ECAD-MCAD collaboration

[Marco_Tosin]

We are working to implement ECAD-MCAD collaboration between Creo 2.0 and Zuken CR5000.

We will do it through IDX files.

This method requires the use of licenses for the export of IDX files from both CAD systems.

As you can see in attached image Zuken Interchanger for Creo (Zi4C) is supported until Creo 2.0

I would like to know if some product manager from PTC, or some community user, can tell us when Zi4C will be supported in Creo 3.0, because we are planning to upgrade to Creo 3.0 before summer.

Also we would like to know when Creo will support IDX 3.0, because a Zuken technician tell us that is PTC that drives this upgrade.

Thanks

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[Marco_Tosin]

No one from PTC has news about my requests?

[gkoch]

Hello Marco,

basically you can ask anybody about anything and with some luck get a quick answer. But the save path to get an answer about software supporting other software (or hardware), is via the owner of the interface. As you can see in the picture, the information in the picture is from Zuken, so I assume they drive the interface and hence are the first address to answer questions about support of data interchange.

Where the owners - in this case Zuken - is limited by software from other companies they should at least be able to provide details about the limitation, so you can ask the right questions with the "other side". Zuken did this already in the user's guide excerpt from the picture, when referring to PTC SPR 2134993, which reported an issue in early versions of Creo Parametric 2.0, but is no longer observed with datecode M020 or later.

So you should ask TS from Zuken about when they will support the interface oft their software to Creo Parametric 3.0 or what they expect from PTC to enable their (unchanged) software to run with Creo 3.0.

In return the Zuken technican is right to direct questions about Creo Parametric support of IDX 3.0 to PTC, as this is our interface.

According to article CS173661 (About Creo Parametric support ECAD File Formats), IDX 3.0 is already supported since Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4.0.

If my assumption that they programmed something specific is wrong and they just support general IDX 3.0 (this is again something Zuken needs to answer), then the article above should already answer your question and only a bug in early Creo 2.0 was temporarily limiting data exchange in the past, which animated Zuken to mention it.

Summary:

The answer you need (at least Zuken will know) is for the following question: Does Zuken have a specific Creo interface or do they use standard IDX 3.0?

• In the latter case, if standard IDX 3.0 is the interface, we should be all good, as Creo 3.0 supports it as well as Creo 2.0.
• If they have a specific Creo interface programmed, then they are the ones to tell you, when they will support Creo 3.0.

Gunter

[Marco_Tosin]

Gunther,

thanks for your clear and kindly answer.

I was asking in the PTC community because of the answer I got from Zuken.

They said "We have not plan to support IDX 3.0 because we develop only GUI while PTC give us IDX formatter as you can see in attached image".

"Indeed programs bmb2idx.exe and idx2bmb.exe are owned by PTC"

They also said "It is therefore necessary to ask PTC updating this converter. (BMB is our description size mechanical board.)"

Zuken technicians here in Italy have already involved Zuken R&D in Japan to have more information, but they also said "it is likely (as always happens in these situations) that you have more power than us to PTC as customers".

So I have one more question: what Zuken technicians wrote to me is correct, or you have some other more recent news?

Thanks in advance for your attention

Marco

[gkoch]

I was not aware that PTC creates the converter for Zuken.

This is a very specific situation, because the converter is created by PTC, but not shipped with Creo Parametric. So I guess it is shipped with the software from Zuken.

Yet if it is part of their installation, the usual worflow would be that they get into contact with PTC about the update and they track the progress rather than the customers.

But anyway, searching for bmb2idx.exe I found an internal SPR against that bmb2idx.exe is generating IDX 1.2 instead of IDX 2.0 by default and IDX3.0 when using the option -type EDMD3.

However, according to the information in the SPR this has been fixed in October 2013 (during Creo 3.0 M010 development).

I don't know the mechanism by which the fixed version was supposed to be transfered and implemented into the installation by Zuken, but at least the fixed version should exist. Maybe they simply forgot to add the type EDMD3 when calling the converter?

Can you check, with which command line options bmb2idx.exe is called in background on the system?

[Marco_Tosin]

Gunther,

thanks once more for your patience and attention.

I could not agree more with you, but that's it.

Next monday we'll have a conference call with a German developer, for an integration project between Windchill and DS2, therefore, if you could give me a contact privately via email, I would provide it to this developer so as to arrive at a solution quickly.

If it's not possible, I would like to thank you again for your help.

Marco