Exporting DXFs - Setting layers up correctly

[roy7BB24]

Hi All, 
I've been working on a script that finds all the sheet metal in an assembly and generates DXF's from the flat patten. At this almost everything is working correctly. I'm just struggling to get the layers to generate correctly. See the subroutine below I'm using to make the DXF, I've also been through the API Inventor 2022 Help | Translate - Sheet Metal to DXF | Autodesk, and the other forum posts on this subject. 

The principle questions I have are;

1. Generally, not sure if the script is working correctly, when I open up a DXF I've made the IV_ARC_CENTERs & IV_TANGENT layers exist, which I thought should have been on the "invisible layer", and not a visible part of the DXF. How do I control which layers are created and which ones aren't

2. Could I have a brief explanation of how lines below sOut = (FLAT PATTERN DXF?)&Acad_Version=2000 _. What's exporting in the flat pattern doesn't seem to match the lines of code, I'm almost wondering if there's an error in what I've done and its ignoring this and creating the dxf from a default template instead?

And assistance would be much appreciated

Kind Regards

Roydon Mackay

Private Sub ExportDXF(CompDef As ComponentDefinition, Directory As String)

	'Check if the component is a SheetMetalComponentDefinition
	If TypeOf CompDef Is SheetMetalComponentDefinition Then
		Dim SheetMetalCompDef As SheetMetalComponentDefinition = CType(CompDef, SheetMetalComponentDefinition)
	
			If SheetMetalCompDef.HasFlatPattern = False Then
				SheetMetalCompDef.Unfold()
			Else
				SheetMetalCompDef.FlatPattern.Edit()
			End If
	
		Dim oDataIO As DataIO
		oDataIO = SheetMetalCompDef.FlatPattern.DataIO
	
		Dim sOut As String
	
		Dim PNo As String = SheetMetalCompDef.Document.PropertySets.Item("Design Tracking Properties").Item("Part Number").Value
		
		
		sOut = "FLAT PATTERN DXF?&AcadVersion=2000" _
				+ "&InvisibleLayers = IV_ARC_CENTERS;IV_FEATURE_PROFILES_DOWN;IV_TANGENT;IV_BEND;IV_BEND_DOWN;IV_FEATURE_PROFILE;IV_ALTREP_FRONT;IV_ALTREP_BACK;IV_ROLL_TANGENT;IV_ROLL" _
				+ "&OuterProfileLayer=IV_OUTER_PROFILE;IV_INTERIOR_PROFILE&OuterProfileLayerLineType=37633&OuterProfileLayerLineWeight=0.2500&OuterProfileLayerColor=255;255;255" _
				+ "&BendUpLinesLayer=IV_BEND&BendUp&BendUpLinesLayerLineType=37633&BendUpLinesLayerLineWeight=0.2500&BendUpLinesLayerColor=255;255;0" _
				+ "&BendDownLinesLayer=IV_BEND_DOWN&BendDown&BendDownLinesLayerLineType=37633&BendDownLinesLayerLineWeight=0.2500&BendDownLinesLayerColor=255;165;0" _
            	+ "&EtchDownLinesLayer=IV_MARKSURFACE;IV_MARK_SURFACE_BACK&EtchDownLinesLayerLineType=37633&EtchDownLinesLayerLineWeight=0.2500&EtchDownLinesLayerColor=255;255;0"
			
		oDataIO.WriteDataToFile(sOut, System.IO.Path.Combine(Directory, PNo & ".dxf")) 
		Logger.Info("Generated DXF - " & PNo)
		
	Else
		Logger.Info("Sheet Part is not set as Sheet Metal - " & CompDef.Document.PropertySets.Item("Design Tracking Properties").Item("Part Number").Value)
	End If
	
	
End Sub

[petr.meduna · Accepted solution]

Hi,

I think it's because of IV_MARKSURFACE and IV_MARKSURFACE_BACK layers, they are not supported in DataIO (read more here).

There are also some inaccuracies in the names of the layer definitions, so the resulting string should look like this:

sOut = "FLAT PATTERN DXF?AcadVersion=2000" _
+ "&InvisibleLayers=IV_ARC_CENTERS;IV_FEATURE_PROFILES_DOWN;IV_TANGENT;IV_INTERIOR_PROFILES;IV_FEATURE_PROFILE;IV_ALTREP_FRONT;IV_ALTREP_BACK;IV_ROLL_TANGENT;IV_ROLL" _
+ "&OuterProfileLayer=IV_OUTER_PROFILE&OuterProfileLayerLineType=37633&OuterProfileLayerLineWeight=0.25&OuterProfileLayerColor=255;255;255" _
+ "&BendUpLayer=IV_BEND&BendUpLayerLineType=37633&BendUpLayerLineWeight=0.25&BendUpLayerColor=255;255;0" _
+ "&BendDownLayer=IV_BEND_DOWN&BendDownLayerLineType=37633&BendDownLayerLineWeight=0.25&BendDownLayerColor=255;165;0" 

I have also shared a table with you containing the exact names, used enums, and other specifications used for creating the DXF.