KOMPAS-3D v23

You can read dimensions, leaders, geometric tolerances, hatches and multilines, present in imported file, as KOMPAS objects of the corresponding type or as macro-elements.

You can select the method of importing dimensions, leaders, geometric tolerances, hatches and multi-lines in the table on the Properties page. The AutoCAD column of this table, contains the objects, reading of which can be configurated. The KOMPAS column contains variants of objects that can be obtained as a result of reading. The Parameters column contains variants of read objects (available for dimensions, leaders and hatches).

To select an option, click in the corresponding cell in the KOMPAS column, expand the list and select the required row. The following options are available.

•Common — the AutoCAD object is converted into a similar KOMPAS-3D object if at all possible. To use this option, please select the KOMPAS-3D object matching the AutoCAD object. For example, for the AutoCAD leader, select the KOMPAS-3D leader.
Objects read in the usual way 'behave' the same as similar objects built in the KOMPAS document. You can edit and customize them in a standard way. For example, if you try to scale the leader, its branch length will change, while the landing length and arrow length will remain intact; double-click the leader to edit it.

•Macroelement — the AutoCAD object is converted into a KOMPAS macro-element consisting of several graphic objects (segments, fills, points, texts). During this process, all information about the object type is lost, that is, the macro-elements only "simulate" the corresponding objects of detailing. Scaling macro-elements will result in scaling all the objects inside them except for points and texts.

To select an option of importing dimension arrows or leaders, click the cell in the Parameters column, expand the list, and specify the required entry: Convert user arrows into macro-elements or Bring user arrows to system (for more details see section Notes on reading dimension arrows and leaders).

When importing hatches, the following options are available in the Parameters column:

•Use source borders — used by default. The hatch border is imported as the same outline as in the AutoCAD document.

•Optimize borders — this option is recommended if the results of importing a hatch with source borders were not satisfactory. When optimization is used, curves restricting the hatch are analyzed, and the software attempts to create a correct border of hatch, i.e. without breaks or overlapping contours. Reading with optimization may take longer than without optimization.

You cannot select any options in the Parameters column if the Macroelement method is selected for dimensions, leaders or hatches.

Notes on reading dimensions

There are two ways the dimensions are stored in DXF or DWG files: as a dimensional structure (coordinates of the leader lines, dimensional lines, text, etc.) or as a block of the dimension image (a set of segments, fills, points and texts). That is why there is another possible method to read the "dimension" object — it's called combined object. If you select this method, all the graphic primitives of the dimensions will be read from the dimensional structures of the DXF or DWG file; the texts will be imported from the dimension image blocks; the "dimension" object type is preserved.

There is another special factor to consider when reading dimensions.

When you create a drawing in AutoCAD, the dimension values may be generated automatically or entered manually. Also, both in AutoCAD and in KOMPAS-3D, you can configure the precision (number of decimal places) for automatically generated dimension values.

•If the dimension is read in a regular way, then in may be read as follows, depending on how the value was generated.

•An automatically calculated value is detected as the dimension value. In the dimension text entry table, this value will be displayed in the Value field. The dimension value is rounded according to the default precision of KOMPAS-3D. For example, let's say that an AutoCAD drawing contains a dimension with the automatically generated value 100,2857. Let's suppose that the AutoCAD is configured to display 3 decimal places while KOMPAS displays only 2 dimension places. In this case, the displayed dimension value in AutoCAD will be 100.286. If you import this dimension in a regular way, it will be displayed as 100.29 in KOMPAS-3D. An increase in precision of dimension texts in KOMPAS documents to 3 decimal places will result in the value displayed as 100.286, and an increase to 4 decimal places will result in the value of 100.2857.

•Any manually entered value is detected as "text before value". In the dimension text entry table, this value will be displayed in the Text before value field, while the Value field is empty. In this case the dimension precision in KOMPAS-3D do not affect the displayed value ; it is displayed exactly like in AutoCAD.

•If the dimension is read as a combined object, then regardless of the method used to form the dimension value, it is recognized by the KOMPAS-3D system as text preceding the dimension and is placed in the Text before value field. If you try to import dimension from the previous example as combined object, it will be displayed as 100.286.

•If the dimension is imported as a macro object, then the dimension text will be treated as a text row (it will look exactly like in AutoCAD) and it will be included into the macro-element.

Notes on reading dimension arrows and leaders

When importing dimensions and leader lines by usual way, the correspondence between AutoCAD arrowhead types (Arrowhead) and KOMPAS-3D arrowhead types is typically ensured as shown in the table below.

Matching arrow types

If a dimension or a leader uses an arrow type with no association, then the result of reading depends on the selection in the read settings (in the Parameters column):

•Reset user defined arrows to system-defined ones:
The dimension or leader is imported as the corresponding KOMPAS object with default arrow(s). The default arrow type is defined when setting the KOMPAS document leaders using the Arrow filter.

•Convert user arrows into macro-elements:
The dimension or leader is imported as the corresponding KOMPAS object without the arrow, while the arrow is converted into a macro-element and is appearance remains intact. The resulting objects are merged into a macro-element.