BricsCAD SMEXPORT2D from API

Sjon_Kosse
Sjon_Kosse
edited March 3 in Programming and customization

When working with the .NET API there is no specific Sheet Metal support. I'm trying to create output which is equal to that produced by SMEXPORT2D.
I can not use SMEXPORT2D currently because I'm running these calls in batch, I have not found a way to prevent the save file dialog from popping up. Is there any way to give it a path where to save directly without going through the save dialog?

I tried some of the common variables which which control dialog creation but there doesn't seem to be any which SMEXPORT2D checks.
Application.SetSystemVariable("FILEDIA", 0);
Application.SetSystemVariable("CMDDIA", 0);
Application.SetSystemVariable("ATTDIA", 0);

In the BricsCAD C++ API there is support for Sheet Metal.
In C++ I've built unfolded objects using the BrxSmUnfoldOperation. This is only part of the solution since I need to also create the DXF output files and the schematic view that is produced by SMEXPORT2D normally.


EDIT:
This is harder than I thought it was, even just select a subentity (a face for example) is already impossible via the standard editor API, you can select these items by mouse just fine but you can't set a subentity from code. Someone pointed out to me you could record editor input and capture the parameters SMEXPORT2D takes normally that way.

From this I got an output along the lines of
(command "SMEXPORT2D" "2153.08,-1974.41" "C:\path\YourFile3.dxf" "2018")

This works fine, this also means it's possible to supply your own path but the thing I was getting stuck on was how to select the face.
Currently I'm trying to extract X and Y coordinates from a geometricextents property belonging to a face on the solid3d object. This isn't working yet, maybe it needs some type of viewport transformation. Progress never the less.

Comments

  • Linnemann
    Linnemann

    Hi

    Its not .net or C++, but I've done something similar using LISP.

    Maybe you can get some inspiration from that.

    https://forum.bricsys.com/discussion/39539/export-sheetmetal-for-fabrication

  • Sjon_Kosse
    Sjon_Kosse

    Hey,
    That's a great source of information. Doing a manual smunfold might very well be very best solution here.

  • Sjon_Kosse
    Sjon_Kosse

    I've managed to get it working in the end. The LISP API was by far the easiest way to work with these Sheet Metal models.

    The final method for exporting I settled on was using
    ed.Command(new object[] { "_.SMUNFOLD", "#0,0,0", "2D", path, "2018" });
    to create the DXF documents. Face selection was done through the LISP API. When using SmLispGet Selectentities you can relate the output string you get form that function back to a FullSubentityPath item.
    In my application I filter all faces in the 3D model based on colour, I know which faces have which entity path and can then relate the output of SelectEntities back to the right face. This way I know I have the right faces selected for DXF export calls.

    Quite tricky to figure this all out, seems it is a lot easier to either stick in LISP or C++ when working with Sheet Metal than to try and use dotnet.

    /*(SmLispGet "SelectEntities" "Top" "Flange_1")*/

            var args = new ResultBuffer(
                new TypedValue((int)LispDataType.Text, "SmLispGet"),
                new TypedValue((int)LispDataType.Text, "SelectEntities"),
                new TypedValue((int)LispDataType.Text, side),
                new TypedValue((int)LispDataType.Text, feature));