File Formats: DXF File

Description

DXF™ (Drawing eXchange Format) is a formatted text file used to represent information contained in an AutoCAD® drawing file. DXF files are version dependent. Newer version files support 3D geometry data by way of encoded ACIS data.

DXF files consist of records split across line pairs; the first line contains an integer called a group code, which indicates the type of the data element, and the second line contains the data element. A file is partitioned into several pre-defined sections. The drawing data is largely defined within the BLOCKS and ENTITIES sections of a file.

Supported IGES Entities

The following DXF entities are supported by Strand7:

3DFACE
3DSOLID
ARC
BODY
CIRCLE
ELLIPSE
INSERT
LINE
LWPOLYLINE
MESH
POINT
POLYLINE
REGION
SOLID
SPLINE
SURFACE
TRACE
VERTEX

The mapping between Strand7 elements and DXF entities is as follows:

Beam2

Line, Polyline, Circle, Arc, extruded Point.
Tri3

3-node Solid, 3-node 3DFace, 3-node Polyline.
Quad4

4-node Solid, 4-node 3DFace, 4-node Polyline, Trace, extruded Line, extruded Polyline, extruded Circle, extruded Arc.
Tri6

6-node Polyline.
Quad8

8-node Polyline.
Wedge6

Extruded 3-node Solid, extruded 3-node Polyline.
Hexa8

Extruded 4-node Solid, extruded 4-node Polyline, extruded Trace.

Units

DXF files with defined units are scaled to the current units of the Strand7 model on import. If the Strand7 model uses no units, geometry data is imported unscaled.

Import Log File Viewer

If warnings or errors are encountered during import, a log file is generated and displayed by the View Log File: Log File Viewer. The log file (with extension .LOG) is saved in the same folder as the SAT file; if the folder is a read-only location, the log file is not generated and Strand7 issues a warning message; if the folder is a read-only location, the log file is not generated and Strand7 issues a warning message.