topic Creating 3D data table - Format help in Inventor Programming Forum

Creating 3D data table - Format help

llorden4 — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 15:22:57 GMT

I'm converting a multi-dimensional chart into a data table and am trying to better consolidate my code to be friendly for reading/comparing as well as reduce the code footprint required, but I'm getting a bit lost on code format/syntax here and was hoping someone could help me out. I'll explain in depth in case someone else is trying to accomplish this same task and may also find this helpful in their search.

I'm trying to take this supplied printed table and store it in my iLogic code as a Matrix/Array.

Column A (17 row entries) is my bolt size

Column B (12 column entries) is my material thickness

Row C (2 rows) are my desired distance values I want to look up

I have been able to digitize this table with the following code...

Dim oHoleChart(17, 12, 2) As Double				'(17)Bolt Size / (12)Material Thickness / (2)Distances C & E'
MyList = New Double(){1 + (1 / 8), 1 + (5 / 16), 1 + (3 / 8), 1 + (11 / 16), 2 + (1 / 16), 2 + (1 / 8), 2 + (3 / 16), 2 + (11 / 16), 3 + (9 / 16), 4 + (1 / 16), 4 + (9 / 16), 5 + (9 / 16)}
For i = 1 To 12		'1/4 inch bolts
	oHoleChart(1, i, 1) = MyList(1, i-1)
	oHoleChart(1, i, 2) = 1 / 2
Next
MyList = New Double(){1 + (1 / 4), 1 + (7 / 16), 1 + (1 / 2), 1 + (13 / 16), 2 + (3 / 16), 2 + (1 / 4), 2 + (5 / 16), 2 + (13 / 16), 3 + (11 / 16), 4 + (3 / 16), 4 + (11 / 16), 5 + (11 / 16)}
For i = 1 To 12		'3/8 inch bolts
	oHoleChart(2, i, 1) = MyList(i-1)
	oHoleChart(2, i, 2) = 1 / 2
Next
.
.
.

So if I wanted to lookup the "C" value for a 1/4" bolt on 9/16 material I could use oHoleChart(1, 6, 1) to find a value of 2.125

What I really want is to do this in a pair of nested For/Next loops so I can group all the "MyList" definitions together so it's friendlier to read against this printed Table and the 2nd loop would reduce my coding. I can't quite figure the format, but here's the jist of what I'm wanting.

Dim oHoleChart(17, 12, 2) As Double				'(17)Bolt Size / (12)Material Thickness / (2)Distances C & E'
Dim MyList1(17, {}) As Double					'This doesn't work
'Dim MyList(17)									'This doesn't work
'Dim MyList(17, ())								'This doesn't work
MyList1(1, {}) = New Double() {1 + (1 / 8), 1 + (5 / 16), 1 + (3 / 8), 1 + (11 / 16), 2 + (1 / 16), 2 + (1 / 8), 2 + (3 / 16), 2 + (11 / 16), 3 + (9 / 16), 4 + (1 / 16), 4 + (9 / 16), 5 + (9 / 16) }
MyList1(2, {}) = New Double() {1 + (1 / 4), 1 + (7 / 16), 1 + (1 / 2), 1 + (13 / 16), 2 + (3 / 16), 2 + (1 / 4), 2 + (5 / 16), 2 + (13 / 16), 3 + (11 / 16), 4 + (3 / 16), 4 + (11 / 16), 5 + (11 / 16) }
.
.
.
MyList1(17, {}) = New Double() {3 + (9 / 16), 3 + (3 / 4), 3 + (13 / 16), 4 + (1 / 8), 4 + (1 / 2), 4 + (9 / 16), 4 + (5 / 8), 5 + (1 / 8), 6, 6 + (1 / 2), 7, 8 }

MyList2 = New Double() {1 / 2, 1 / 2, 3 / 4 , ...}	'value changes only for bolt size
For j = 1 To 17
	For i = 1 To 12		'1/4 inch bolts
		oHoleChart(j, i, 1) = MyList1(j, i-1)
		oHoleChart(j, i, 2) = MyList2(i-1)
	Next
Next

Is there a workflow here or is my original concept the only way to go?

Re: Creating 3D data table - Format help

llorden4 — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 18:01:11 GMT

I did find a different approach that did get me to where I wanted and will share below for anyone interested. In short, I just made one long list and used an algorithm to find the correct placement to grab the data.

I would still be interested in learning the answer to my original question if there is one.

Dim oHoleChart(17, 12, 2) As Double				'(17)Bolt Size / (12)Material Thickness / (2)Distances C & E'
'Mat thickness:  1 = 3/16, 2 = 1/4, 3 = 5/16, 4 = 3/8, 5 = 1/2, 6 = 9/16, 7 & 8 = 5/8 (Rad = 1 & 1 1/2), 9 = 3/4, 10 = 7/8, 11 = 1, 12 = 1 1/4
MyList1 = New Double() _
	{1 + (1 / 8), 1 + (5 / 16), 1 + (3 / 8), 1 + (11 / 16), 2 + (1 / 16), 2 + (1 / 8), 2 + (3 / 16), 2 + (11 / 16), 3 + (9 / 16), 4 + (1 / 16), 4 + (9 / 16), 5 + (9 / 16), _		'1/4 inch bolts
	1 + (1 / 4), 1 + (7 / 16), 1 + (1 / 2), 1 + (13 / 16), 2 + (3 / 16), 2 + (1 / 4), 2 + (5 / 16), 2 + (13 / 16), 3 + (11 / 16), 4 + (3 / 16), 4 + (11 / 16), 5 + (11 / 16), _		'3/8 inch bolts
.
.
.
	3 + (9 / 16), 3 + (3 / 4), 3 + (13 / 16), 4 + (1 / 8), 4 + (1 / 2), 4 + (9 / 16), 4 + (5 / 8), 5 + (1 / 8), 6, 6 + (1 / 2), 7, 8}							'3 inch bolts
	
MyList2 = New Double() {1 / 2, 1 / 2, 3 / 4, 1, 1, 1 + (1 / 4), 1 + (1 / 2), 1 + (1 / 2), 1 + (3 / 4), 2, 2, 2 + (1 / 2), 2 + (3 / 4), 3, 3 + (1 / 4), 3 + (3 / 4), 4}				'E values

For j = 1 To 17
	k = (j - 1) * 12
	For i = 1 To 12
		oHoleChart(j, i, 1) = MyList1(k + i - 1)
		oHoleChart(j, i, 2) = MyList2(j - 1)
	Next
Next

Re: Creating 3D data table - Format help

Michael.Navara — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 07:08:02 GMT

In my opinion this approach is un-maitainable and obscure for future editors. Try to use objects instead. In my sample I show you how to create object for Bolt description and its thickness list and how to look for specific values using LINQ query and For-Each statement.

I create only few properties from your table, but it is very easy to extend my code to all properties (rows and columns)

Sub Main 'Build List of BoltInfo objects Dim boltInfos As List(Of BoltInfo) = GetBoltInfos() 'Usage sample Dim boltSize = 1 / 4 Dim valueT = 9 / 16 'Search using LINQ Dim thicknesInfos = boltInfos.Where(Function(bi) bi.BoltSize = boltSize).Select(Function(bi) bi.ThicknessInfos).First() Dim valueC = thicknesInfos.Where(Function(ti) ti.ValueT = valueT).Select(Function(ti) ti.ValueC1).First() Logger.Debug("LINQ returns: " & valueC) 'Search using For-Each statement For Each boltInfo As BoltInfo In boltInfos If BoltInfo.BoltSize = boltSize Then For Each thicknessInfo As ThicknessInfo In BoltInfo.ThicknessInfos If ThicknessInfo.ValueT = valueT Logger.Debug("For-Each returns: " & ThicknessInfo.ValueC1) Return End If Next End If Next End Sub Private Function GetBoltInfos() As List(Of BoltInfo) Dim boltInfos As New List(Of BoltInfo) Dim boltInfo As BoltInfo 'First bolt info 1/4 boltInfo = New BoltInfo(1 / 4, 5 / 16, 3 / 8) boltInfo.ThicknessInfos.Add(New ThicknessInfo(3 / 16, 1 + 1 / 8, 1 / 2)) boltInfo.ThicknessInfos.Add(New ThicknessInfo(1 / 4, 1 + 5 / 16, 1 / 2)) '... boltInfo.ThicknessInfos.Add(New ThicknessInfo(9 / 16, 2 + 1 / 8, 1 / 2)) '... and so on boltInfos.Add(boltInfo) 'Second bolt info 3/8 boltInfo = New BoltInfo(3 / 8, 7 / 16, 1 / 2) boltInfo.ThicknessInfos.Add(New ThicknessInfo(3 / 16, 1 + 1 / 8, 1 / 2)) boltInfo.ThicknessInfos.Add(New ThicknessInfo(1 / 4, 1 + 5 / 16, 1 / 2)) '... boltInfo.ThicknessInfos.Add(New ThicknessInfo(9 / 16, 2 + 1 / 8, 1 / 2)) '... and so on boltInfos.Add(boltInfo) Return boltInfos 'Next bolt infos... End Function Class BoltInfo Sub New(boltSize As Double, minHoleDia As Double, maxHoleDia As Double) Me.BoltSize = boltSize Me.MinHoleDia = minHoleDia Me.MaxHoleDia = maxHoleDia Me.ThicknessInfos = New List(Of ThicknessInfo)() End Sub Public Property BoltSize() As Double Public Property MinHoleDia() As Double Public Property MaxHoleDia() As Double Public Property ThicknessInfos() As List(Of ThicknessInfo) End Class Class ThicknessInfo Sub New(valueT As Double, valueC1 As Double, valueC2 As Double) Me.ValueT = valueT Me.ValueC1 = valueC1 Me.ValueC2 = valueC2 End Sub Public Property ValueT() As Double Public Property ValueR() As Double Public Property ValueC1() As Double Public Property ValueC2() As Double End Class

Re: Creating 3D data table - Format help

llorden4 — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 07:55:21 GMT

Thanks for input and I do get your points on maintenance; I believe you recognize my attempts here to make the code digestible for the next team. Thanks for taking the time for putting that sample code together, I can use this to learn a few new tricks!