topic Imported Step models invisible in drawings in Fusion Support Forum

Imported Step models invisible in drawings

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 22:32:56 GMT

I imported some components as STEP files from the respective vendors websites, and included them in the assembly model of my project. the models show up as expected in the 3d model space. But when I create a drawing from the model the components become invisible. Where did they go? How do I make them visible?

I really need these parts to show up in the drawings.

Suggestions?

Re: Imported Step models invisible in drawings

karina.harper — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 22:56:54 GMT

Hi @Anonymous,

After doing some googling, it looks like the only reason I can see that a part wouldn't show up in a drawing is if it is a mesh/t-spline/surface body (here's the article I looked at). Could it be that the files you imported are not solid bodies? (I don't even know if that's possible )

If this is not the case, I think sharing your file would be super helpful. Then I can take a look at it and see if I can figure it out!

Re: Imported Step models invisible in drawings

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 02:05:30 GMT

This indeed seems to be the problem, but the solutions in the articles you linked don't work. When I try use the convert tool, the dialog box will not let me select any of the surfaces/features/ bits of the models

here are links to a couple of the troublesome models:

https://a360.co/2F54hiu

https://a360.co/2CLs58Z

These are both STEP files that were downloaded from the manufacturer, adn imported into fusion. No other manipulation.

Any suggestions?

thanks

Re: Imported Step models invisible in drawings

TheCADWhisperer — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 15:25:35 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

These are both STEP files that were downloaded from the manufacturer, ...

Any suggestions?

Can you zip and Attach the original STEP files?

There are quite a few surface missing such that they do not form a "watertight" boundary - this might have been done to protect intellectual property.

You could Thicken the existing surfaces to solid(s) or model the missing surfaces.

If this is too much work, then if you have access to Autodesk Inventor Professional - Inventor does allow you to use surface bodies in 2D drawings, just like solids.

Re: Imported Step models invisible in drawings

karina.harper — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 18:20:06 GMT

Hi @Anonymous,

@TheCADWhisperer gave a great answer.

Here is a video that shows the loose workflow on how to repair a body like this.

Here is a link to our learning material about that patch surface in case you need it!

I took a peek at your model and it is, as was said above, a complex body with many surfaces missing.

Inventor is an awesome tool to use! As another alternative, (assuming you're not manufacturing these .steps) I would probably create a body in Fusion that retains the essential pieces of these bodies so they can be referenced in blueprints. I would model a new solid body that is simplified, but has the basic measurements that I need, using the original patch body as a reference for the new model. This is also useful to do if a model gets bogged down and is running slowly, making a simple body to replace a complex imported component can speed things up a bit.

I made a quick video showing how I would do it in one of your models.

Screencast will be displayed here after you click Post.

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