Parts are generally components that have been constructed or drawn using AutoCAD DRAW commands. Once parts are designed and drawn with AutoCAD, SavePart command can be used to save the parts under the part directory as specified in Sysdata.
Within the AutoCAD drawing session where the parts to be nested had already been drawn, select the SavePart command either from the AutoNEST pulldown or icon menu. The following prompts will appear sequentially at the command prompt:
Save Part :
Part Name <> :
Require to save holes in Part? (Y/N) <Y> :
Insertion Pt :
Select objects :
Part Name <> :
This is to prompt for the name of the new part. (max. no. of characters - 31, SPACE is not accepted)
File already exists. OK to overwrite? (Y/N): <N>
This prompt will be displayed if the entered part name already exists.
Require to save holes in Part? (Y/N) <Y>:
This will enable the SavePart command to save internal profiles of a part as holes, which may be used to nest other parts.
Insertion Pt:
This is the pick-up point of the part as well as the location for label or tag of the part. Insertion point is recommended to be one of the vertices of the part or within the geometry of the part. AutoCAD object-snap modes under the OSNAP command, such as Endp or Midp are allowed.
Select Objects:
The Entity Select modes of AutoCAD are applicable here. You can type W (Window), C (Crossing), R (Remove) or simply pick the required entities to be saved as part.
If W (Window) is entered at this stage, a dynamic window will be formed to enclose the relevant geometry of the part. All the entities within the window will be saved as an AutoNEST part.
SavePart Essentials:
a) . VEC , . DWG, and . DXF files are created, where :
• | VEC is a text file which record geometric information for a part, such as x, y coordinates of vertices, bulge values for arcs, center point, coordinates and radius for circles. |
• | DWG is the drawing file generated by AutoCAD when a part is saved as a Block/WBlock. This is to keep a true copy of the part geometry submitted to AutoNEST. |
• | DXF is a Drawing Interchange File format to assist in interchanging drawings between AutoCAD and other programs. |
b) | Text and Dimensions are filtered out in the .VEC file but are retained in the .DWG and .DXF files for final presentation. |
c) | Markings : If the Part has markings, make sure you set the ‘Layer Name’ & ‘Color’ filters of the parts so that SavePart is able to differentiate the part profiles from the markings. You define the layer names and colors in Sysdata “Input Part /IR-Stock – Layer Setting”. |
Conditions for Part Profile
Acceptable |
Unacceptable |
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