ECAD-MCAD Collaboration using IDX

[W_Leitzke]

Hi everyone, thanks for your help in advance.

We are starting to migrate from using IDF transfer for ECAD-MCAD collaboration, to using IDX transfer format. We are currently using Mentor Graphics Expedition for our ECAD tool. Our environment is multi-cad - primarily Creo, but we do have some NX usage in the company.

We are looking to see if anyone has any previous experience or ideas for updating the IDX file output to support differences in the ECAD cell name (Model) and the MCAD model name. The MCAD models have a _CR or _NX suffix added to the ECAD name so that we can have different MCAD models stored in Windchill, based on the MCAD tool.

We are looking for info in creating a script (or scripts), or identifying where the IDX file needs to be updated, that will be able to add the appropriate suffix so that when we read in the IDX file into Creo or NX it will pull in the appropriate MCAD model. The other script for the converse will strip the _CR or _NX suffix when we go back to the ECAD tool.

Thanks again,

-William

[CarlosCaseras]

I know it is way too late, but just in case:

I think that the mapping functionality can do what you want and maybe don't need to modify the IDX file.

In creo the mapping file is called ecad_hint.map. It is declared in the the config.pro and it contains the mappping between each cell name (ecad_name) and the 3Dmodel  (MCAD name) to which you want to map each EEE component. So, Creo will have its own ecad_hint.map file, and if you use NX, Catia, or other package, each of these applications should have its own mapping file to the approppriate CAD files. Each mapping file can have a different format, but the content is basically the same.

Kind regards

Carlos