Open source converters?

[Benjamin A]

Hi everyone

It's been more than a year this group is inactive but I try to post my request anyway.

I'm trying to find/develop a multi-format CAD converter.

Do you know if it is possible to use basic features parts of open source programs, or if there is something i can use?

Thanks for your help

Ben

[Franz]

Hi, i think that the open CAD problem has not been solved last year ..
The usual way of converters is to import into a native format and then to export into a new format.
That means that the native format limits the features you can import / export if you cannot extend the native format to describe this (yet unknown) features.
For a CAD converter: what formats do you need most ?
2D only or 3D, for display, for manufacturing, with watertight meshes ? 
Franz

[Sean]

Hi Ben,

If you're a user, there are a bunch of converters in BRL-CAD and FreeCAD that might work for you.

If you're a developer, I encourage you to check out the Geometry Conversion (GCV) project being worked by BRL-CAD developers.  It's an effort to leverage the dozens of expensive years invested in BRL-CAD's existing 20+ converters.  The basic goal is to create a self-contained standalone universal geometry converter.

The basic design is intended to be a simple plugin architecture that provides modules for geometry input, filtering, and output with intrinsic awareness of format conversions and their implications.  It currently leverages BRL-CAD's generic object-store as a high-performance pivot format (and because anything can be stored, e.g., raw STEP entities, and it's crazy fast), and it keeps core dependencies to a minimum.  The architecture itself can support proprietary or open source plugins, meaning it's easy to add a plugin for the ACIS or Granite kernels if one was so inclined, though the first phase is to simply integrate all of BRL-CAD's existing converters into the 'gcv' command-line tool.

It's worth noting that the project is currently stalled while we look for a new steward.  The previous lead just took a job with STScI.

Cheers!

Sean

BRL-CAD

[Benjamin A]

Hi Sean,

Thank you for your informations.

You just gave me a lot of work... :)

Basically, we need to develop a very simple 3D viewer to be able to watch CATIA and solidworks files on the same viewer.

To do that, we need to systematically separate the geometry from the metadata to be able to add extended infos... We need flexibility.

This is why I suppose the best way for me is to check BRL converters.

Sean,

Is the GCV project proprietary?

Do you think it is a serious start point for my project?

Bests

Ben

[Sean]

Ben,

Great questions.  Here's some comments and replies.

Basically, we need to develop a very simple 3D viewer to be able to watch CATIA and solidworks files on the same viewer.

To do that, we need to systematically separate the geometry from the metadata to be able to add extended infos... We need flexibility.

Sounds feasible, especially if you only need to view them.

 

This is why I suppose the best way for me is to check BRL converters.

Please do!

Is the GCV project proprietary?

Absolutely NOT proprietary!  We only develop and publish open source.  Even our plugins for proprietary systems (e.g., for Pro/E and UG) are published as open source.  We even managed thousands of dollars in funding to get properly licensed copies of the expensive ISO 10303 standard so we could implement new open source STEP support, leveraging NIST's open source SCL code, and kickstarting the STEPcode project.

You can write a plugin that hooks into a proprietary geometry kernel (e.g., CATIA's CGM or Solidwork's Parasolid kernels), but of course you'd still need a license in order for it to work (and someone would still have to write the code).  An in GCV's terms, the license of such a plugin is up to that plugin's author.  To be incorporated into GCV, however, it'd have to be open source as GCV is only open source.

Do you think it is a serious start point for my project?

Wouldn't have suggested it otherwise.  Certainly not to imply that it's just going to work without some development, but it should save months if not years of effort otherwise to get to similar capability.

Cheers!

Sean

[Benjamin A]

Hi Sean,

I was out since last time and I just saw your message.

I wanted to thank you for your advises. Your probably saved me precious months.

I saw on your URL it was possible to download the source code.

As I am a newbie in dev for now (I used to program a long time ago), do you have some recommandations about how can I setup my dev environment?

I am checking it by my side.

Thanks again

Ben 

[Sean]

On Monday, March 20, 2017 at 5:22:07 AM UTC-4, Benjamin A wrote:

I wanted to thank you for your advises. Your probably saved me precious months.

Sure, any way I can help!

 

I saw on your URL it was possible to download the source code.

As I am a newbie in dev for now (I used to program a long time ago), do you have some recommandations about how can I setup my dev environment?

Setup is pretty simple.  See the README and/or doc/README.* files depending on your platform (e.g., doc/README.Windows for Windows).  Basically, you'll download CMake and make sure you have a compiler installed (e.g., one of Microsoft's free Visual Studio editions for Windows or gcc/clang for anywhere else).  From there, you run cmake and compile.

If you run into any problems, please join the brlcad-devel mailing list (sending any e-mail to subscribe-devel at brlcad dot org will add you).

Cheers!

Sean