Solidworks to Illustrator

[ElectroMatt]

Does anyone know of a procedure, plugin or application to take a view of a SW part (2D or iso) and convert it to a format that can be used in Illustrator in a shaded format?

It's rather simple to get a wireframe out of SW and into .AI format, but a huge pain to re-shade the models. Imagine doing an 2D isometric drawing without the advantage of "real" CAD software.

My goal is to have shaded part and views that can be scaled and still look clean when printed hi-res and store in a compact PDF.

Thanks,
Matt

 

[TheTick]

The best way to bring 2D geometry from SW to AI is via PDF (Acrobat) format. Illustrator also can read DXF format. This may require you to make a SW drawing to get the views and proportions you need.

PDF:
Create a PDF either by using SW "Save As" option or using a utility like Acrobat Distiller or PDF995 <

http://www.pdf995.com>.

The PDF can be opened directly by Adobe Illustrator.

DXF:
SW only exports DXF from a SW drawing. Create a temporary drawing with the views you require, then export using "Save As".

Due to illness, the part of The Tick will be played by... The Tick.

http://www.EsoxRepublic.com

 

[ElectroMatt]

Thanks for the reply.

Your method is the one that I'm currently using, but it will only output a wireframe view. If shaded, it will output an image file (usually tiff), which will not scale well.

 

[tclark]

I don't use Illustrator myself, but I am under the impression that Illustrator can import JPEG and TIFF files.
You can save an SW assembly file in these formets, so it might be worth a try.

tclark

 

[TruckPilot]

I have had good results creating encapsulated post script files for Adobe Illustrator.
To do this:
Orient your model the way you want it to look
FILE>PRINT and choose 'Print to file'
When naming the file change the file extension to 'file.eps'.
Import into Illustrator!

I have not done this for a few months so hopefully I remember it correctly. If you would like to view the '.eps' file you created before sending it to Illustrator, you can use GSView (

http://www.ghostgum.com.au).

Good Luck!