Non VBA Means of Exporting Point Co-ordinate and Line Data to Excel

[tslewis]

I am trying to export point and line data using a design sheet. I want to recreate the wire-frame geometry from a series of points and lines defined in CATIA. I am amazed how difficult this seems to be.

I understand that I can export the point data i.e point number and X Y and Z co-ordinate values. However, the only attributes I can export for the line are the line number/label and the start and end lengths. This is crazy. It does not seem to be possible to export the point numbers/labels for the start and end of the line used to construct the line!!

Is there an easy way of doing this without having to write a macro or VBA script? I know that in the edit parameters dialouge box - im not sure where - but there was a line construction function "line(pt1,pt2)". Do I need to define this function somewhere and use it to export to a design sheet?


To summarize, for Point.1 and Point.2 used to construct Line.1, I want to export:

Point.1 X Y Z Point.2 X Y Z
etc.
Line.1 Point.1 Point.2
etc.

 

[ferdo]

Hi,

There is one way, but you will not like it...You can use measure with what settings you want and on Measure Item pop-up window you can use a text capture software like SnagIt or another one to copy in the clipboard what data you want and paste them in Excel...much more difficult then a CATScript...

Regards
Fernando

 

[tslewis]

Thanks but that isnot an answer to my question. I need the connectivity node data for a line element. I am amazed taht is a difficult thing to do. Is this a hidden attribute fora line element?

 

[itsmyjob]

Hello,

why don't you save your file as Iges ?

If you need something alse then write a script it does not have to be VBA.

Eric N.
indocti discant et ament meminisse periti ​

 

[Azrael]

Don't know if it helps.... beside knowledgeware and vb you can use "Measure Item" on the end points of the line and set to keep measure their coordinates will be shown in the formula

 

[ferdo]

Eric is right, you can read the igs file with a text editor, and you can find what you want.

Regards
Fernando

 

[tslewis]

Guys thanks for the response.

I had thought of saving to an IGES file and using some code to extract the node co-ordinates and line node connectivity data to Excel - typpcailly I write code in MathCAD, read in teh file and export it to another file format. However, I wanted to explore ways of doing this within the CATIA environment - it would be nice not to have to go outside the environment and use other programs to translate the code, it just adds another level of complexity etc. I am very surprised CATIA cant export this information to a design/data sheet. It seems pretty crazy. If points/nodes were used to define a line then surely this is an attribute that should be able to be exported to a design sheet? Is the point to point attribute a hidden parameter? Is it possible to unhide this parameter so it can be exported to CATIA?

I dotn see how teh emasure tool is useful. I want info about the node connectivity so i can "join the dots" when exporting the wire-frame.I have a wireframe model that has almost 300 lines in it. Its not realistic to go and measure evry line entity - especially if it is parametrically controllled and I would have to do this every time teh geometry changed!!

Another thought was may be converting the geometry to a dead geometry - i.e. datum geometry - before I export the data. I wonder what attribute data is exported to the design sheet then?

 

[itsmyjob]

i might be wrong but :

it would be nice not to have to go outside the environment and use other programs to translate the code, it just adds another level of complexity etc. I am very surprised CATIA cant export this information to a design/data sheet. It seems pretty crazy

This is what you are doing by using a none conventional format... Iges is a international format. BTW I am more than surprised that your other application cannnot read IGES or CATIA file !!!! See we can turn the problem the other way.

Hope you find an easy solution to your problem

Eric N.
indocti discant et ament meminisse periti ​

 

[tslewis]

Um, I dont understand your point.

I want to be able to use the data I see in the CATIA environment. If a line is created from a Point A and Point B I want to be able to use the same point (node) labels when re-creating the line element when post-processing the data for use in a structural analysis program. I want to preserve the node numberning and member numbering convention used in CATIA. THAT WAY WHEN I UPDATE THE GEOMETRY PARAMTERICALLY I CAN SIMPLY UPDATE THE CO-ORIDNATES IN THE ANALYSIS PROGRAM FROM THE POST_PROCESSED CATIA DATA. (I wont have to start form scratch from an IGES or DXF file created by CATIA and reassign member attributes, loading, load cases, member supprots etc. etc.). It amazes me sometimes how difficult it is just to get simple wireframe dtaa from these "advanced" analysis packages. If a line in CATIA was created using points then why cnat that informaiton be passed on in a simple manner?.

I have looked at the IGES file format. CATIA is not an industry standard file format.

For IGES, again, for a line element the node numebrs used to create that line are not included in the description so agian I am going to lose the associativity of node labeling between CATIA when post-processing teh data. May be I will have to have a routine that sorts through teh nodes and adds a lable to a node based on its co-ordinates..................

cheers

 

[jackk]

Have you tried to create the FEM data in CATIA directly?

I don't have much FEA experience, but I believe the mesh is associated to the goemetry, so any changes you make to the geometry automatically updates the node points and line elements. That seems pretty simple to me.