Create a FaceSet: Which API To Use

[sam.z]

Hello

Is there ANY way to create Face Sets using the Navisworks API's?

What I am attempting to do: Import Storm Water Drains from a file into Navisworks

• Read a file that contains storm water drain (cylinder) data (geometry and properties). For each drain, create a FaceSet (essentially a cylinder) and apply properties (DataProperties) to that FaceSet (ModelItem).

If this is possible to do, can you please communicate which API I use.

My research has discovered that:

• The Automation API is not relevant to what I am doing. It is more for calling and automatically running existing plugins, open NW and auto-loading in projects and etc.
• The .NET API does not provide functionality to create ModelItems or edit ModelItem geometry.
• The COM API does not provide the ability to create nodes/model items/etc. It also does not allow you to edit an existing ModelItem's/Nodes/etc. geometry. All you can do is inspect existing elements and edit DataProperties such as colour, etc. So this API will not achieve our goals.
• The NWCreate API appears to achieve somewhat of our goals. It can, correct me if I am wrong, handle files with specific extensions and, I think, create elements/Nodes/ModelItems/??. This API is a C++ API, can this API also be used inside .NET C# like the COM API?

Knowing our goals, is what we are trying to do possible using the Navisworks API? Any response would be extremely helpful

[xiaodong_liang]

Hi,

NWCreate is the choice. but please be aware:

- it has only C++ API. you can wrap it and call from .NET program, though
- it has two types: LiNwcApi and LiNwcLoader. The former is for a standalone EXE which creates the model by the parameters you input. The latter is to load a custom file format with the geometry data, and render the model.

the model of either types CANNOT add model to the existing model file. however you can append the model created by NwCreate.

In practical, if you model ( Storm Water Drains) is relatively a fixed shape, you could just design it manually in the source CAD software, and append it and adjust its position when necessary.