user's guide - autodeskimages.autodesk.com/emea_nw_w_main/files/directconnect_2013_u… ·...

Autodesk® DirectConnect® 2012

User's Guide

©2011 Autodesk, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Except as otherwise permitted by Autodesk, Inc., this publication, or parts thereof, may notbe reproduced in any form, by any method, for any purpose.

Certain materials included in this publication are reprinted with the permission of the copyright holder.

TrademarksThe following are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and other countries:3DEC (design/logo), 3December, 3December.com, 3ds Max, Algor, Alias, Alias (swirl design/logo), AliasStudio, Alias|Wavefront (design/logo),ATC, AUGI, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Learning Assistance, AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD Simulator, AutoCAD SQL Extension, AutoCAD SQL Interface,Autodesk, Autodesk Intent, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk MapGuide, Autodesk Streamline, AutoLISP, AutoSnap, AutoSketch, AutoTrack, Backburner,Backdraft, Beast, Built with ObjectARX (logo), Burn, Buzzsaw, CAiCE, Civil 3D, Cleaner, Cleaner Central, ClearScale, Colour Warper, Combustion,Communication Specification, Constructware, Content Explorer, Dancing Baby (image), DesignCenter, Design Doctor, Designer's Toolkit,DesignKids, DesignProf, DesignServer, DesignStudio, Design Web Format, Discreet, DWF, DWG, DWG (logo), DWG Extreme, DWG TrueConvert,DWG TrueView, DXF, Ecotect, Exposure, Extending the Design Team, Face Robot, FBX, Fempro, Fire, Flame, Flare, Flint, FMDesktop, Freewheel,GDX Driver, Green Building Studio, Heads-up Design, Heidi, HumanIK, IDEA Server, i-drop, Illuminate Labs AB (design/logo), ImageModeler,iMOUT, Incinerator, Inferno, Inventor, Inventor LT, Kynapse, Kynogon, LandXplorer, LiquidLight, LiquidLight (design/logo), Lustre, MatchMover,Maya, Mechanical Desktop, Moldflow, Moldflow Plastics Advisers, MPI, Moldflow Plastics Insight, Moldflow Plastics Xpert, Moondust, MotionBuilder,Movimento, MPA, MPA (design/logo), MPX, MPX (design/logo), Mudbox, Multi-Master Editing, Navisworks, ObjectARX, ObjectDBX, Opticore,Pipeplus, PolarSnap, PortfolioWall, Powered with Autodesk Technology, Productstream, ProMaterials, RasterDWG, RealDWG, Real-time Roto,Recognize, Render Queue, Retimer, Reveal, Revit, RiverCAD, Robot, Showcase, Show Me, ShowMotion, SketchBook, Smoke, Softimage,Softimage|XSI (design/logo), Sparks, SteeringWheels, Stitcher, Stone, StormNET, StudioTools, ToolClip, Topobase, Toxik, TrustedDWG, U-Vis,ViewCube, Visual, Visual LISP, Volo, Vtour, WaterNetworks, Wire, Wiretap, WiretapCentral, XSI.All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.DisclaimerTHIS PUBLICATION AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS MADE AVAILABLE BY AUTODESK, INC. "AS IS." AUTODESK, INC. DISCLAIMSALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY ORFITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE REGARDING THESE MATERIALS.Published by:Autodesk, Inc.111 McInnis ParkwaySan Rafael, CA 94903, USA

Third-Party Software Credits and AttributionsPCRE LICENSE: PCRE is a library of functions to support regular expressions whose syntax and semantics are as close as possible to those of thePerl 5 language.Release 8 of PCRE is distributed under the terms of the "BSD" licence, as specified below. The documentation for PCRE, supplied in the "doc"directory, is distributed under the same terms as the software itself.The basic library functions are written in C and are freestanding. Also included in the distribution is a set of C++ wrapper functionsBASIC LIBRARY FUNCTIONS: Written by: Philip Hazel, Email local part: ph10, Email domain: cam.ac.uk, University of Cambridge ComputingService, Cambridge, England, Copyright © 1997-2010 University of Cambridge. All rights reserved.C++ WRAPPER FUNCTIONS: Contributed by: Google Inc., Copyright © 2007-2010, Google Inc., All rights reserved.BSD LICENCE: Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the followingconditions are met: Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer;Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentationand/or other materials provided with the distribution; Neither the name of the University of Cambridge nor the name of Google Inc. nor thenames of their contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES,INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AREDISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER INCONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE,EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.________________________________________________________Portions Copyright ©CADCAM-E.COM, Inc.Portions of this software licensed from Siemens Industry Software Limited. All Rights Reserved.Open Inventor code is copyright SGI. All rights reserved. This Autodesk software contains Open Inventor. Open Inventor is licensed under theGNU Lesser General Public License v.3.0, which can be found at http://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl.html. A text copy of this license and thesource code for Open Inventor (and modifications made by Autodesk, if any) are included on the DVD or with the download of this Autodesksoftware. You may modify, debug and relink Open Inventor to this Autodesk software as provided under the terms of the GNU Lesser GeneralPublic License v.3.0.Portions relating to JPEG software v. 6b are copyright © 1991-2010, Thomas G. Lane, Guido Vollbeding. All Rights Reserved. This software isbased in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group.________________________________________________________________________________Portions relating to TIFF© Copyright 1988-1997 Sam Leffler. © Copyright 1991-1997 Silicon Graphics, Inc. All rights reserved.

Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, providedthat (i) the above copyright notices and this permission notice appear in all copies of the software and related documentation, and (ii) the namesof Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics may not be used in any advertising or publicity relating to the software without the specific, prior writtenpermission of Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics.THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS-IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING WITHOUTLIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL SAM LEFFLER OR SILICONGRAPHICS BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVERRESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER OR NOT ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGE, AND ON ANY THEORYOF LIABIBITLY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.____________________________________________________________________________This Autodesk software contains DevIL v.1.7.8. DevILis licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License v.2.1, which can be found athttp://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/lgpl-2.1.txt . A text copy of this license and the source code for DevIL v. v.1.7.8 (and modificationsmade by Autodesk, if any) are included on the DVD or with the download of this Autodesk software. You may modify, debug and relink DevILto this Autodesk software as provided under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License v.2.1.Portions relating to Threading Building Blocks Copyright (C) 2005-2008 Intel Corporation. All Rights Reserved.ACIS® © 1989-2002 Spatial Corp.This work contains the following software owned by Siemens Industry Software Limited: D-Cubed™2D DCM © 2010. Siemens Industry SoftwareLimited. All Rights Reserved. D-Cubed™ HLM © 2010. Siemens Industry Software Limited. All Rights Reserved. D-Cubed™ CDM © 2010. SiemensIndustry Software Limited. All Rights Reserved.libpng © 1995-2010 Glenn Randers-Pehrson. Contributing Authors: John Bowler, Kevin Bracey, Sam Bushell, Simon-Pierre Cadieux, AndreasDilger, Magnus Holmgren, Tom Lane, Dave Martindale, Eric S. Raymond, Greg Roelofs, Guy Eric Schalnat, Paul Schmidt, Tom Tanner, CosminTruta, Willem van Schaik, Gilles Vollant, and Tim Wegner.RSA Data Security, Inc., MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm © 1991-2007 RSA Data Security, Inc. All rights reserved. RSA Data Security, Inc. makesno representations concerning either the merchantability of this software or the suitability of this software for any particular purpose. It is provided"as is" without express or implied warranty of any kind.uuencode/uudecode© 1983-2006 Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.zlib © 1995-2007 Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler.

Contents

Chapter 1 What is Autodesk DirectConnect? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Supported products and translators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Chapter 2 What's New in This Release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11New Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Chapter 3 Installation and Licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Install Autodesk DirectConnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Deploy software with group policies for Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Import files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Chapter 4 Translator Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19CATIA V5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20CATIA V4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Autodesk Inventor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26DWG DXF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28DWF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30ZPR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33IGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Open Inventor and Cosmo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41JT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

v

Pro/ENGINEER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45SolidWorks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47STEP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49STL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51NX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Chapter 5 Locations of Imported Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Autodesk Alias Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Autodesk Maya Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Autodesk Showcase Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Autodesk Opticore Studio Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Chapter 6 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65CATIA V4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65CATIA V5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65CGR (.cgr) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Cosmo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65DRAW (DR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65DWG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65DXF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Granite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66IGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Inventor (Open Inventor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66JT file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Pro/ENGINEER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66SolidWorks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66SPACE (SP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66SPF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66STEP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67STL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67V3Rx . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67ZPR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Chapter 7 PCRE and BSD Licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69PCRE License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69The BSD (Berkeley Software Distribution) license . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

vi | Contents

What is AutodeskDirectConnect?

Autodesk® DirectConnect® is a family of data translators. Each of these translatorsimports a specific CAD file format into one or more of the following Autodesksoftware products.■ Autodesk® Alias®

■ Autodesk® Maya®

■ Autodesk® Showcase®

■ Autodesk® Opticore® Studio

In addition, you can export some CAD file formats from some products with AutodeskDirectConnect.

1

1

Supported products and translatorsThe following tables provide a guide to the file formats and bit versionscurrently supported by DirectConnect in Autodesk products. Formats thatrequire an additional license are noted.

Click any of the file formats to see more information about that specific format.

Autodesk Alias Import

Apple® Mac OS® X®10.6 or higher, SnowLeopard, 64 bit

Microsoft®Windows® XP,Windows® 7, WindowsVista®, 32-bit and 64 bit

File Format

Not availableSolidWorks (page 47) ®(1)

Not availablePro/ENGINEER (page 45)®

Not availableCATIA V5 (page 20) ®

Not availableCATIA V4 (page 23)

Not availableNX (page 53)

Additional license required

Not availableAutodesk Inventor (page

26) ®

2 | Chapter 1 What is Autodesk DirectConnect?

Apple® Mac OS® X®10.6 or higher, SnowLeopard, 64 bit


File Format

STEP (page 49)

DWG DXF (page 28) ™

IGES (page 35)

Not availableOpen Inventor™ andCosmo™_ (page 41)

Not availableJT (page 43)

STL (Stereo-lithography)

SPF (Studio Packet File)(.wire)

NOTE

(1) Before you can import SolidWorks files, you must purchase, install, andlicense SolidWorks® 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, or 2010 on the samemachine, and have it running.

Supported products and translators | 3

Autodesk Alias Export

Apple® Mac OS® X® 10.6 orhigher, Snow Leopard, 64 bit


File Format

IGES (page 35)



Not availableZPR (page 33)™ (forRapid Prototyping)

DWG DXF (page 28)

STL (Stereo-litho-graphy)

SPF (Studio PacketFile) (.wire)

Autodesk Showcase

Microsoft®Windows® XP, Win-dows® 7, Windows Vista®, 32-bitand 64 bit

File Format

SolidWorks (page 47) (1)



File Format

Pro/ENGINEER (page 45)

CATIA V5 (page 20)

CATIA V4 (page 23)

NX (page 53)


Autodesk Inventor (page 26)

Open Inventor and Cosmo (page 41)

STEP (page 49)

STL (page 51)

DWG DXF (page 28)



File Format

IGES (page 35)

JT (page 43)

NOTE


Autodesk Maya Import

Apple® Mac OS® X® 10.6or higher, Snow Leopard,64 bit

Microsoft®Windows®

XP, Windows® 7, Win-dows Vista®, 32-bit and64 bit

File Format

Not availableSolidWorks (page 47) (1)



Not availablePro/ENGINEER (page 45)


Apple® Mac OS® X® 10.6or higher, Snow Leopard,64 bit


XP, Windows® 7, Win-dows Vista®, 32-bit and64 bit

File Format

Not availableAutodesk Inventor (page26)

Not availableOpen Inventor andCosmo (page 41)

STEP (page 49)

STL (page 51)

DWG DXF (page 28)

IGES (page 35)

Not availableJT (page 43)

NOTE



Autodesk Maya Export

Apple® Mac OS® X® 10.6 orhigher, Snow Leopard, 64 bit


XP, Windows® 7, Win-dows Vista®, 32-bitand 64 bit

File Format



STL (page 51)

DWG DXF (page 28)

IGES (page 35)

Autodesk Opticore Studio

Microsoft®Windows® XP, Windows®

7, Windows Vista®, 32-bit and 64 bitFile Format

SolidWorks (page 47) (1)

Pro/ENGINEER (page 45)

CATIA V5 (page 20)


Microsoft®Windows® XP, Windows®

7, Windows Vista®, 32-bit and 64 bitFile Format

CATIA V4 (page 23)

NX (page 53)


Autodesk Inventor (page 26)

Open Inventor and Cosmo (page 41)

STEP (page 49)

STL (page 51)

DWG DXF (page 28)

IGES (page 35)

JT (page 43)


NOTE



What's New in ThisRelease

This section outlines the new features and improvements in Autodesk®

DirectConnect® 2012.

New FeaturesThe following are new features in this release:

■ Autodesk Inventor assembly feature geometry is preserved.

2

11

■ The analytic curve types line and circular arc in Alias Wire file are preservedwhen exported to IGES, NX, and DWG formats.

■ Support is added for:■ Recent file formats of CATIA V5 (R20), NX (7 and 7.5), Granite, JT, and

STEP. Also recent update with DWG and Inventor formats.

■ OpenInventor and Cosmo Binary on 64 bit machines.

■ SolidWorks on 64 bit machines.

ImprovementsThe following are improvements to the software in this release.

■ CATIA V5■ CATIA V5 CGR files performance on import.

■ The accuracy of imported independent polynomial curves and edgepolynomial curves from CATIA V5 is noticeably improved.

■ Some surface types, such as extrude surfaces and fillets, import moreaccurately under certain conditions.

■ DWG mesh translation and color translation for layeers and blockreferences.

■ IGES quality and stabilization.

■ JT mesh translation and support for JT polygonset.

■ NX import and export. Layers and categories are preserved (especiallyduring round trip).

■ IGES import and export. Layers are preserved.

12 | Chapter 2 What's New in This Release

Installation andLicenses

Install Autodesk DirectConnect

Autodesk® DirectConnect® software installs automatically when the followingAutodesk software is installed:■ Autodesk® Alias®

■ Autodesk® Maya®

■ Autodesk® Showcase®

For information about installing these software products, refer to their respectiveinstallation guides.

Autodesk DirectConnect software is provided on the media with Autodesk®

Opticore® Studio software, in the Autodesk DirectConnect 2012 folder. It requiresmanual installation.

NOTE■ When installing DirectConnect, install the same version, such as 32-bit or

64-bit, as your Autodesk Opticore Studio.

■ DirectConnect Help is supported only on Microsoft® Internet Explorer®.Performance on other browsers does not provide consistent results.

3

13

Support platforms

Autodesk DirectConnect runs on the same platform as the Autodesk productit installs with:

Apple® Mac OS® X®10.6 or higher, SnowLeopard 64-bit

Microsoft® Windows® XP,Windows® 7, WindowsVista® , 32-bit and 64-bit

Autodesk Software

Autodesk Alias

Autodesk Maya

Not availableAutodesk Showcase

Not availableAutodesk Opticore Stu-dio

System requirements

Autodesk DirectConnect requires the following amount of available disk space:■ Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7: 671 MB for 32-bit, and 838

MB for 64-bit.

■ Mac OS X: 10.6 or greater. On Snow Leopard: 65 MB on an Apple Maccomputer with 64-bit Intel processors. PowerPC (PPC) computers are nolonger supported.

DirectConnect installs with other products, so your system must alsoaccommodate the host product requirements. (For the system requirementsof the host product, consult the appropriate installation guide.)

NOTE For the most up-to-date information about hardware qualifications, seeQualified Hardware.

14 | Chapter 3 Installation and Licenses

Deploy software with group policies forWindows

Microsoft® Active Directory® technology provides the capability for softwareto be remotely installed from a server distribution point to client computers.The client computers must be members of an organizational unit (OU) in theActive Directory. Software deployment is controlled by configuring the softwareinstallation policy of the group policy object (GPO) associated with that OU.The software installation occurs automatically at boot time; no userintervention is required.

Disclaimer

The description of methods presented here is provided to aid those lookingfor a straight forward, Microsoft supported means for deployment of softwareover a Local Area Network. If the Microsoft Group Policy based mechanismdoes not provide sufficient control or features for the size or complexity ofyour network environment, we recommend that you consider more advancedMicrosoft solutions, or other third party solutions.

Prerequisites

■ Active Directory must be installed and configured.

■ Client computers must have Microsoft Installer (MSI) version 3.0 or newerinstalled.

Configure for group policies

1 Create a Distribution Point.

2 Assign the application to client computers.

3 Verify the installation.

NOTE

Consult Microsoft Knowledge Base Article #816102 for more details,including information on how to redeploy or remove a package.

Create a distribution point

A distribution point is a shared network location containing the package(s)to install.

Deploy software with group policies for Windows | 15

To create a distribution list

1 Log on to the appointed server as Administrator.

2 Create a shared network folder.

3 Grant permissions as appropriate. Permission to modify the contents ofthis folder is typically granted to an administrator or select group ofusers. All other users are restricted to read access.

4 Copy the .msi files for the package(s) to be deployed into this folder.

Assign a package to client computers

The Software Installation section of the group policy object specifies thesoftware packages to be deployed.

To assign a package for deployment

1 On the Windows Start menu on the server, click All Programs (orPrograms) > Administrative Tools > Active Directory Users andComputers.

2 Browse to the organizational unit (OU) in the Active Directory tree,right-click, and click Properties. The Properties dialog box for the OUselected displays.

NOTE

For the Group Policy Object to take effect, the client computer objectsmust be members of the OU selected.

3 On the Group Policy tab, click New. Enter a name for the GPO (forexample, Alias Computer Assigned Installation). The GPO is created andadded to the Group Policy Object Links list.

4 In the Group Policy Object Links list, click the GPO you created, thenclick Edit.

5 In the Group Policy Object Editor, left pane, under computerConfiguration, click the plus sign (+) next to the Software Settings folderto expand it.

6 Under Software Settings, right-click Software Installation, then click New> Package.

7 Enter the UNC path to the desired package located in the distributionpoint created in the previous section, then click Open. For example,\\server\share\Alias.msi


NOTE

Do not browse to the network location. Enter the UNC path into theFile name box.

8 Select Assigned, and click OK. Wait until an entry for the packagedisplays in the right pane of the Group Policy window.

9 Repeat steps 7 and 8 for all packages to be deployed.

10 Close the Group Policy window and any other open Active Directorywindows.

The package is now assigned to all computers that are members of theOU for which the GPO was created. The next time a computer in theOU restarts, the program installs and is available for all users of thecomputer.

NOTE

Windows® XP is shipped with Fast Logon Optimization enabled. Dueto this feature, two reboots are required before the software is installed.Microsoft Knowledge Base Article #305293 describes the Fast LogonOptimization feature, along with instructions on how to disable it.

Test and verify the deployment

When a computer restarts, the operating system displays messages about grouppolicy, usually before or after the Windows Login dialog box displays. Thesemessages include the following:■ Windows starting up.

■ Applying computer settings.

■ Installing managed software.

■ Applying software installation settings.

■ Loading your personal settings.

■ Applying your personal settings.

To verify that the package is correctly assigned to a computer, restart acomputer that is in the OU for which the GPO was created. The programinstalls during the boot sequence, before the login prompt displays. Afterlogin, the application is located in the Programs menu in the same locationas if it was installed locally.

Deploy software with group policies for Windows | 17

NOTE

If problems arise, an entry is logged in the system Event Viewer, underApplications.

References

■ Microsoft Knowledge Base Article #816102: How to use Group Policy toRemotely Install Software in Windows Server 2003.

■ Microsoft Knowledge Base Article #305293: Description of Windows XPProfessional Fast Logon Optimization Feature.

Import files

Import CAD files into Autodesk® software.

Choose...To import a CAD file into...

File > Open or File > Import > FileAutodesk Alias

File > Open Scene or File > ImportAutodesk Maya

File > Import ModelsAutodesk Showcase

File > ImportAutodesk Opticore Studio

1 In your Autodesk software, choose the appropriate menu item.

2 In the browser, select the file to import. If you cannot see the file, it isnot supported, or its translator is not licensed.

For Maya, select the import type, such as DWG_DC.

3 Click OK.

The translator automatically launches and the file imports into the scene.


Translator Details 4

19

CATIA V5

CATIA® is computer-aided design software from Dassault Systèmes.

For information about the Autodesk® products that support this format, seeSupported products and translators (page 2).

Software prerequisites

Install the Autodesk product where you plan to import files using this format.The Autodesk DirectConnect software installs at the same time.

Import CATIA V5 files




20 | Chapter 4 Translator Details





2 In the browser, select a CATIA V5 (*.CATProduct ,*.CATPart, or *.cgr)file.

3 Click OK.

The translator launches automatically, and the file imports into thescene.

Types of data imported

We support the import of files from CATIA V5 releases R20 and earlier, andthe following types of data:■ Point

■ Line

■ Arc

■ Ellipse

■ Parabola

■ Hyperbola

■ BSpline curve

■ Polynomial curve

■ Plane

■ Cylindrical surface

■ Conical surface

■ Spherical surface

■ Toroidal surface

■ BSpline surface

■ Revolve surface

■ Ruled surface

■ Open body

CATIA V5 | 21

■ Solid body

■ Layer

■ Geometric set

■ Part (from CATIA V5 release 6 and higher)

■ Product (from CATIA V5 release 6 and higher)

■ Attributes (RGB color, layer, name, visibility, and materials)

■ Per face color assignments

■ Cloud mesh data

■ Tessellated data

■ Weld data

NOTE■ To locate this data in your Autodesk software, see Locations of Imported

Data (page 61).

■ In Autodesk Alias, look for options for specifying data importation. Seethe Autodesk Alias Data Transfer reference book and the Autodesk AliasHelp

■ For definitions about these data types, consult your CATIA documentation.

File formats referenced

The following are some of the file formats that can be referenced by CATIAV5 assembly files:■ .CATProduct

■ .CATPart

■ .model

■ .cgr

■ .stl


CATIA V4

CATIA is computer-aided design software from Dassault Systèmes.

Autodesk DirectConnect for CATIA V4 supports the import of CATIA V4geometric sets, attributes, such as names, layers, RGB colors, and visibility,and the following CATIA file types:■ .model

■ .mdl

■ .session

■ .exp

■ .dlv

■ .dlv3

■ .dlv4

NOTE For information about the Autodesk® products that support this format,see Supported products and translators (page 2).

CATIA V4 | 23


Install the Autodesk product where you plan to import files, using this format.The Autodesk DirectConnect software installs at the same time.

Import CATIA V4 files







2 In the browser, select a CATIA V4 (*.model, *.mdl, *.session, *.exp,

*.dlv, or *.dlv3) file.

3 Click OK.

The translator launches automatically and the file imports into the scene.

Types of entities imported

DirectConnect supports CATIA model and export files produced with CATIAV4.xx and earlier V3RX Levels.

We support the import of the following SPACE (SP) entities:■ Point (Type 1)

■ Line (Type 2)

■ Parametric curve (Type 3)

■ Plane (Type 4)

■ Parametric surface (Type 5)

■ Face (Type 6)

■ Volume (Type 7)

■ Transformation (Type 9)


■ Edge (Type 12)

■ Circle (Type 20)

■ Ellipse (Type 21)

■ Parabola (Type 22)

■ Hyperbola (Type 23)

■ Polyhedral surface (Type 16)

■ Composite curve (Type 24)

■ Solids - Mockup (Type 17, secondary type 1)

■ Exact solid (Type 17, secondary type 2)

■ Space ditto (Type 28)

■ Parametric skin (Type 35)

■ NURB curve (Type 46)

■ NURB surface (Type 47)


Data (page 61).

■ In Autodesk Alias, look for options for specifying data importation. Seethe Autodesk Alias Data Transfer reference book and the Autodesk AliasHelp.

■ For definitions on these data types, consult your CATIA documentation.

CATIA V4 | 25

Autodesk Inventor

Autodesk Inventor® is a 3D mechanical design, product simulation, toolingcreation, and design communication software.

Autodesk DirectConnect supports the import of Autodesk Inventor part (*.ipt)and assembly (*.iam) files into supported Autodesk software.

Software Prerequisite

Install the Autodesk product where you plan to import files using this format.The Autodesk DirectConnect software installs at the same time)

Import Autodesk Inventor files

1 In your Autodesk software, choose the appropriate menu item. Forexample:

2 Browse to, and select an Autodesk Inventor part or assembly file (*.iptor *.iam).

3 Click OK.

The translator automatically launches and imports the file.


NOTE To maintain the original positioning and orientation of part files inyour scene, import the assembly file. Importing part files before the assemblyfile positions all of them at the origin (0,0,0), and removes the originalpositioning.


NURBS are imported, and the following additional information is maintainedon import:■ BREP bodies

■ Data organization

■ Tolerances and units

■ Material colors and simple transparency

■ Weld maps (beads only)

■ Thread maps

■ Decals

NOTE For information about locating this data in your Autodesk software, seeLocations of Imported Data (page 61).

Limitations

■ Work sources, display meshes, and some 2D/3D sketches are automaticallyexcluded when importing an Autodesk Inventor file.

■ Some cylindrical surfaces (pipes) do not trim properly.

Autodesk Inventor | 27

DWG DXF

Autodesk DirectConnect supports the import of AutoCAD® drawing files(DWG) and Drawing eXchange File (DXF™) files into supporting Autodeskproducts.

For information about Audodesk products that support these formats, seeSupported products and translators (page 2).


Install the Autodesk product on the machine where you want to import filesusing this format. (The Autodesk DirectConnect software installs at the sametime.)

Import DWG/DXF files









2 Browse to, and select a DWG (.dwg) or DXF (.dxf) file.

3 Click OK.

The translator automatically launches and imports the file.


We support the import of the following types of DWG and DXF data:■ Colors

■ Materials

■ Lines, arcs, and splines

■ Extruded curves

■ Extrusions

■ Layers

■ Meshes

■ Surfaces

■ Text

■ 3D solids

IMPORTANT■ Showcase does not support the AutoCAD material attribute Illumination.

Alias supports the AutoCAD material attribute Illumination; however,it is called Incandescence.

■ Showcase supports only 3D hierarchical data. It does not support 2Ddrawings.

DWG DXF | 29


Data (page 61).


■ DWG and DXF both support curves and round trip data export when wantcurves is set to ON. If they are not coming in, check to ensure that wantcurves is enabled.

Export DWG/DXF files (Autodesk Alias)

1 In your Autodesk software, choose File > Save As.

2 For details on the available options, see the Autodesk Alias Help.

DWF

Design Web Format (DWF™) is a file format developed by Autodesk for webviewing and printing.


Autodesk DirectConnect supports the export of Alias® tessellated model datato DWF format files (*.dwf) to view in Autodesk Design Review and ProjectFreewheel.

For information about the Autodesk products that support this format, seeSupported products and translators (page 2).


Install Autodesk Alias. The Autodesk DirectConnect software installs at thesame time.

NOTE For information about additional software setup for Autodesk Alias, pleasesee the Autodesk Alias Data Transfer reference book and the Autodesk Alias Help.

Exporting DWF files

1 In Alias, select a file to be exported as a DWF, and choose File > Export> Active As or File > Save As.

2 On the File Format menu, select DWF (.dwf).

3 Set export options, and then click Save.

FunctionOption

When turned ON, exports curves.Export Curves

If an Alias layer has symmetry turned ON, this information andthe geometric objects resulting from symmetry can be mergedand converted, or left intact (unmerged) and converted.

Export Symmetry

When turned OFF, layer symmetry is not exported.

When set to Fast, models triangulate quickly and less accurately.When set to Accurate, models triangulate slowly and moreaccurately.

Tessellator

■ Tolerance – The amount a polygonal surface can deviatefrom the original NURBS surface. The default value is 0.01.

■ Limit Edge Length – If checked, a Max edge length slidercontrols maximum size of the triangles. If unchecked, thereis no limit to the size of the triangles.

■ Max Edge Length – The maximum length of any triangleedge (in current linear units).

DWF | 31

FunctionOption

Types of data exported

The DirectConnect translator for DWF exports only meshes. The Alias scenedag hierarchy is preserved. Associated color information is also exported.

NOTE Check the options in Alias to specify data importation. See the AutodeskAlias Data Transfer reference book and the Alias online help.


ZPR

ZPrint CAD format (ZPR™) is a proprietary file format developed by ZCorporation® and used with ZPrint and ZEdit for printing on high definitioncolor 3D printers.

Autodesk DirectConnect supports the export of ZPR format files (*.zpr) touse in the Autodesk® Rapid Prototyping solution.


ZPR | 33


■ Install any of the following Autodesk products. The Autodesk DirectConnectsoftware installs at the same time.■ Autodesk Alias

■ Autodesk Showcase

■ Autodesk Maya

■ Autodesk Opticore Studio

NOTE For information about additional software setup for Autodesk Alias, see theAutodesk Alias Data Transfer reference book and the Autodesk Alias Help.

Exporting ZPR files using the output command

1 In Alias, select a file to be exported as a ZPR file and choose File >Export > Rapid Prototype...

2 On the File Format menu, click ZPR (.zpr).

3 Depending on the entity selected for export, such as a shell, additionalsetup can be required. For information about additional setup options,see the Autodesk Alias Data Transfer reference book and the AutodeskAlias Help.

4 Click Save.

Types of data exported

The DirectConnect translator for ZPR exports triangle meshes with simplecolors and textures for use with ZEdit and Zprint software for rapid prototyping.


IGES

Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) is a file format for transferringgraphics data between CAD/CAM systems.

Autodesk DirectConnect supports the import and export of the neutral IGESformat files (*.iges or *.igs) from various CAD or modeling packages.



Install any of the following Autodesk products. The Autodesk DirectConnectsoftware installs at the same time.■ Autodesk Alias

For information about additional software setup for Autodesk Alias, pleasesee the Autodesk Alias Data Transfer reference book and the Autodesk AliasHelp.

■ Autodesk Showcase

■ Autodesk Maya

Import IGES files



IGES | 35






2 In the browser, select a native IGES (*.iges or .igs) file.

3 Click OK .

The translator launches, and imports the file into the scene.

Export IGES files

Choose...To export a CAD file into...

File > Export >Autodesk Alias

File > Export All or File > Export SelectedAutodesk Maya

File > Export ModelsAutodesk Showcase

File > ExportAutodesk Opticore Studio


2 Select a native IGES (*.iges or .igs) file from the file browser.

3 Click OK .

The translator automatically launches and imports the file into the scene.

Troubleshoot (Autodesk Alias)

If the files you import contain unsatisfactory data, change the following importoptions in Autodesk Alias:


Default Trim Curves Specifies the trim curves that the processor uses. Youcan select parameter space curves, model space curves, or use the flag that ispresent in the IGES file. By default, the preference flag in the IGES files is used.

Shrink Surface When turned ON, Alias detects trimmed surfaces with trimboundaries that are the same as, or isoparametric to, the natural boundariesof the untrimmed surface. It then converts these surfaces into Alias surfacesby shrinking the untrimmed surface to the trim boundaries.

When turned OFF, Alias converts all trimmed surfaces of this type to Aliastrimmed surfaces.


The DirectConnect for IGES translator imports ASCII format IGES files withor without linefeed characters at the end of each record. The software doesnot support Binary IGES files.

The software imports NURBS for this file format and maintains the followinginformation on import:■ Surfaces and curves

■ Data organization (groups, layers, visibility, and instances)

■ Units

■ Colors

NOTE■ For information about this data in your Autodesk software, see Locations

of Imported Data (page 1).

■ Check the options in Alias to specify data importation. See the Alias DataTransfer reference book and the Alias Help.

Identify IGES supported entities in log files

The following table shows IGES entities supported on import by DirectConnectfor IGES.

IGES | 37

NOTE The input translator ignores any entities with an entity use flag value 02(Definition), except for entity use flag value with IGES Subfigure Definition entity(Type 308).

IGES EntityFormType

circular arc0100

composite curve0102

conic arc, ellipse, parabola, hyperbola0-3104

copious data1106

copious data2106

copious data11106

copious data12106

closed area63106

plane0108

bounded plane+/- 1108

line0110

parametric curve0112

parametric surface0114

point0116

ruled surface0 - 1118


IGES EntityFormType

surface of revolution0120

tabulated cylinder0122

direction0123

transformation matrix0124

rational B-spline curve0-5126

rational B-spline surface0-9128

offset curve0130

offset surface0140

boundary entity0141

curve on surface0142

boundary surface0143

trimmed surface0144

Manifold Solid BRep Object (MSBO)-1,0,1186

plane surface0,1190

right circular cylindrical surface0,1192

right circular conical surface0,1194

spherical surface0,1196

IGES | 39

IGES EntityFormType

toroidal surface0,1198

subfigure definition0308

associativity instance7, 9402

singular subfigure instance0408

vertex list1502

edge list1504

loop0,1508

face1510

shell1,2514

IGES levels

The system adds all supported geometric IGES entities that are associated withIGES level <n> to an Alias layer called LEVEL<n>.

For example, if a 126 B-spline entity directory entry indicates that it is on level42, then it is added as Layer LEVEL42.


Open Inventor and Cosmo

Open Inventor is a 3D file format from Silicon Graphics Inc., with no relationto Autodesk Inventor software.

Autodesk DirectConnect supports the import of Open Inventor™ ASCII orbinary files (*.iv), or Cosmo 3D™scene binary files (*.csb) into supportedAutodesk software.

For information about the Autodesk products that support these formats, seeSupported products and translators (page 2).


Install the Autodesk product where you plan to import files using these formats.The Autodesk DirectConnect software installs at the same time.

Import Open Inventor or Cosmo files





Open Inventor and Cosmo | 41



1 Choose the appropriate menu choice.

2 Browse to and select an Open Inventor (*.iv) or Cosmo (.csb) file.

3 Click OK.

The translator launches and imports the file.

Type of data imported

The software imports polygons and NURBS for these file formats, and maintainsthe following information on import:■ Data organization (parent, child, and groups)

■ Units

■ Materials

■ Textures

■ Polygonal Shapes

■ Transformation nodes

NOTE For information on locating this data in your Autodesk software, seeLocations of Imported Data (page 1).

Limitations

When importing Open Inventor files, the system automatically excludes lines,cameras, lights, manipulators, tolerances, and animation.


JT

The JT Open Program develops and supports the DirectModel format JT forthe visualization of 3D models.




Import JT files





JT | 43




2 In the browser, select a (*.jt) file.

3 Click OK.

The translator launches, and imports the file into the scene.


The software maintains the following information when importing JT files:■ Precise geometric data conversion

■ Data organization (parent and child hierarchal data, visibility, andinstances)

■ Units

■ Levels of detail (degrees of tessellation)

■ Materials (brightness (shininess), ambient color, specular color, diffusecolor, and emission color)

■ Textures (embedded image files)

■ XT BRep and JT BRep topology


Data (page 1).


Limitations

■ Import options are not available.

■ The software automatically excludes curve geometry and animation whenimporting a JT file.


Pro/ENGINEER

Autodesk DirectConnect supports the import of Pro/ENGINEER® part,assembly, or PTC® Granite® files (*.prt, *.asm, or *.g) into supported Autodesksoftware.



■ Install the Autodesk product where you plan to import files using theseformats. The Autodesk DirectConnect software installs at the same time.

■ Pro/ENGINEER files from your CAD software using Wildfire™ Release 5(or lower) or PTC Granite Release 6 (or lower) specifications.

NOTE For information about additional software setup for Autodesk® Alias®, seethe Autodesk Alias Data Transfer reference book and the Autodesk Alias Help.

Pro/ENGINEER | 45

Import Pro/ENGINEER files






2 Select a Pro/ENGINEER part, assembly, or Granite file (*.prt, .asm, or*.g).

3 Click OK.

The translator launches and imports the file.

NOTE To maintain the original positioning and orientation of part files inyour scene, import the assembly file. Importing part files before the assemblyfile positions all of them at the origin (0,0,0) and removes the originalpositioning.


The software imports NURBS for this file format and maintains the followingdata on import:■ Precise geometric surface and topology information


■ Tolerances and units.


Data (page 61).



Limitations

■ The software changes node names based on geometry, assembly, or partnames.

■ When importing a Pro/ENGINEER file, the software automatically excludesconstruction history, lines, and animation.

■ Granite does not support layers or curves.

SolidWorks

Autodesk DirectConnect supports the import of SolidWorks® part and assemblyfiles (*.sldprt and *.sldasm) into supported Autodesk software, providedyou have SolidWorks installed, licensed on your machine, and running.




SolidWorks | 47

■ Install and license SolidWorks Versions 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, or2010 on the same machine.

NOTE For information about additional software setup for Autodesk Alias, pleasesee the Autodesk Alias Data Transfer reference book and the Autodesk Alias Help.

Import SolidWorks files







2 Select a SolidWorks part or assembly file (*.sldprt or *.sldasm). (If youcannot see the files, start the SolidWorks software, minimize its window,and then try again to open the files.)

3 Click OK.

The translator launches and imports the file into the scene.

NOTE To maintain the original positioning and orientation of part files inyour scene, import the assembly file. Importing part files before the assemblyfile positions all of them at the origin (0,0,0) and removes the originalpositioning.


The software imports NURBS for this file format and maintains the followinginformation on import:■ Precise geometric surface and topology information


■ Tolerances and unit

■ Colors


NOTE■ For information about locating this data in your Autodesk software, see

Locations of Imported Data (page 61).

■ In Autodesk Alias, look for options for specifying data importation. Seethe Autodesk Alias Data Transfer reference book and the Autodesk Aliasonline help.

Limitations

When importing SolidWorks files, the software automatically excludesconstruction history, lines, and animation.

STEP

Autodesk DirectConnect supports the import of STEP files (*.stp or *.step).


STEP | 49



■ Export STEP files from the CAD software using AP203 or AP214specifications.

Import STEP files







2 In the browser, select a native STEP (*.stp or *.step) file.

3 Click OK.



The software imports NURBS for this file format and maintains the followinginformation on import:■ Precise geometric surface and topology information (ISO 10303:42)

■ Data organization (layers)

■ Tolerances and units

■ Colors



Data (page 61).


STL

Autodesk DirectConnect supports the import and export of STL files.


For information about the Autodesk products that support this format andwhether a license is required, see Supported products and translators (page2).



STL | 51

Import STL files






2 In the browser, select a native STL (Stereolithography) filer.

3 Click OK.


Export STL files

Choose...To export an STL file into...

File > Export All or File > Export SelectionAutodesk Maya

File > Export > Fast Prototype...Autodesk Alias


2 In Maya, you can specify:■ The file format, (f bool) either ASCII or binary.

■ The scaling factor (s float), which is set to 1 by default.

■ Whether to process the colors for the STL file (w bool).

■ Click OK.

In Alias, you can specify the:

■ File format

■ Tolerance levels used in the export of the file

3 Pick the meshes or shell to export, then click Accept.


Type of files imported

ASCII and binary STL (color STL) files are supported.

NOTE To locate this data in your Autodesk software, see Locations of IimportedData (page 61).

NX

Autodesk DirectConnect supports the import of NX files (Version 7.5 andearlier) into supported Autodesk software.

For information about the Autodesk products that support this format, andlicense requirements, see Supported products and translators (page 2).



■ For more information on how to purchase a license, go to theDirectConnect Web site. (See Installation and Licenses (page 1).) To install

NX | 53

a license, refer to the Install_DirectConnect.pdf document found on theinstallation CD.

Import UGS NX files






1 In your Autodesk import files, choose the appropriate menu item.

2 In the browser, select a (*.prt) file. (The software supports NX part andassembly (.prt) files version V13.0 to NX 7.5).

For details, about import options in Alias, see the Alias Data Transferreference book and the Alias Help.

3 Click OK.


Export NX files (Autodesk Alias)

Choose...To export a CAD file from...

File > Save AsAutodesk Alias

File > Export all or File > Export selectedAutodesk Maya

To export NX files from Autodesk Alias:

1 In your Autodesk software, choose the appropriate menu:

2 See the Alias documentation for details about how to build a model formaximum compatibility between NX and Alias.


NX proprietary format

NX is a solid modeling package based on the Parasolid kernel. The packagecontains many (mostly optional) modules, for example CAD, CAM, CAE, sheetmetal applications, knowledge bases, quality control, and rapid prototyping.The file structure is binary.

Supported NX geometry and data mapping

The following sections describe the mapping process used for geometry typesand non-geometric data transfers between Alias and NX.

Supported Alias geometry types

You can export the following Alias geometry to NX. Non-geometry entities,such as lights, cameras, textures, windows, and animations are not supportedby the translator. The numbers in the table entries refer to Notes for NX entitiesfollowing the table.

NX EntityAlias Entity

BcurveConic (ellipse/hyperbola/parabola)

CurveConic

CircleCircle

LineLine

BCurveCurve

BSurface (1), (2)Surface

Face (1), (2)Trimmed Surface

Bsurface (1), (2)Plane

Colour Attribute (3)Shader

NX | 55

NX EntityAlias Entity

Sheet BodyShell (Open)

Solid BodyShell (Closed)

Layer (4)Layer

CategoryCategory

Notes for NX entities

(1) NX cannot have free-standing surfaces, so it maps all surfaces to faceswhich must be attached to a sheet body.

(2) Splits appear in surfaces that have internal discontinuities at thediscontinuities.

(3) Mapped as a Display Attribute of the mapped surface or shell.

(4) Layer name is not mapped.

Supported NX entity objects geometry types (Alias)

Alias imports the following NX geometry types. The letters and numbers inparentheses refer to Notes for NX entities following the table.

Alias EntityNX Entity Objects

SurfaceBSurface

SurfaceBounded Plane

SurfaceCylindrical Surface

SurfaceConical Surface

SurfaceTabulated Cylinder

SurfaceRules Surface


Alias EntityNX Entity Objects

SurfaceBlended Face Surface

SurfaceSurface of Revolution

SurfaceOffset Surface

SurfaceSculptured Surface

CurveBCurve

Line (Curve)Line

CurveBcurve

Point (Curve) (1)Point

Shell (Open) (2)Sheet Body

Groups/Instance (3)Assembly

LayerLayer

CategoryCategory

Notes for Alias NX (object) entities

(1) An NX point converts to a degree 1 curve composed of two coincidentpoints. On export to NX, this construction converts back to an NX point.

(2) If the sheet body only points to one face, then Alias converts the face toa trimmed surface.

(3) This is a one-way mapping. Assemblies cannot be exported.

(4 ) Added as blind data. Can be re-exported.

NX | 57


Autodesk DirectConnect supports the following NX geometry types. (Itsupports attributes such as name, color, layer, and visibility.)■ Point

■ Line

■ BCurve

■ Circle

■ Ellipse

■ Parabola

■ Hyperbola

■ Surface Parameter Curve

■ Trimmed Curve

■ Intersection Curve

■ BSurface

■ Planar Surface

■ Spherical Surface

■ Cylindrical Surface

■ Conical Surface

■ Surface of Revolution

■ Spun Surface

■ Offset Surface

■ Ruled Surface

■ Swept Surface

■ Toroidal Surface

■ Blended Edge Surface

■ Blended Bound Surface

■ Facet

■ Sheet Body

■ Solid Body

■ Part

■ Instance

■ Assembly


■ Category

NX | 59

Locations of ImportedData

Autodesk Alias Data

Colors (Shaders)Tolerances and UnitsData Organization

Colors are visible in the Render >Multi-lister > Shaders window.

View unit settings at Prefer-ences > Construction Op-tions.

Parts and assembly informationdisplays in the Windows > Inform-ation > Layer Categories win-dow.

For information about these settings, menu items, and options, see the AutodeskAlias Data Transfer reference book and the Autodesk® Alias® Help.

Autodesk Maya Data


Colors are imported as shaders andare visible for either the Window >

View unit settings from Window >Settings/Preferences > Prefer-ences.

View Layer information on the Display> UI Elements > ChannelBox/Layer Editor menu and the Rendering Editors > Hyper-

5

61


Change the Working Units andTolerances on the Categories tabin Settings.

Window > Relationship Editors >Display Layers menu.View part and assembly informationis visible on the Window > Outliner

shade or Window > RenderingEditors > Multilister window.

menu or the Window > Hyper-graph menu.

For more information about these settings and menu items, see the Autodesk®

Maya® Help.

Autodesk Showcase Data


Colors are imported as materials andare visible from Material > Mater-ial Properties.

Change unit settings in the ImportStatus window (File > ShowStatus). See the Showcase docu-mentation for more information.

View Layers, parts, and assemblyhierarchies in the Organizer window(Scene > Organizer).This window shows the original filehierarchy. You can create your own Change tessellation quality in the

Import Status window. See thearrangements of objects. You canShowcase documentation for moreinformation.

view and change the state of ob-jects to visible, hidden, or deleted.

To adjust the Level of Detail (LOD)for models imported into Showcase,select Options > Performanceand Quality. Then click the Lockdisplay quality to button, andadjust the slider to see the differentLODs.

For more information about these settings and menu items, see the Autodesk®

Showcase® Help.

62 | Chapter 5 Locations of Imported Data

Autodesk Opticore Studio Data


Colors can be shaders or appear-ances. In the Scene Graph Editor,

There are no units in Studio. All im-ported data is considered the same

View the node structure in theScene Graph Editor, in the Win-

in scenegraph, all colors are visibleunit. Set tolerances for tessellationdow > Scene Graph Editormenu. It opens by default. in the appearance field of a shape

node. Appearances are visible onlyin the File > Preferences dialog-box, GeomX tab.

NOTE GeomX is not available untilyou load the GeomX module in theModules tab (in the same dialogbox) and restart Studio.

in the Scene Graph Editor. Shadersare visible in both the Scene GraphEditor and through the Windows> Shader List dialog box.

Set tessellation tolerances on theGeomX tab, Import tessellationsection. To retessellate, use theWindow > GeomX > Tessellatedialog box, and enter new settings.

For information about these settings, menu items, and options, see theAutodesk® Opticore® Studio Help.

Autodesk Opticore Studio Data | 63

Glossary

assembly

An organizational file that fits together a collection of manufactured parts intoa complete model.

CATIA® V4

CATIA V4 is computer-aided design software from Dassault Systèmes. AutodeskDirectConnect allows the exchange of 3D model data from CATIA V4, using.model, .session, .exp, .dlv, and .dlv3 files.

CATIA® V5

CATIA V5 is computer-aided design software from Dassault Systèmes. AutodeskDirectConnect allows the exchange of 3D model data from CATIA V5, usingthe native CATIA part (.CATPart), product (.CATProduct), and (.cgr) files.

CGR ® (.cgr)

CATIA Graphical Representation (.cgr) is the triangulated format used by CATIAV5.

Cosmo™

A legacy 3D file format from Silicon Graphics Inc. using efficient binarycompression and *.csb (Cosmo Scene Binary) files.

DRAW (DR)

A two-dimensional entity defined in the drafting and detailing world.

DWG™

AutoCAD drawing file) A file format used by Autodesk AutoCAD software thatcontains lines, curves, and 3D data.

6

65

DXF™

(Drawing eXchange File) A file exchange format containing ASCII code andbinary representations of the objects in a DWG file.

Granite®

A CAD technology platform for design collaboration using solid models.

IGES

(Initial Graphics Exchange Specification) A file format for transferring graphicsdata between CAD/CAM systems. A neutral file format that can be importedinto any number of CAD or modeling packages.

Inventor (Open Inventor™)

Open Inventor is a legacy 3D file format from Silicon Graphics, Inc. With norelation to Autodesk Inventor software, Open Inventor is an object-oriented3D toolkit that describes complete 3D scenes, which can be made interactiveand that are optimized for OpenGL. It is an ASCII or binary file format.

JT file

The DirectModel format JT is developed and supported by the JT Open Programfor the visualization of 3D models.

parts

Parts are organized into a collection of groups, which then form a projecthierarchy.

Pro/ENGINEER®

A solid modeling CAD/CAM/CAE software product from Parametric TechnologyCorporation that requires positional construction tolerances.

SolidWorks®

A solid modeling CAD/CAM/CAE software product from SolidworksCorporation that requires positional construction tolerances.

SPACE (SP)

A three-dimensional entity defined in the 3D modeling world.

SPF

Alias SPF (Studo Packet File) is a native file format used by Autodesk Aliassoftware, with the extension .wire.

66 | Chapter 6 Glossary

STEP

An international standard for the exchange of geometric product definitions.STEP formats that are relevant to Autodesk products are AP203 (generalmechanical CAD) and AP214 (automotive CAD).

STL

An STL (StereoLithography) file is a triangular representation of 3D surfacegeometry. The surface is tessellated, or broken down logically into a series ofsmall triangles (facets). Each facet is described by a perpendicular directionand three points representing the vertices (corners) of the triangle.

V3Rx

A file format generated by a version of CATIA that is older than V4.

ZPR

ZPrint CAD format (ZPR) is a proprietary file format developed by ZCorporation. It is used with ZPrint and ZEdit for printing on high definitioncolor 3D printers. Autodesk Direct lets you export files in ZPR (*.zpr) formatto use in the Autodesk Rapid Prototyping solution.

Glossary | 67

PCRE and BSDLicenses

PCRE LicensePCRE (Perl-compatible regular expressions) is a library of functions to supportregular expressions whose syntax and semantics are as close as possible to thoseof the Perl 5 language.

Release 7 of PCRE is distributed under the terms of the BSD license, as specifiedbelow. The documentation for PCRE, supplied in the doc directory, is distributedunder the same terms as the software.

The basic library functions are written in C and are freestanding. Also includedin the distribution is a set of C++ wrapper functions.

The Basic library functions

Written by: Philip Hazel

Email local part: ph10

Email domain: cam.ac.uk

University of Cambridge Computing Service, Cambridge, England.

Copyright (c) 1997-2008 University of Cambridge

All rights reserved.

The C++ wrapper functions

Contributed by: Google Inc.

Copyright (c) 2007-2008, Google Inc.

7

69

All rights reserved.

The BSD (Berkeley Software Distribution)license

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or withoutmodification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:■ Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this

list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

■ Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentationand/or other materials provided with the distribution.

■ Neither the name of the University of Cambridge nor the name of GoogleInc. nor the names of their contributors may be used to endorse or promoteproducts derived from this software without specific prior writtenpermission.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS ANDCONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES,INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OFMERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AREDISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER ORCONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUTNOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVERCAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT,STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IFADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

70 | Chapter 7 PCRE and BSD Licenses

Index

.asm 45

.crg, definition 65

.csb 41

.g 45

.iam 26

.ipt 26

.iv 41

.prt 45

.sldasm 47

.sldprt 47

.spt 49

.STEP 49

A

assembly 65Autodesk AutoCAD drawing files 28Autodesk DirectConnect

installing 14supported platforms 14

Autodesk Inventortranslator 26

B

Basic, library 69BSD 69

C

CATIACATIA Graphical Representation 65

CATIA V4, definition 65CATIA V4, DRAW (DR) 65CATIA V4, SPACE 66CATIA V5 20, 23

import 21, 24referenced files 22translator 20, 23

CATIA V5, definition 65

CATPartCATIA V5 22

CATProductCATIA V5 22

cgrCATIA V5 22

Cosmotranslator 41

Cosmo, definition 65crg, definition 65

D

data, where to find after import 61, 63Design Web Format 30, 33DR, definition 65DRAW, definition 65Drawing eXchange File 28DWF

translator 30, 33DWG DXF

translator 28DWG, definition 65DXF, definition 66

F

file format.csb 41.iv 41CATIA V5 referenced 22

file formats.iam 26.ipt 26

G

glossary 65Granite, definition 66

71 | Index

I

IGESCATIA V5 22translator 35

IGES, definition 66Import

CATIA V5 21, 24import files 18imported data, where to find 61, 63Initial Graphics Exchange

Specification 35install host software 13Inventor (Open Inventor), definition 66

J

JTtranslator 43

JT, definition 66

L

license, BSD 69license, PCRE 69

M

modelCATIA V5 22

N

NXtranslator 53

O

Open Inventortranslator 41

organization of imported data 61, 63

P

parts, definition 66PCRE 69Pro/ENGINEER

translator 45Pro/ENGINEER, definition 66

R

referenceCATIA V5 22

S

shaders, where to find 61, 63SolidWorks

translator 47SolidWorks, definition 66SP, definition 66SPACE, definition 66SPF (Studio Packet File), definition 66STEP

CATIA V5 22translator 49

STEP, definition 67stl

CATIA V5 22STL

translator 51STL, definition 67Studio Packet File (SPF), definition 66support platforms 14system requirements 14

T

tolerances of imported data 61, 63translator

Autodesk Inventor 26Cosmo 41DWF 30, 33DWG DXF 28IGES 35JT 43

72 | Index

NX 53Open Inventor 41Pro/ENGINEER 45SolidWorks 47STEP 49STL 51

troubleshootingAutodesk AliasStudio import

options 36can’t see CAD file to import 18

U

units of imported data 61, 63

V

V3Rx, definition 67

W

where to find imported data 61, 63Windows platform 14

Z

ZPR, definition 67

Index | 73

user's guide - autodeskimages.autodesk.com/emea_nw_w_main/files/directconnect_2013_u… ·...

Documents