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Step 8.1: A Review of the DXF Commands and dialog-boxes

Contents

Review of DXF-Elements, commands and dialog-boxes

If you have a DXF drawing, then you can use a CAD-Line to show the DXF drawing.

Do two steps to show the DXF drawing:

STEP 1: Use File menu > Open DXF File

STEP 2: Use a CAD-Line, to open the CAD-Line dialog-box, to link the DXF-Drawing with the CAD-Line.

Before you save the DXF drawing in your CAD:

•	Remove hidden lines

•	Explode all Blocks

•	Save the DXF drawing as 'Release 12', or as early as is available.

Add a DXF element to the Assembly-Tree

1.	Do File menu > Open

In the Windows® 'File Open' interface,

2.	Set the 'File of type' filter to DXF files (*.dxf)

3.	Explore to find a DXF drawing file

4.	Click the Open button

Do 1 to 4 again and again to open more DXF Files.

DXF element in the Assembly-Tree

AT-DXFElements

The DXF element in the Assembly-Tree:

•	It is represented by the element

•	You open many DXF drawings to add many DXF elements to the Assembly-Tree.

Top-Tip: rename the DXF element to the DXF drawing name.

In the image to the left, there are three DXF-Elements. Two DXF element have been renamed.

•

DXF

•	Bottle-1Litre

•	Bottle-0.5Litre

Open the DXF element dialog-box.

To open the DXF element dialog-box

1.	Double-click a DXF-element in the Assembly-Tree

- or - See 'How to edit an element'

Dialog-DXFElement

DXF element dialog-box:

You can:

1.	Click the Browse button, or the DXF File name box

2.	Find and select a different DXF Drawing file

3.	Click the Apply button to update the link to the DXF file.

DXF Units

To apply the correct scale to the drawing:

•	Click the units of the drawing in the original DXF Drawing

[mm], [m], [cm], [inch].

Close the dialog:

Click the

CAD-Line element

We edit a CAD-Line to link it with the DXF-Element and DXF-Drawing.

The CAD-Line is a child to a Part.

CAD-Lines in the Graphic-Area

CAD-Line : in the Graphic-Area

•	CAD-Lines are Dark Green.

•	MechDesigner adds a CAD-Line along the centre of each Added-Part, from its start-Point to its end-Point.

•	Use the Part-Editor and Add CAD-Line to add more CAD-Lines, with

•	CAD-Lines have an Origin (0,0) and a positive X-axis direction. The origin of the CAD-Line is the start-Point [where you mouse-button-down] and the X-axis is the direction you drag to add the Part or CAD-Line, towards the end-Point.

•	The start-Point / Origin and +X-axis direction are obvious in an Added-Part

•	When you add your own CAD-Line, you must remember which Point is the start-Point. The Point at the Origin is always the start-Point.

CAD-Line : in the Assembly-Tree

•	The CAD-Line is the only sketch-element to show in the Assembly-Tree.

•	The CAD-Line is a child to a Part.

See and , which are both children to Part3.

CAD-Lines in the Assembly-Tree

CAD-Line

Now there is a DXF element in the Assembly-Tree, we can link the DXF drawing to a CAD-Line.

To open the CAD-Line dialog-box

EditLineDXF3

Edit a CAD-Line

1.	Double-Click a CAD-Line in the Part-Editor or the Mechanism-Editor.

- or -

1.	Click a DXF-element in the Assembly-Tree

2.	Right-Click the DXF element in the Selection-Window

3.	Click 'Edit'.. in the contextual-menu

MechDesigner opens the CAD-Line dialog-box.

CAD-Line dialog-box : DXF tab

Select DXF Element

Dialog-R11-CADLine-DXFtab-full

1.	Click the Select DXF element down-arrow

2.	Select a DXF element and drawing from the list

When you select a DXF element, the DXF drawing shows immediately in the 'DXF Element box and the graphic-area.

Each DXF element name in the Select DXF Element drop-down list box has two parts:

•	DXF element name - the name of the DXF element in the Assembly-Tree

•	DXF drawing name - the Cad-file-name of the DXF-Drawing

Default Alignment of the DXF-Drawing with the CAD-Line

The DXF drawing aligns its 0,0 and positive X-axis with the start-Point and positive X-axis direction of the CAD-Line.

If you cannot see the DXF Drawing, try to find it...

•	Zoom-out to see if the DXF-Drawing is larger than the workspace.

•	Zoom-in to see if the DXF-Drawing is very small

•	Change the background colour of the graphic-area. Use Application Settings dialog > Graphics tab > Graphic Colours \| Background \| Grey is frequently a good colour.

If necessary use the:

•	Edit Layers button to open the DXF Layers dialog-box

•	Clear Link button to remove the DXF File from the CAD-Line.

Align DXF to CAD-Line

Dialog-R11-CADLine-DXF-tab2

The default alignment may be as you intend. However, you can edit the alignment of the DXF drawing with the CAD-Line.

To re-align the DXF drawing:

1.	Click the Align DXF to CAD-Line separator to expand

2.	Click in the 'DXF Point at CAD-Line's Origin' box - see image left - and it becomes Orange

In the graphic-area:

3.	Click a Point in the DXF drawing to move it to the Origin of the CAD-Line. When you select a Point in the DXF Drawing:

•	The Point's name shows in the box

•	The 'DXF Point to CAD-Line's Origin' box becomes Green, and

•	The 'DXF Point to CAD-Line's X-axis' box becomes Orange

In the graphic-area:

4.	Click a Point in the DXF drawing that you want to align with the X-axis and CAD-Line.

•	The Point's name shows in the box

•	The 'DXF Point to CAD-Line's on X-Axis' box becomes Green,

If you want to align the DXF with different Points, do steps 2to43 again.

Convert DXF to MD Lines and Arcs

Dialog-R11-CADLine-DXFtab-3

The DXF Entities - Lines, Arcs, Circles, Points - that show in the graphic-area are 'dumb'.

You can convert these DXF Entities to MechDesigner sketch-elements.

To Convert a DXF Entity to a sketch-element:

1.	Click in the 'DXF Entity' box to make it active

2.	Click a 'DXF Entity' (a DXF Line or DXF Arc) in the graphic-area

3.	As options:

•	Select a different 'Owner Part'. (However, usually, sketch-elements are on the same Part as the CAD-Line)

•	Select the 'Enable-Loop Select' check box, if you want MechDesigner to attempt to find a sketch-loop

•	Select the 'Free or Locked Points' check box, if you want to fix the Points to the Part.

•	Optionally, edit the Merge Radius value to help make a sketch-loop with those DXF entities inside the radius

4.	Click the Convert Entities button

Repeat 1 to 4 again, and again, to convert more DXF Entities to MechDesigner sketch-elements.

IMPORTANT:

Each time, you must click the 'DXF entity' box in the dialog to make it Orange before you click a DXF Entity in the graphic-area.

When you apply the 'Convert Entities' , the new sketch-elements are not linked with the CAD-Line; they are linked with the Part.

Therefore, you can use Clear DXF Link to remove the DXF File, but the sketch-elements stay with the Part.

DXF Filters: Display Elements toolbar> DXF-Outline and Display DXF Points

Two tools in the Display Filters toolbar:

Display DXF Outlines in the graphic-area.

To see a DXF Outline, make sure this icon is 'Toggled IN'. That is, the light bulb is 'ON'

Note: A DXF Outline is a DXF Drawing for display only.

Display DXF Points in graphic-area.

To see DXF Points, make sure this icon is 'Toggled IN'. That is, the light bulb is 'ON'.

When you use the CAD-Line dialog, you may select DXF Points to re-align the DXF Drawing with the CAD-Line.

Sometimes you need to toggle this off, and back on, to see the DXF Points. This is a bug that we are trying to resolve.

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