SolidWorks to Pro-E

[chris mellen]

I am a SolidWorks user and would like to give some files to a Pro-E user. What is the best method for getting files built in SW to open in Pro-E? The files can be dumb solids, but they need to open without any errors.

Thanks!
Chris

 

[ntbcadcam]

Hi Chris.


if you want SW open direct Pro or Pro open SW you must have license read file together.


I'm usually save as with ".IGES" then open.


- In Pro/e open file IGES, the Surface will beuncovered, but pro/e sovle uncovered very good & very fast.


- In solidworks too.

 

[chris mellen]

Hello ntbcadcam,

Thank you for the response. I am trying to export STEP files or IGES files from SW to open in Pro-e. I don't have pro-e to test the import, however. Would you be kind enough to try to open a STEP file in pro-e to see if it imports well, without errors? The files is attached. I would really appreciate it.

Thanks!

-Chris

2009-08-21_214310_frame_lower_8-21-09_suppressed_fillets_hal f.zip

 

[kdem]

I was able to open it and get mass properties. The only thing I would suggest is keep spaces out of the file name and keep it less than 32 characters, otherwise the person you give the file to will have to change it.

 

[ntbcadcam]

Hi Chris


I open file already, it very good, not error.

 

[chris mellen]

Thank you ntbcadcam and kdem for your help. I appreciate it!

 

[chris mellen]

I was wondering if anyone would be willing to try to open another file for me in Pro-E to see if it opens without errors. This one is much larger than the last file I sent so I can't attach it to this post. I have uploaded it to yousendit.com. You can download the file by clicking on the following link: < http-equiv="Content-" content="text/; charset=utf-8">< name="ProgId" content="Word.">< name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12">< name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12">





Link: [url]https://rcpt.yousendit.com/729916695/047454016214c7acd66661b e6d7a50ee[/url]

I'm hoping that this one will open without any gaps, missing faces, etc.

Thanks so much for your help!

Chris

 

[kdem]

The only problems I encountered were changing invalid characters (spaces) in the names.

 

[chris mellen]

Thank you kdem. I will not use spaces in the names going forward.

I found out from my customer that he is able to open the files as well, but he is finding a lot of errors when running a log file. You didn't happen to run a log file when importing did you?

I also don't know how telling the log file is. Do you know if errors coming up in the log file is very common and something of concern when importing a STEP, even when the file looks ok on screen?

Thanks!

Chris

 

[cweigold]

frame_lower did not import as a solid; the others did. I tried using Heal Geometry in frame_lower so I could solidify, but there still seemed to be some issues.

I attached my log file. I think it is common for it to have some errors, but I am not a translation expert.


2009-08-25_090657_3partassem.zip

 

[chris mellen]

Thank you cweigold.

I wonder if everyone is getting the frame_lower as a surface and the other two as solids or if people are getting varied results. I don't know why people would get varied results, but might it have to do with settings? Or, are my files just crap?

I'm so confused. At least I've learned to use the emoticons.

The link to the files is still active if anyone else wouldn't mind giving it a try.

Link: [url]https://rcpt.yousendit.com/729916695/047454016214c7acd66661b e6d7a50ee[/url]

Has anyone ever heard that changing the file extension from .STEP to .STP ever helps open a step file in Pro-E?

Thanks again!

Chris

 

[cweigold]

The problem is with the small surfaces in the model. What happens if you open the step file back up in SW? Is it solid? Can you increase the accuracy?

A test I sometimes run is to try to create an .stl file. If you can't generate an stl, that means there are some geometry issues in your SW file that need to be resolved.

 

[chris mellen]

Thanks to everyone for their help!

I finally got a set of files to my customer that he said import fine!

I
went the save as ProE route.It wasn't working for my customer before,
but this time we got it.May be due to a few adjustments I've made to
the files over this whole process.Don't know for sure.I did have to
perform a work around with one of the parts that wasn't saving as
ProE...I saved as STEP first, imported to SW, fixed a "general geometry
problem" with import diagnostics and saved that as ProE.

Anyway, he opened the whole batch of files in ProE and they seem to be ok.

Still don't know why the direct STEP from SW wasn't importing right in ProE.I hope to figure that out at some point.

-Chris

 

[AdamRE]

For what it's worth, I find that exporting parasolids (.x_t) from SolidWorks is more reliable than .STEP. STEP files exported from ProE tend to come through just fine in SolidWorks, not sure why.

In any case, you're wise to open these on another platform before sending to the client! Well done.