Allow initial placement of dxf

[dhermosillo]

Currently, the only way to get Creo Schematic graphics into Creo Parametric is to export them as a .dxf.

However, when importing .dxf files they are always placed in the lower left corner of the format, and often overlap other geometry, tables, etc.  And, once it is imported, it cannot be selected as a whole again since it is converted into text, sketches, hatches, etc.  This makes it very difficult to select everything for changing colors, moving, scaling, etc.

It would be nice to place it outside of the drawing area to facilitate editing and then move it into place. (which also brings up how awful Creo's drafting tools are)

PTC please allow the initial placement of dxf somewhere other than the default.

Also, fix your abysmal drafting tools.

[mender]

As a workaround (noting that the proposed 'place with translation/offset' would be an better/quicker UI), add a sheet to your drawing, import the DXF to this sheet, Sketch>Translate, use box selection for picking everything, move it off format, then move them to the desired sheet.  Clumsy, but better than untangling them when they overlap other items.

[dhermosillo]

Ah, that is a good workaround.  Thanks. 🙂

[BillF]

We quit importing flat graphics from schematics into ProE over a decade ago.  They were being done with different software, not a PTC product.

As you point out, DXF trashes much of the original information and a lot of effort was needed to clean it up.  Because of the clean up required, people were doing "minor" changes to the schematic in the finished ProE drawing and the source file for the design could no longer be trusted to include all the changes.

I pushed for the creation of the appropriate drawing borders and title blocks to be created in the schematics software so that a PDF could be created without going through a DXF conversion and saved in Windchill for retrieval of the accurate image and the source files.

Now that we are working with Schematics, the first thing was to create the appropriate page formats so that the sheets can stand on their own.  We are in the process of setting up a system where a harness diagram (different part number) has a link that automaticly brings up the pages from the schematic that include its information.

[dhermosillo]

What software are you using to export your schematics?

[BillF]

We generate PDF files of the schematics using the built in tools.  The PDFs become part of the package for our vendors.

I am not sure how our tech pubs people turn them into the graphics for their manuals (they use Illustrate) but we don't use any DXF transfers because of how poor they become.