Importing/exporting geometrical objects

Table of Contents

• General information
• Import file
• Export file
• Import and export of shapes in XAO format

General information

In Geometry module you can import and export geometrical objects from/into BREP, IGES, STEP, STL, XAO, VTK (only export) and others files. The mechanisms of import and export are implemented via plugins, which gives the opportunity to expand the range of available formats by adding more plugins (for example, CATIA 5 or ACIS).

Note

If a plugin supports import of materials associated with shapes, these shapes are grouped corresponding to the imported materials. For the moment STEP import is the only plugin that supports this feature.

Our TUI Scripts provide you with useful examples of the use of Import/Export

Import file

To import geometrical objects from a BREP, IGES, STEP or STL file:

From the File menu choose Import/<FormatName>, where <FormatName> is a name of desirable format. In the Import <FormatName> dialog box select the file to import and press Open. The file will be imported in the module and its contents (geometrical object) will be displayed in the Object Browser.

The dialog box to import the file can provide additional parameters.

For example, dialog box for importing files in STL format:

Note

If the selected file is in IGES or STEP format and the model size is not expressed in meters, the user will be asked whether to take or not the units into account (see the picture below). This feature can be helpful if some wrong units have been written to the IGES or STEP file by a 3rd-party software.

Note

It is possible to re-open from the initial file a previously imported shape if the file has been changed on disk. For this, select Reload From Disk in the context menu of the imported shape. The reloaded shape will have the same representation parameters as before this operation.

Export file

To export geometrical objects into a BREP, IGES, STEP, STL or VTK file:

Select the object you wish to export, then from the File menu choose Export/<FormatName>, where <FormatName> is a name of desirable format. In the Export <FormatName> dialog box define the name and the location of the file to export and press Save.

The dialog box to export the file can provide additional advanced parameters.

For example, dialog box for exporting files in STL format:

Import and export of shapes in XAO format

XAO is a file format which describes a shape with its topology, groups and fields.

To import a shape in the XAO format:

In the File menu select Import/XAO.

To export a shape in the XAO format:

In the File menu select Export/XAO.

In this dialog:

• Click the arrow button and select in the Object Browser or in the Viewer the Shape to be exported.
• Input the File name to create a new file or click browse button to save in an existing file.
• Input the Author if needed.
• Tick Export shape in a separate file to write the shape in a separate BREP file, referenced in the XAO file. It will have the same name as the XAO file with the .brep extension appended.
• Select the Groups of the chosen shape to be exported.
• Select the Fields of the chosen shape to be exported.
• Press "Apply" or "Apply & Close" button to get the result.

It is also possible to export a shape using the TUI Command: geompy.ExportXAO(Shape, Groups, Fields, Author, FileName, ShapeFileName)