Importing dxf files exported by Solid Edge

[Anonymous]

I have been through everything in the 2012 DXF standard, but cannot find where Solid Edge submits any information when a part has been scaled in solid edge. It is as if the "real world coordinates" were just number crunched by whatever scale is used in Solid Edge, and then, that data is exported as a dxf file. This wholly defeats the purpose of dxf. After all, we are after the "real world" data exchange, and not a "pretty picture". I thought there would be an obligation to export in real world coordinates. In the alternative, without providing a scale, or, without using optional codes that would indicate the scale of a line entity, for instance, then Solid Edge should have thier liscense to use dxf revoked. Has anyone else run into this problem?

[pendean]

See if SolidEdge has public support forums and ask there while you wait here: their program is the authoring program and there might be tips to fix the issue that you are not familiar with.

[Anonymous]

Dean,

Thank you for your kind reply. I have been in the forum for about a week. Solid Edge has two spaces; 1) paper space, and 2) working (model) space. They allow draftsman to draw and scale in the paper space. Apparently, they are unable to track what happens to entities drawn in paper space. For instance, each entity could be placed in a data table containing X,Y,Z, scale, color, font, etc. It appears that they are unable to keep track of the scaling. Something drawn in 1/4 scale in paper space gets translated to dxf as one fourth size in real world coordinates. In the last reply, Solid Edge confesses that they don't know whether or not a draftsman scales on the paper space or not. They simply resize the part using Hessian transformation.

Here is why I think they should not be liscensed, or allowed to "claim" they can export dxf files. As it's name implies, dxf is data exchange format. Most generally, the convention is that the scale should be 1:1, simply because that produces the shortest file, however; the dxf standard allows for optional codes in each enity in the event some scale is applied. A line, for instance, can use codes 10,20,30 for a starting point, 11,21,31 for an ending point, and a dxf convention of codes 12,22,32 for a vector assumed to have zero,zero,zero starting point. (The ratio of the magnitude of the two vectors is the scale.) The same is true for every entity. It was the beauty of dxf, because you don't need anything further to tell exactly what the author intends, and you can apply directly to your own software or CNC device. Either they can handle that, or not. Thier software should simply forbid dxf translation of the paper space, unless it can provide a scale, and/or; optional codes.  

[pendean · Accepted solution]

Side note: I believe DXF in the 2000 format is public domain code, no one can restrict it's use or licensing. Or SE reverse engineered it perhaps to bump up the version number.

DXF is your cad file in a text file format: you can read it in any word processor 🙂

[Anonymous]

Dean,

Solid Edge claims DXF 2007 in the literature, if that makes a difference. Of course, if they reversed engineered it, they did a very poor job. They also have the same problem in DWG. Thanks for your input.