Autodesk: Discussion Groups - AutoCad 2006: How do I Convert a Body to 3D Surfaces

Reply to this Thread

Search Forum

Back to Thread List

Replies: 11 - Last Post: Nov 2, 2009 5:05 PM Last Post By: Gruff

Threads: [ Previous | Next ]

Gruff

Posts: 129
Registered: 11/24/03

AutoCad 2006: How do I Convert a Body to 3D Surfaces
Posted: Oct 2, 2009 3:41 PM

Hi everone.

I'm looking for a way to convert a Body Entity into 3D Surface Entities in Acad 2006.

I realize that most users want to go the other direction.

In my case it is a customer requirement that all AutoCad geometry be 3D surfaces.

My original models were created in another CAD 3D Solids format. I created them as 3D Surfaces there but when I import them into AutoCad 2006 through ACIS each surface is generated as a AutoCad Body.

Any help here would be appreciated.

Thank You

a.zwegers@batis...

Posts: 68
Registered: 06/20/08

Re: AutoCad 2006: How do I Convert a Body to 3D Surfaces
Posted: Oct 7, 2009 9:34 AM

in response to: Gruff

I gather that you are most likely doing work for real time rendering like games? Get away from AutoCAD Mechanical then, or post in the right forum ;)

The easiest way to do what you ask is usually exploding but porting from or to anything else (like 3dsmax or even DXF) will usually do the trick much better... or lets say that while trying to maintain solids I generally ended up with poly's after I had done one of those things.

Gruff

Posts: 129
Registered: 11/24/03

Re: AutoCad 2006: How do I Convert a Body to 3D Surfaces
Posted: Oct 8, 2009 9:36 PM

in response to: a.zwegers@batis...

You gather wrong. :)

My customer in this case is a third party business that supplies models as a sort of catalog of stainless steel products. His models are auto-downloaded and auto-inserted into AutoDesk Revit.

He stores everything he offers in earliest version of dwg format He can get away with.

He will not accept any other format.

It is his requirement that the file contain only 3D surface geometry. No Solids ,Wireframe, or polys.

Autocad lists the entity type I am starting with as BODY. Not 3D Solid.

Explode does not convert a Body into 3D surfaces.

Edited by: Gruff on Oct 8, 2009 2:37 PM

JDMather

Posts: 11,594
Registered: 04/20/06

Re: AutoCad 2006: How do I Convert a Body to 3D Surfaces
Posted: Oct 15, 2009 5:26 PM

in response to: Gruff

You could run it through Inventor to get surfaces from the Body.
Or attach the file here http://discussion.autodesk.com/forums/forum.jspa?forumID=78 and request that someone converts it for you.

Gruff

Posts: 129
Registered: 11/24/03

Re: AutoCad 2006: How do I Convert a Body to 3D Surfaces
Posted: Oct 20, 2009 7:58 PM

in response to: JDMather

No. Autodesk Inventor 10 which we have exports Surfaces to .Sat that still come into AutoCad 2006 as 'Body'.

I could post a file for you to convert but that will not help the 2000+ files I have yet to do.

*Sigh*

The AutoCad Mech that we have willl only offer to import ACIS, DWF, and 3DS. I see no other translators

Edited by: Gruff on Oct 20, 2009 12:58 PM

a.zwegers@batis...

Posts: 68
Registered: 06/20/08

Re: AutoCad 2006: How do I Convert a Body to 3D Surfaces
Posted: Oct 21, 2009 10:59 AM

in response to: Gruff

When I export a 3DBody to dxf (ASCII, R12) and open it again in version of ACAD that supports 3DBody, it will no longer be one... mainly because R12 dxf doesn't support it.

IIRC you can batch process this in some way.

However, what you _do_ get may be an issue... I've used R12 dxf a lot to port polygon based 3d models across various software, but usually these weren't created with things like region+extrude or revolve in ACAD. It kinda depends what kind of source the 3dbody's have I guess.

JDMather

Posts: 11,594
Registered: 04/20/06

Re: AutoCad 2006: How do I Convert a Body to 3D Surfaces
Posted: Oct 25, 2009 8:20 PM

in response to: Gruff

No. Autodesk Inventor 10 which we have exports Surfaces to .Sat that....

Sigh! Why the game of 20 questions?
I thought you wanted surfaces. Why would I try to change the problem description?

I could post a file for you to convert but that will not help the 2000+ files I have yet to do.

One example should point the way to the remaining 1999+ files.

Gruff

Posts: 129
Registered: 11/24/03

Re: AutoCad 2006: How do I Convert a Body to 3D Surfaces
Posted: Oct 26, 2009 5:36 PM

in response to: JDMather

El_Part.zip (264.2 KB)

Apologies JD,

I thought you meant something else.

Attached in a Zip is:

Solidworks File with Surfaces

Acis File from Solidworks File

Dwg File from Acis File From Solidworks File

...

Inventor File with Surfaces

Acis File from Inventor File

Dwg File from Acis File From Inventor

In both cases the Dwg contains Bodies not 3D Surfaces

JDMather

Posts: 11,594
Registered: 04/20/06

Re: AutoCad 2006: How do I Convert a Body to 3D Surfaces
Posted: Oct 29, 2009 2:46 PM

in response to: Gruff

Ok, let me see if I follow.
You created your model in SolidWorks and intentionally used Delete Face to convert to Surface Bodies?

If so, you didn't need to do that - you created extra work for yourself. You don't need Inventor.

Model as solid in SolidWorks.
Save Copy As ACIS (*.sat) Options v7 ACIS

Open the ACIS solid in AutoCAD.
Explode solid one time converts to Regions (which is a type of surfaces).

If some other type of surfaces is needed you could use the _convtosurface command (AutoCAD 2007 and later).

I see you are using 2006, no convtosurface command - let me work around that for a bit (assuming Regions don't meet your needs - BTW you can also Explode Bodies into Regions).

Edited by: JDMather on Oct 29, 2009 10:46 AM

JDMather

Posts: 11,594
Registered: 04/20/06

Re: AutoCad 2006: How do I Convert a Body to 3D Surfaces
Posted: Oct 29, 2009 3:14 PM

in response to: JDMather

SWx to Inventor to ACIS.dwg (94.9 KB)

Update

Opened your SolidWorks file directly in Inventor 2010.
Save Copy As ACIS (*.sat).
Opened the ACIS in AutoCAD and List returned 9 Surfaces and one Region.

Opened your ACIS from SolidWorks file directly in Inventor 2010.
Save Copy As ACIS (*.sat).
Opened the ACIS in AutoCAD and List returned 9 Surfaces and one Region.

So it looks like you could easily convert directly from SolidWorks or from ACIS from SolidWorks running through Inventor 2010.

JDMather

Posts: 11,594
Registered: 04/20/06

Re: AutoCad 2006: How do I Convert a Body to 3D Surfaces
Posted: Oct 29, 2009 3:23 PM

in response to: JDMather

Table.zip (52.9 KB)

Just did another very quick and interesting experiment.

Modeled as Surfaces in SolidWorks instead of as solid and using Delete Face.
Saved the SolidWorks surfaces as ACIS v7.
Opened the ACIS in AutoCAD and it came in as Surfaces.

So, it looks like if you had really modeled in SWx as surfaces instead of modeling as solids and then converting via Delete Face, your job would have been trivially easy.

Gruff

Posts: 129
Registered: 11/24/03

Re: AutoCad 2006: How do I Convert a Body to 3D Surfaces
Posted: Nov 2, 2009 5:05 PM

in response to: JDMather

Well I don't know what to tell you JD,

I just tried to import the ACIS you attached and it came into ACAD Mech 2006 as guess what. bodies. Not surfaces.

I also tried creating the surfaces as pure surfaces from scratch. Export Acis ver 7.0 import Acis to Acad poof. bodies.

I suspect the problem is ACAD 2006. You said you were using 2007.

Durn.

In 2006 the only Acis import I see is under the main menu "Insert | Acis"

Is that the translator you are using or is there another one?

Back to Thread List

Threads: [ Previous | Next ]