Export XML data

[cwsink]

Hello,

What options are there to export XML data?

I've got a project that involves an assembly with various configurations consisting of parts with multiple configurations. The parts would mainly be profile extrusions that would be cut to length with possibly a few slots cut or other similar features. The customer wants specific data exported such as length, slot dimensions, and the position of the part centroid in the assembly.
How would I get this out in a somewhat automated fashion? (I'm aware of SaveAs .3DXML)
Can I control exactly what gets exported? (as opposed to everything being exported)
Would I need to use the API to do this?
Any other suggestions?

Please feel free to question me further if this doesn't make sense. Some of the information is sensitive, so I'm trying to explain it without violating that.

Thank you,


Craig Sink
Mechanical Engineer
Force Design, Inc.

http://www.forcedesign.biz

 

[cwsink]

No ideas? Maybe no-one has had any exposure to this.

Craig Sink
Mechanical Engineer
Force Design, Inc.

http://www.forcedesign.biz

 

[rfus]

3D XML is very much like eDrawings, and it is propietary.
When you open it up in wordpad this is all you can see:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Model_3dxml xmlns="

http://www.3ds.com/xsd/3DXML"

xmlns:xsi="

http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"

xmlns:xlink="

http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"

I've used it and I like it. You can throw your model right into a word doc.

XML is a descriptive language. You're customer wants to output model properties so they can use them in some app they probably wrote. They'd want something like this:

<?xml version="1.0" ?>

<!-- here is my info in xml -->

<model>
<model_info SLOT="#" CENTROID="#" LENGTH="#" />
</model>

It sounds like these parts you are doing need to be created in a design table, and then you would need a way to output this assembly centroid info from the model properties. This spreadsheet data could then be converted into an .xml format through a script, and I'm assuiming this .xml file would probaly be used with some app they wrote. I can envision a VB macro that could do all this for you.

I bet you could hire a VB/macro guru to put something like this together for you if you didn't have the programming experience.

 

[cwsink]

rfus,

Thanks! Your information is a start.

May I ask in what circumstances you would "...throw your model right into a word doc."? Also, I'm assuming that the 3DXML would not be useful for machine code?

I will probably do a design table, but I didn't know if there was a way to pull the data straight out of the model.

Thanks for the guidance,

Craig Sink
Mechanical Engineer
Force Design, Inc.

http://www.forcedesign.biz

 

[lucason]

Hi Craig

If its machine code you need you need to be looking at a CAM package that will take a model and prodcue NC code directly from it - or from a DXF file.

Sorry I could not help more.

Lucas

 

[cwsink]

Hello,

I probably created confusion there. I don't know a lot about programming, etc, but I do know that what they want is XML. They will use that data in the assembly line to tell the machines where to position each component. I need to generate that data from the CAD models. I will be learning more specifics such as what data they need exactly and all of that, but for now, that's all I've got.

Thanks for the input,

Craig Sink
Mechanical Engineer
Force Design, Inc.

http://www.forcedesign.biz