Overview

V6 is an open system, capable of interoperating with data in all of the mostly used data format standards in the CAD/CAM/CAE Industry.

This guide is intended for users who need to become quickly familiar with the Data Exchange Interfaces product.

Data Exchange Interfaces in a Nutshell

For Importing and Exporting external files there are miscellaneous formats: STEP, IGES, DXF/DWG. These formats are used to transfer geometric data (surfaces and wireframes) between different CAD-CAM systems in following situations :

  • concurrent engineering with using several CAD-CAM systems,
  • migration of databases when changing system (example: for new V6 customers),
  • exchanges of geometric data with clients or suppliers.

Data Exchange Interfaces are :

  • STEP Standard Interface (SST) supports both STEP formats AP203 / AP214 They support geometry and assembly structures and handles topology (shells, solids) on export and import. For instance, you can read a STEP file, edit its content in V6 workbenches, and save the results directly as a STEP file. STEP Core Interface (ST1) product provides extended functionalities, such as access to PLMBatch-DXF-IGES-STEP-MultiCAD, support of 3D annotations, extended Validation Properties...
  • IGES format is supported by the V6 - IGES Interface (IG1) product. V6 - IGES Interface (IG1) helps users working in a heterogeneous CAD/CAM environment to exchange data through a neutral format. The Initial Graphic Exchange Specification (IGES) format is the most used neutral format to transfer data between heterogeneous CAD systems. Users can perform bi-directional data exchange between dissimilar systems with direct and automated access to IGES files. IGES files containing 3D geometry are imported into representations. Their type should be "igs". IGES files containing 2D geometry and annotations are imported as Drawing representations. Their type should be "ig2".
  • DXF/DWG : DXF formats are supported by the V6 - Generative Drafting Products. After creating drawings, the designers can export data in DXF/DWG formatted files and import the 2D geometric data contained in a DXF/DWG file into a Drawing representation.

The Data Exchange Interfaces User's Guide has been designed to show you how to Import and Export external files in/from V6.

Before Reading this Guide

Before reading this guide, you should be familiar with basic Version 6 concepts such as document windows, standard and view toolbars. Therefore, we recommend that you read the Infrastructure User's Guide that describes generic capabilities common to all Version 6 products. It also describes the general layout of Version 6 and the interoperability between workbenches.

Getting the Most Out of this Guide

To get the most out of this guide, we suggest that you start reading and performing the step-by-step user tasks, which cover all product functionalities.

For each interface, you will learn:

  • how to import data,
  • or to export data to one of these formats,
  • and how entities are dealt with.

DataExchangePLMBatch deals with the Batch processing of files