Unlimited interoperability: TopSolid’Cam can interface with all CAD software on the market

A subcontractor needs to be able to read the files transmitted by its customers, as simply as possible. However, in the context of a call for tenders, it is not uncommon to receive a part file in the format favored by the prime contractor, who does not care whether the subcontractor has the interface necessary to read it! Obviously, the ideal would be to be able to work without an interface. But that would require both the principal and the subcontractor to be equipped with the same software, TopSolid for example. As this is not always the case, and many contractors are equipped with expensive high-end solutions, it is therefore imperative to be able to recover data regardless of their origin or source. This is precisely what TopSolid’Cam allows you to do!

 

Machining: various origins and sources

TopSolid, Creo (ProE), NX (Siemens), Catia (Dassault), SolidWorks (Dassault)… A part or assembly may have been designed in different software. Also, the origin corresponds to the software issuing the document.

In parallel, it is necessary to take into account the source, that is to say the interface used to emit the file or the assembly to be machined. Two scenarios:

• Work directly with the issuer’s native format file . This requires having the “native” interface for reading compatible files available in your CAD/CAM software.
• Work with a non-native file. In this case, the transmitting software wrote the file in another “non-native” file format and exported the file via an export interface in the desired format. To be able to read this file with your CAD/CAM, the interface for reading the file in the received format (Step, Parasolid, x_t, dxf, dwg, etc.) must be available.

Given that interfaces are communication tools between contractors and subcontractors, if you use a poor-quality interface (or even if you don’t use one at all), you risk tainting your communication. . However, it is crucial for a subcontractor to have reliable interfaces, so as not to be limited in its relationship with the principals who could be its future customers.

3D XML, Autocad, Catia, FBX, OpenPackage, ParaSolid, Sketchup, SolidWorks… The TopSolid’Cam CAD/CAM software is able to interface with nearly 40 different interfaces, to allow you to manage all your clients’ files, both import and export, regardless of their source or origin.

Subcontractors & principals: the interest of favoring the most beneficial common interface for both parties

When non-native file export/import interfaces are used, two rewrites of the original file are necessarily performed. For example, a native Catia file can be transformed into a Step Ap242 file on export, before being transformed back into a TopSolid file on import.

Even if these interfaces are very tested, it happens that more or less serious errors of interpretation occur. To avoid this pitfall, TopSolid has developed dedicated tools to correct these errors. If these work quite well, it is however necessary to spend some time to correct translation errors before starting programming. To overcome this loss of time, it is preferable to opt for a common interface for both parties.. For each interface, TopSolid includes a native interface in read mode: if we take our example of a native Catia file, rather than rewriting it in two different formats, it is therefore preferable to directly use the native Catia interface in reading proposed in TopSolid. Such an approach brings benefits for both parties.

For the principal, there is no longer any need to export his file in intermediate format:

• Time saving : because it is no longer necessary to export with all the associated settings
• Saving space in data storage on disks , since the file no longer has to be saved twice (as when exporting a Word file to PDF)
• Limits the risk of writing errors when exporting the document, which also saves time

Moreover, for all these reasons, some contractors flatly refuse to use file export interfaces and oblige their subcontractors to work with native files.

The advantages for the subcontractor:

• Be sure to recover a file without errors (since native)
• Limit the risk of errors when reading since there is only one interface used; the one to read the file and convert it to TopSolid format.
• Benefit from more possibilities on the recovered data . The native interfaces indeed offer more possibilities, in particular on the data relating to the drilling and on the annotations.

PMI Recovery

If the exchanges of CAD data between the subcontractor and the principal are not done directly with TopSolid, it will then be necessary to favor native interfaces and finally standard / standardized interfaces.

As most of the subcontractors who use TopSolid’Cam are forced to recover data from another origin than that of TopSolid, to save them time with native interfaces, TopSolid offers the recovery of PMI (Product Manufacturing Information ).

In addition to annotations and surface states, with these native interfaces, TopSolid can also report all the drilling operations detected on the geometry.

This is truly a significant gain in programming , since all the technical data of the holes are transmitted to TopSolid’Cam (bored hole, tapped hole, etc.) in order to automate the programming.

And finally, if the interface used does not make it possible to retrieve the PMIs of the 3D model sent by the customer, there is a very powerful tool in TopSolid called FreeShape , which allows you to return the dimensions with average dimension tolerances (for the machining). In short, with TopSolid, you will never be stuck!