Character Mapping NX5 DXFDWG

[raerts]

I am working with the 2D Exchange translator to export DXF-files. Everything works fine, except for the text fonts. Our CAM-software does not display the text.
I have found the Character Font Mapping that should map the fonts from the used NX-font to an ACAD-font, but I cannot get it to work.
The NX-helpfile shows an example, but this one does not work. Does anyone have an example for me?

Thanks!

 

[hudson888]

What version of NX?

I haven't had a lot of joy with the 2D exchange we tried it once and found that the license wasn't universally available to all our users and stuck with an old tried and true method.

I set up some macros to do the task of exporting drawing sheets as DXF. We basically export a CGM, bring it back to a scratch layer, and then output DXF from that data. We don't care to make the drawings maintainable in Autocad, so we err in favor of making it look correct.

There may be a work around for you in the above method. I guess it depends on what you want to do with the DXF file in your CAM software.

Hope this helps

Hudson

 

[raerts]

Thank you for your reply.
NX5.0.1.4 MP04 and NX5.0.2.2 MP02, both Tc integrated. CAM-software is PEPS.
Export CGM => import => export DXF does not sound very nice. I understand that the “looks” of the dxf-file are better than a direct export of a DXF.
Problem is that we need DXF-files (and also STEP) for our own CAM-systems, but also we have to deliver frequently DXF-files to our customers so they have to be maintainable in ACAD. When we want a file with “looks” we normally export to a PDF.
Also the export of DXF has to work with the UPM, so we can batch-export dxf-files from Tc.
The colormapping works perfect, so the characterfontmapping should also work?

 

[hudson888]

If you want batch processing you'll probably have to go down the 2D exchange route if you can. Either that or write a batch converter of your own in NX-open. If you're not already using blockfont then try changing your font to test whether that gives you a better result. Sometimes Autocad, if you're not familiar, may present with white text on a white background, you may need to swap views to see the results. Try also other DXF viewers to check your results, (there are many readily available on the internet including several freeware programs). I'm not a frequent Autocad user of late so if you're likr me then help from somebody familiar with it may prove useful.

If you try to export drawing formats views etc using straight DXF into Autocad you generally wind up with a bit of a mess. You can go the CGM route and keep the text as text, or render it to lines and arcs, (there is a switch in teh export cgm dialog for this). Sorry but your dimensions were never going to work worth bothering with in any case.

When you do export text via DXF almost regardless of technique you have a situation where in Autocad the font will default to something closely equivalent to blockfont. The problem that I usually encounter with that is that few of the drawings I have tried to covert actually used blockfont, so the character spacing was a;ways off.

For the main customers who want our UG drawings converted into Autocad I have adopted a strategy that works for me. I created some drawing formats that have been pre-dumbed down. By dumbed down I meant that all the attractive fonts and closely spaced text logos etc have been rendered to lines and arcs and saved as pattern files for use in drawing templates for that customer. Then I elected to use blockfont for the text that I knew would appear on the other areas on the face of the drawing. Now by running the macro and allowing that the cgm file to create text where it can I get a manageable result in Autocad. I've had to compromise to do it but it seemed that the limitations of converting the data represented the lowest common denominator.

I suppose some people would have put more resources into overcoming these limitations to improve their results, but at the end of the day I thought that the likely benefits would be marginal and decided to work around the problem in the simplest way rather than waste too much more time on it. Having tried quite a few things before reaching this point I would offer you the benefit of that experience and advise that you tailor your expectations to what the software is capable of.

Like yours our organization runs Teamcenter and we consider the UG-NX model data to be the the master product definition. Surely Since fully associative drawing views won't form part of what you're able to translate into Autocad any other thoughts of making the design maintainable across what are basically incompatible CAD systems seems untenable. Whether the fonts work or not therefore represented to us a challenge to make the copy in Autocad legible without expecting anything beyond that level of capability.

Hoping that you'll get something from this

Best regards

Hudson.

 

[KATOOM450]

My ultimate output is a .DXF or .DWG file for sending to
our CNC plasma machine. We have Pronest software that requires these two types of file input. I have gone down the road of exporting from the Model level, but should be
a way to do it from the Drafting level.

 

[skk1]

I've got the same problem with dxf files. The simplest way to generate dxf is to save cgm firstly. It is successfull but the whole procedure takes to much time. It is very anoying if you need to corect a few files immediately.I'm interested in solution which uses the macro. Could you please give me some advices how to write such a instriction. I've been trying to generate same procedurs with the journal functions but it's not usefull. I've got problems with the names and paths of cgm and dxf files. Maby there is possibility to use straight your solution.
Sorry for my english. I'm working on it.
Jacek