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Converting a CGM file to PDF in NX4 1

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keddano

Automotive
Oct 28, 2005
10
US
Has anyone came up with a simple way to make PDF files from CGM or from 2D NX Drafting. We are going to NX4 and have been informed that NX4 doesn't support it. We need to be able to convert the drawings so the company we're doing the jobs for engineers' can easy read.Thanks
 
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import the CGM into a new part. If you can't import it into a drawing, you may have to just import it into a model and set a view for it.

download a PDF writer, and just print it to the PDF writer. We just had a big job where we had to convert a bunch of these. It can be tedious.

I believe we use PDF factory here

good luck
-Steve
 
Note that in NX 5, we are adding a direct Export to PDF function to NX which will include options to export Drawing Sheets or the current display, and in the case of Drawings, if there are multiple sheets, you can ask that each sheet be exported onto it's on page of a multi-page PDF document. There will also be an option to add a user-defined 'watermark' to the face of each PDF page.


John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
NX Product Line
UGS Corp
Cypress, CA
 
Glad I'll be able to use NX5.0 when NX13.0 (kidding) is out.

I am stuck on the versions GM uses.

Justin Ackley
Designer
jackley@gmail.com
 
You may need to contact GTAC for the exact method, but there is a way to get PDFs out of NX for no charge. You need to set up your Print Admin to output to PostScript (.ps files). You will have to set this up as a completely separate printer, I believe. GTAC can assist with this...just tell them you want to know how to output to PostScript. They may ask for info on your printer/plotter, so be ready for those types of questions.

Once you have your Print Admin side working correctly, you will need to install Ghostscript (the actual .ps to PDF conversion software) and Ghostview (a viewer of PDF, PostScript and other print-related file formats). Both of these softwares are free of charge...just do a Google search to find the homepage.

The workflow will probably be something like this: Plot to .ps in NX, wait for NX Print to output a .ps file. After the .ps file is created, you can open the .ps file with Ghostview and convert to PDF. If you have Acrobat writer, you can save your NX .ps files to the same folder each time and have Adobe Distiller set up to watch that folder and automatically convert to PDF.

Hope this makes sense. You might also try searching this forum, as I'm positive other users have asked this same question before.

Tim Flater
Senior Designer
Enkei America, Inc.

Some people are like slinkies....they don't really have a purpose, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.
 
Thanks guys.If anyone else has dealt with this please add your experiance.
 
Like Tim, we work with gostview, but we take it a bit further:

Make folowing a bat file, e.g. to_PDF.bat somewhere on a known location and include:

"C:\Program Files\Ghostgum\gsview\gsview32.exe" %1%

In UG add a new printer in the printer administration and choose +Hp HP Postcript Multi Bin Generic as printer model.

Activate the button "render file and execute the program".
Underneath "Full executable path and executables" fill in C:\NX3plot\to_PDF.bat or wathever name and path you've choosen.

This gives you a printer that will plot to ps and automatically open ghostview. The conversion itself still has to be done manually in Ghostview. But I prefer this as it gives me more controle over what I want to do.

Mik Doms
Foundry Engineer
Allard-Europe
Flanders
 
To my opinion UG NX is expensive enough as it is right now, without the extra cost of a PDF conversion program.

I heard rumours that it will be -or is - integrated in NX5. If it's true it's not to early.

Mik
 
Yes, NX 5 will support (without extra cost) the Exporting of Drawings as a PDF document, including full support for creating multi-page documents from multi-sheet drawings. You can also include an optional user-defined watermark on the face of the document, if so desired.


John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
NX Product Line
UGS Corp
Cypress, CA
 
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