AUTOMATION of Autodesk Inventor from COMPRESS file.

[jac10]

Dear All,

                 Can someone help me.Is there someone have an idea how to use or handle the .XML file from COMPRESS. Like this link below. http://images.autodesk.com/adsk/files/natco_success_story.pdf  He quoted " With Autodesk Inventor Automation Professional, we’ve eliminated the time lag in getting drawings to our customers because creating an entire model takes only five minutes. New COMPRESS Build 7100 have now a 3D model. It could extract different 3D files like .SAT files, step files, etc. It seems that he taken the model from COMPRESS 3d xml format. I had try to load the .SAT files of COMPRESS to  Autodesk Inventor but all properties like its material properties, constrain and name of parts are loss. Is there a way that 3D model from COMPRESS be loaded to Autodesk Inventor retaining all its properties?

               I also observed that 3D model of COMPRESS is not as detailed as Inventor. As i have also observed it requires complex programming and support from Autodesk Inventor to achieve what NATCO had already acquired.

The Solution

Foucault researched ways to quickly turn XML data into 3D models, and came back with a clear answer: Autodesk Inventor Automation Professional. With this solution, NATCO discovered how to automatically create drawings that offered multiple

views of a vessel, nozzle schedules based on data extracted from COMPRESS, and complete parts.

                  Is there someone know how its works. We are now developing a program same as NATCO request from Autodesk Inventor.But we are still having trouble how the flow would be. We now can extract data from COMPRESS .xml file but after loading the 3d model to Autodesk Inventor all its properties are loss. We had try many options but it seems we face difficult time to populate all data to Autodesk Inventor 3D model.

                 Hope someone had an idea.                  

Jac10

Equipment Engineer 

Autodesk Inventor 2011

[ebachrach]

Hi,

I am a project manager with the Autodesk Consulting team that developed this solution.  This solution does not use the COMPRESS 3d model directly.  Instead the Autodesk Intent product (formerly known as Inventor Automation) was used to capture the rules that determine what Inventor parts and assemblies are required, how to parameterize them in as many unique parts/assemblies as needed, and how to bring them all together in a unique configuration.  Rules that know how to read the xml and interpret COMPRESS data feed the rules that ultimately build the Inventor model.  The result is an Inventor assembly with as much details as you want the rules to be able to generate.  Rules can also be used to define the construction of drawings and other outputs.

You are correct that programming this all via the Inventor api would require a lot of complex programming.  The Intent rules language, engine, and developer interface  provide a flexible starting point that greatly simplifies the effort.

Feel free to email me directly for more information

-- 

Autodesk

Elly Bachrach 

Manager

Manufacturing Consulting Services - ETO

Direct      +1 (847) 676-2880

elly.bachrach@autodesk.com

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@jac10 wrote:

Dear All,

                 Can someone help me.Is there someone have an idea how to use or handle the .XML file from COMPRESS. Like this link below. http://images.autodesk.com/adsk/files/natco_success_story.pdf  He quoted " With Autodesk Inventor Automation Professional, we’ve eliminated the time lag in getting drawings to our customers because creating an entire model takes only five minutes. New COMPRESS Build 7100 have now a 3D model. It could extract different 3D files like .SAT files, step files, etc. It seems that he taken the model from COMPRESS 3d xml format. I had try to load the .SAT files of COMPRESS to  Autodesk Inventor but all properties like its material properties, constrain and name of parts are loss. Is there a way that 3D model from COMPRESS be loaded to Autodesk Inventor retaining all its properties?

               I also observed that 3D model of COMPRESS is not as detailed as Inventor. As i have also observed it requires complex programming and support from Autodesk Inventor to achieve what NATCO had already acquired.

The Solution

Foucault researched ways to quickly turn XML data into 3D models, and came back with a clear answer: Autodesk Inventor Automation Professional. With this solution, NATCO discovered how to automatically create drawings that offered multiple

views of a vessel, nozzle schedules based on data extracted from COMPRESS, and complete parts.

                  Is there someone know how its works. We are now developing a program same as NATCO request from Autodesk Inventor.But we are still having trouble how the flow would be. We now can extract data from COMPRESS .xml file but after loading the 3d model to Autodesk Inventor all its properties are loss. We had try many options but it seems we face difficult time to populate all data to Autodesk Inventor 3D model.

                 Hope someone had an idea.                  

Jac10

Equipment Engineer 

Autodesk Inventor 2011

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[jac10]

Dear Elly

Thanks. I'll try to contact you as soon as possible. I had tried before to create an assembly composed of structural steel like angle bars, channel, etc., (platform) using the frame generator of Autodesk Inventor. I find it interesting because i will only create lines then selecting those lines it could already create an assembly.

    Now we are trying to extract all data from COMPRESS. Still we are having trouble to retrieve some data Like pad weight, flange weight, platform, wind load. Actually we had try to download the XML reader from COMPRESS with source code. We had tried to create some additional data in extracting a specific data. It works but we are only limited on extracting. We had extract all data but we are having trouble on how to use this data in Inventor as Parameters. We had try already placing this data in excel but its difficult to create an API in Inventor using excel. Can you give us idea on how to use or handle this data in Inventor API? It would be a great help..

   Our company is now looking to develop this type on translation for the reason that every time we create data sheet for Pressure Vessel and Heat Exchanger some nozzle information are mistakenly inputted. Our flow of making a Data Sheet is already old because we are still adapting our old procedure. There is always a possibility to input incorrect data.

    Hope to recieve your idea.  

Jac10

Equipment Engineer

[CalvinDay]

In 2011, we were looking for an Inventor/Compress tool too. We wanted one that would allow us to use the Compress data to produce models and drawings automatically. We could not find one so we developed an application ourselves.

After two years, we have a working version that allows us to do this.

It creates the model from Compress' xml output then does the main vessel drawing with annotations, nozzle schedule and dimensions. Further, individual details are created for the parts.

These drawings used to take days to create since none of the Compress information was previously used directly. Now, they can be created in less than 30 minutes.

The application uses Inventor iParts ... filling in the necessary information to create an assembly model and drawings. If a part does not exist, we modify an existing one or create the part from scratch. It is then used on subsequent jobs.

[Sschram]

Good day. I'm very intersected in learning how to do this. I work for a company that engineers and builds heat exchangers and ASME Pressure vessels. I'trying to automate the design/drawing process as much as possible.

Thank you for any help in this matter.

Steve