Create a .BDL file out of .MI and .STP file with referenced 2D views?

[mnmcad]

Hello,

I know that my following query may not have a solution and I may be stuck doing everything over again. However, I am hoping some of you might have some insight on any tricks I can use to make my life easier.

What I am Trying to do:

I have .mi files that are finished and ready to be sent to a manufacturer. However, I want to attach the corresponding 3D part to the .mi file so that an external person can reference the 3D geometry of the part without opening another file.

This essentially makes it function like a .BDL file where in one file I can access the part and the annotated drawing.

(Originally was only going to send .mi files...looking back I should have just saved everything as a .bdl file, but I no longer can)

Questions:

1) Is this possible? Can I import the corresponding part to the opened .mi file, have it sync up so that the 2D views correspond with a 3D view and save it as a BDL file?

2) If so, how do I sync up the 2D views with the 3D ones? i.e How do I re-reference the views without messing everything up?

3) Is this even worth it? Should I just send the .bdl without the sync up?

What I have tried:

I opened the .stp file and then imported the .mi file. I am able to save as a .bdl but the .mi 2D views are not linked to the 3D views. As of right now, I can't re-reference the views, only create new ones that are linked to the 3D geometry.

Thanks in advance for any advice you might be able to send my way!

M

[MaxR.Kublin]

Creating a drawing that is associated to a 3D model can only be done as follows:

- Create 3D Model in Modeling (=SolidDesigner) - importing a STEP file is one way to create the 3D model

- Create a drawing in Annotation, add views

- This will add a so called viewset to the 3D Model

Basically, the 2D Drawing is generated from the 3D (master) model, and the 3D model contains

data (viewset with views etc.) which are used to update the 2D drawing when the 3D Model changes.

In STEP data of a 3D model, you do not have any information that is needed to associate the drawing.
A BDL is just a ZIP-Archive containing a 3D model and a 2D Drawing, but the 3D model and 2D drawing

a associated via data structures inside the 3D file and the 2D file.

Regards, Max - one of the architects of SolidDesigner and Annotation

[ThomasKirkman · Accepted solution]

I have had a couple situations over the years where I lost the connection between the drawing and the 3d model.  I did not want to have to redo the drawings with all of the notes and annotations.

So what I did was create a new drawing from the model with the exact same views but no annotation.

Using the migration tool, I detached the views from the model.

Loaded the original drawing and using migration tools attached the each view to the viewset.

I had to fix a couple of dimensions, but this technique saved me hours of work

Best

Tom

[mnmcad]

Thank you for helping me save time!