Hello, a supplier ship designer has made a detailed 3d model of the ship with many parts and systems in Siemens NX and also Cadmatic.
When they send the STEP file exported from Siemens NX (~1Gb) and I open in Rhino 7, there is only 1 layer which makes it unworkable.
I would like to see more layers, groups, blocks and the same colors.
Does anyone knows how to achieve this?
Hi Ram - this may be controlled at least in part by settings on the exporter, I don’t know. It may also be possible to export multiple step files that can be assembled in a Rhino ‘Worksession’. Do you see one top level block instance when you open the large file?
-Pascal
Thanks. Worksession looks good, I was not using it. There is only one layer (Layer 01), and only a few blocks, most is surfaces.
We tried exporting different files by system, although is safer to export the whole model at once to not lose any items.
Yes I’m aware the issue is mostly on there side with the export settings, it’s not straightforward apparently.
Hi
It will be entered as a block when you have checked the assembly and the layers and groups have been applied correctly.
You can use Ap242_AP214 format
The options for exporting to STEP are almost identical in the following dialog boxes:
NX dialog box:
NX Data Exchange dialog boxes:
Some options have different names in the NX and NX Data Exchange dialog boxes. Some options are available only in a particular dialog box.
| NX STEP options | NX Data Exchange STEP options | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Files tab | ||
| Export From | Files to Export | Specifies the part to export. You can export data from the displayed part or an existing part. |
Part File
Appears when Export From is set to Existing Part. Sets the path of the part file that you want to export.|
|Output File Destination||Available in Teamcenter Integration for NX.
Sets the destination for the file to export:
Sets the path of the STEP file to be saved.|
|Application Protocol||Specifies the STEP format to which the translator exports part file data from NX.
Note:
If you select AP242 format, by default the translator exports the NX data to STEP 242 Edition 2. To export NX data to AP242 Edition 1, you must set APPLICATION_PROTOCOL = AP242 in the settings file.|
|Settings File|Settings File|Specifies the STEP settings file that the translator uses to export part file data from the NX to the STEP format.|
|Load From|
|Sets the path of the settings file that you want to use to export data from NX to the STEP format.|
|Save Settings to File|N/A|Sets the file name and the path to be used to save the customized settings file.|
|Save|File→Save As|Lets you create a new settings file or replace the existing settings file.|
|Data to Export tab|
|Model Data|Object types
(Only the Select object types option is available)|Lets you select the object types of the data to export, such as curves, solids, surfaces, kinematics (STEP AP242 only), and so on. By default, the Solid object type is selected.
The Export option appears when Export from is set to Displayed Part on the Input and Output page. Exports the part data from the selected part file.
Entire Part
Exports all the objects from the selected part file.
Selected objects
Lets you select objects of different units from an assembly, such as inches and millimeter.
Select object types
Lets you set the object types data to export, for example, curves, solids, surfaces, convergent bodies, facet bodies, and so on. By default, the translator selects the Solids object type.
Note:
The Tessellation object type is specific to the STEP AP242 format and the Product Data object type is specific to the AP203 and AP214 STEP formats.
The Convergent Bodies and Facet Bodies options are specific to AP242|
|Export Precise Bodies as|N/A|Precise
Exports classic NX bodies as precise geometry.
Tessellated
Exports classic NX bodies as tessellated geometry.
Note:
Example:
1, 5, 88-109, 201, 206-210
By default, the STEP translator exports layers 1-256.|
|Advanced tab|
|Long Name
Short Name|Use Long Name
(Only the Long Name option is available)|Long Name
Enables long name extensions for STEP-specific information.
Short Name
Enables short name extensions for STEP-specific information. If the sending system does not support the Long Name extensions, select the Short Name option.
By default, the STEP translator exports long names for the STEP entity types.|
|Color and Layers|Include Color and Layers|Applies to STEP AP203 only. Exports the colors and layers information to the STEP AP203 file.
Note:
Colors and layers are part of STEP AP214 standards, and are included in the export by default.|
|Export User Defined Attributes||Applies to STEP AP242 only.
Exports the user-defined attributes.|
|Export System Attributes||Applies to STEP AP242 only.
Exports the system attributes, such as density, mass, and so on.|
|Validation Properties|Include Validation Properties|* For STEP AP203 and STEP AP214, exports validation properties to the STEP format. The validation properties contain information corresponding to volume, surface area, and centroid.
Enables the export of the assembly as an external reference.
Export Structure As
Appears when Export Assembly As External Reference is selected.
The STEP translator supports two external reference formats.
When the translator must approximate a face into a B-spline surface or an edge into a B-spline curve, the B-spline approximation tolerance value is the upper bound on the distance between the B-spline approximated representation of the face or edge and the corresponding original face or edge.
By default, the STEP translator uses 0.0254 mm as the B-spline approximation tolerance.
If you use a value that is one order of magnitude smaller than the machining tolerance, the translator reduces the exported file size and still maintains the required accuracy.
Note:
The unit of the value displayed or entered is based on the units of the current work part. The translator writes the value to the .def settings file in millimeters and converts the value to an appropriate work part unit when read by the interface.|
|N/A|Assembly Options|Use Load Options.def
Uses the load_options.def file to obtain the assembly load options.
Specify
Lets you specify the load options that you want the translator to override in the load_options.def file.
Search Directories
Loads the first component found in the hierarchal list of directories.|
|Header Information|Header Information|Lets you modify information found in the Global section and the Start section of the STEP file. This option is useful when you want to provide information about the person and company sending the file, the type of parts it contains, and so on.
The header information consists of the following categories which correspond to their respective keywords in the settings file. You can enter up to 48 characters for each category.
Author
Sets the name of the person who generates the STEP file.
Company
Sets the name of the company from which the STEP file originates.
Authorization
Sets the name of the person who authorized the part for release.
Description
Sets the name for a part that is referenced by the sender.|
Thank you!
Making progress now. The new file has blocks and sub blocks but it’s still in only one layer.
I have seen in this forum before an old post with a script to convert ‘blocks to layers’.
I could do it manually, though it’s a large file and we expect new updates inn the future.
Would anyone know of an updated ‘blocks to layers’ script, or work around?
Thank you.
ExplodeBlocksToLayersV6.rhp (15.5 KB)
Hi Ram - this is the ExplodeBlocksToLayers plug-in - I do not know how it will do with a massive file, you’ll just have to try it. Check the command line option for how layers are assigned - there are two possibilities.
Unblock the rhp file in Windows Explorer and then drag and drop it onto Rhino.
-Pascal
Hi Pascal, thank you very much for the script. It works well and it solves the issue! Much appreciated.
Best regards
