ....

 

I don't think you can put drawing views themselves on different layers.
If you search this newsgroup for CutPattern.swp, you will find a macro
I wrote that automatically creates a flat pattern view on a separate
sheet though.

--Mark