User Guide

Using the Product

Default Translations

Default Translation - via the Unified Interface

The Unified Interface can be started via the Start Menu - if a shortcut was added during installation.

Alternatively, the Unified Interface can be run via a Windows Explorer selection in:

<UI_installation_directory>\bin\Unified_Interface.cmd

The following interface will be launched:

The default layout is split into 4 primary areas, which can be altered to the user’s preference. The simplest way to translate from CADDS or NX is to drag a file from the File Browser Pane on to the Active Configurations for the translation you require.

On completion, the Unified Interface will display the activity information and details from the log file created during the translation, if requested, in the Translation Activity and Output Log panes, respectively.

The generated output data can be located by selecting the translation from the Activity pane and opening the output folder:

Default Translation via the Command Line

Running a translation via the command line can be carried out via the cad_run.cmd file located in the <installation_directory>\bin directory.

CADDS to NX:

<Translator_installation_directory>\bin\cad_run.cmd CADDS_NX2512 -i <input_file> -o <output_file> progress_file "<Path_to_progress_log\.txt>"

NX to CADDS:

<Translator_installation_directory>\bin\cad_run.cmd NX2512_CADDS -i <input_file> -o <output_file> search_path "<parts_dir1>";"<Parts_dir2>" progress_file "<Path_to_progress_log\.txt>"

Translator Customization

SpinFire Convert allows the information that is read from the source system and written to the target system to be tailored via a set of user specified arguments. Commonly used arguments are supported via the Unified Interface, with Advanced Arguments being described within this document for use in the Unified Interface or via the Command Line invocation.

Common Options for CADDS to NX

Within the Configuration Manager pane of the Unified Interface, arguments that can be specified when publishing CADDS data into NX are grouped into 4 areas:

• CADDS Read - Those arguments that affect how data is read from CADDS

• NX Write - Those arguments that affect how the data is written to NX

• Entity Mask - Those arguments that allow specific read entities to be masked

• General - Those arguments that are common to ALL Publishing activities regardless of source data

CADDS Read Arguments

The image below shows the CADDS Read arguments that are available, with their default settings:

Each of these options is described below:

Option	Description
Read Blanked Entities	Read Blanked Entities/Files (Default is off). Command Line Syntax: on_blank
Use CADDS Entity Colours	Use CADDS Entity Colours instead of Part colours (Default is off). Command Line Syntax: ecol
Assembly Search Path	Defines the locations of assembly components. Command Line Syntax: search_path <path1>;<path2>
Name Assembly Nodes from Associated Geometry File	Name Assembly Nodes from Associated Geometry File. Command Line Syntax: mapitem
Process Part Revision Information	For assemblies only (Default is off). Command Line Syntax: read_rev
Assembly Units	Specify the Units when reading an assembly (Default setting will use first part units). Command Line Syntax: assy_units mm or assy_units inch

NX Write Arguments

The image below shows the Write NX arguments that are available, with their default settings:

Each of these options is described below:

Option	Description
Delete Existing Sub-parts	Delete existing sub-parts. Command Line Syntax: delete_parts (to enable, default is off)
Concatenate Assembly Name	Concatenate Assembly Name TO Output Filename. Command Line Syntax: concat_assy (to enable, default is off)
Produce Tessellated Output	Produce Tessellated NX file. Command Line Syntax: tess_output (to enable, default is off)

CADDS - NX Entity Masking Arguments

The image below shows the Masking arguments that are available, with their default settings:

Each of these options is described below:

Option	Description
Mask File	Specifies the Mask File to be written to, that can be referenced by future translations. A Mask file MUST be specified if masking is required. The first line in this file is OFF ALL ENT. Command Line Syntax: Mask <path\filename>
Entity Types Translated	Specifies a selection list from which to select which entity types are to be processed. The following types are available: POI, LIN, ARC, CON, CUR, SUR, FAC, SOL. Mask File Syntax: Add any of the above to the specified mask file, one entry per line prefixed by the word ON, e.g. ON POI to ensure they are considered in the translation
Layers Translated	Select layers to translate. Mask File Syntax: A single entry of ON ALL LAY must precede any Layer Mask command. Add a list or range of numbers representing layers to be processed to the specified mask file to ensure they are NOT considered in the translation, e.g. OFF LAY 114,149,166,167,168
Convert ALL Drawings	Convert All Drawings. Command Line Syntax: draft
Convert Named Drawing	Convert Drawing by Name. Mask File Syntax: ON DRA <name>

CADDS - NX General Arguments

The image below shows the General arguments that are available, with their default settings:

Each of these options is described below:

Option	Description
Mass Properties	Allows Mass Property information to be read from the source data and written as attributes (Default is OFF). Command Line Syntax: mprops
Drawings	Translate All Drawings (Default is off). Command Line Syntax: draft
Out-of-range Layers	Maintain the assembly structure during translation (Default is ON). Command Line Syntax: base_layer <int> or cycle_layer
Retain Assembly Structure	Maintain the assembly structure during translation (Default is ON). Command Line Syntax: offditto - to turn off
Advanced	Allows any of the Command Line Advanced arguments documented to be passed to the Unified Interface invocation.

Common Options for NX to CADDS

Within the Configuration Manager pane of the Unified Interface, arguments that can be specified when publishing NX data into CADDS are grouped into 4 areas:

• NX Read - Those arguments that affect how data is read from NX

• CADDS Write - Those arguments that affect how the data is written to CADDS

• Entity Mask - Those arguments that allow specific read entities to be masked

• General - Those arguments that are common to ALL Publishing activities regardless of source data

NX Read Arguments

The image below shows the NX Read arguments that are available, with their default settings:

Each of these options is described below:

Option	Description
Reference Set	Enabled reference set processing. Command Line Syntax: ref_set (enabled - Default) or no_ref_set
Read Attributes	Read NX detail user attributes. Command Line Syntax: read_attrs
Read NX names	Read NX entity names, if they exist. Command Line Syntax: read_name or no_read_name (disabled - Default)
Colour Processing	How to process colour. Command Line Syntax: derive_instance_colour, use_body_colour, or use_instance_colour

CADDS Write Arguments

The image below shows the CADDS Write arguments that are available, with their default settings:

Each of these options is described below:

Option	Description
Part Format	Specifies the format of the output (Default is CADDS 4X). Command Line Syntax: CADDS5
Part Precision	Specifies the precision when writing CADDS 4 format (Default is Double). Command Line Syntax: single
Geometry Type	Defines the geometry type (Default is NURBS). Command Line Syntax: asd
Simplify Geometry Tolerance	Simplify the geometry (e.g. 0.001 in input part units). Command Line Syntax: c4simplify
Explode	Explode Solids to Faces (Default is off). Command Line Syntax: split_brep_faces
Overwrite	Overwrite Existing Parts. Command Line Syntax: overwrite or no_overwrite (Default)
Concatenate Name	Concatenate Assembly Name. Command Line Syntax: concat_assy or no_concat_assy (Default)

NX - CADDS Entity Masking Arguments

The image below shows the Masking arguments that are available, with their default settings:

Each of these options is described below:

Option	Description
Mask File	Specifies the Mask File to be written to, that can be referenced by future translations. A Mask file MUST be specified if masking is required. The first line in this file is OFF ALL ENT. Command Line Syntax: Mask <path\filename>
Entity Types Translated	Specifies a selection list from which to select which entity types are to be processed. The following types are available: POI, LIN, ARC, CON, CUR, SUR, FAC, SOL. Mask File Syntax: Add any of the above to the specified mask file, one entry per line prefixed by the word ON, e.g. ON POI
Layers Translated	Select layers to translate. Mask File Syntax: A single entry of ON ALL LAY must precede any Layer Mask command. Add a list or range of numbers representing layers to be processed to the specified mask file to ensure they are NOT considered in the translation, e.g. OFF LAY 114,149,166,167,168
Convert ALL Drawings	Convert All Drawings. Command Line Syntax: draft
Convert Named Drawing	Convert Drawing by Name. Mask File Syntax: ON DRA <name>

NX - CADDS General Arguments

The image below shows the General arguments that are available, with their default settings:

Each of these options is described below:

Option	Description
Mass Properties	Allows Mass Property information to be read from the source data and written as attributes (Default is OFF). Command Line Syntax: mprops
Drawings	Translate All Drawings (Default is off). Command Line Syntax: draft
Out-of-range Layers	Maintain the assembly structure during translation (Default is ON). Command Line Syntax: base_layer <int> or cycle_layer
Retain Assembly Structure	Maintain the assembly structure during translation (Default is ON). Command Line Syntax: offditto - to turn off
Advanced	Allows any of the Command Line Advanced arguments documented to be passed to the Unified Interface invocation.

CADDS to NX Arguments List

CADDS Read Arguments

Each of these options is described below.

Option	Description
Maintain Blanked Entities	Read blanked entities and maintain their show/hide state. Default is OFF. Command Line Syntax: maintain_blanked
Use CADDS Entity Colours	Use CADDS entity colours rather than part colours. Command Line Syntax: ecol
Assembly Search Path	Specify the search paths that contain assembly parts. Command Line Syntax: SEARCH_PATH "PATH1;PATH2;PATH3" Or SEARCH_PATH <Filename> where the file contains one path per line.
Name Assembly Nodes from Associated Geometry File	Default is OFF. Command Line Syntax: mapitem
Process Part Revision Information	Read assembly revision info from _ps file. Command Line Syntax: read_rev
Assembly Units	Specify the units when reading an assembly. Command Line Syntax: assy_units <mm/inch>

NX Write Arguments

CMD Line Option	Purpose	Data Type	Default
poly_sol / no_poly_sol	For GCO Fsolids produce Facetted bodies (else attempt brep)	Flag	off
heal_ug <tol>	Attempt a UG heal on the created body (if nocheck on). Default tolerance = 0.0095/units	Flag	off
keep_all_bodies / no_keep_all_bodies	If input solid gets created as a solid after sewing, plus one or more tiny sheet bodies, keep or delete these	Flag	on (keep all)
nocheck	Don’t check created Parasolid geometric entities	Flag	off
no_brep_prep	Prepare solids switched off	Flag	on (surfs read as nurbs+prep)
pstolmodel <num> / nopstolmodel	Enable Parasolid tolerant modeling. Default num = 3	Flag	on
pssew <tol> / nosew	Sew failed breps and opensols	Flag	on
csg_prep <tol>	Prepare CSG Primitives. Default tolerance = 0.000001*scale	Flag	off
csg_shift <tol>	Change CSG Shift Distance. Default tolerance = 0.000001*scale	Flag	off
csgfix	Fix CSG Primitives	Flag	off
ps_fix_small / no_fix_ps_small	Remove small edges, sliver and spike faces in breps	Flag	off
ps_fix_osol / no_ps_fix_osol	Remove small edges, sliver and spike faces in opensolids	Flag	off

NX to CADDS Advanced Arguments

NX Read Arguments

CMD Line Option	Purpose	Data Type	Default
read_name / no_read_name	Read UG entity names (if they exist)	Flag	off
part_layer	Process As Saved part layers, else All	Flag	ALL
read_pmi	Read PMI as stroked data	Flag	off
noprep / prepsol	Prepare solids switched off / on	Flag	on (surfs read as nurbs+prep)
rd_native_edge / no_read_native_edge	Read native edge curves	Flag	off (read as nurbs curves)
trim_face_surfs / no_trim_face_surfs	Trim surface to face	Flag	off (don’t trim)
ugdiags	Switch on validate read to progress file	Flag	off
read_diags	Switch on read diagnostics to progress file	Flag	off
no_mergen	No Parasolid merging of entities	Flag	on (merge)
checksol / nochecksol	Check Parasolid entities before read	Flag	off (don’t check)
mprops	Read Mass Props	Flag	off
draft	Process 2D drawings	Flag	off