Named Surfaces

BStump

I need a way to name surfaces or use the surface metadata ID to share with an external CFD application when exporting parasolid models.  Is this possible?

MichaelPascoe

Yes. You can do this with FeatureScript:

See this example: Setting & getting face property

setProperty(context, {
     "entities" : definition.face,
     "propertyType" : PropertyType.NAME,
     "value" : DebugColor[toString(definition.color)]
     });

In case you ever need something similar, setAttribute() works very well. Though it is only for Onshape to Onshape, it will not stay with the part during export.

BStump

But can you rename a face, and in doing so can you export the name in the parasolid file?

MichaelPascoe

Definitely. See the import tab, it shows that the face that was named in the original tab, stayed with the parasolid part even after download and re-upload. 

BStump

I does look like this is possible.  We will be testing some OnShape Parasolid files tomorrow in the high-end CFD to see if the named surfaces show up.

Jed_Yeiser

Hey there - this thread seemed like the closest 'match' to the issue I'm having. If anyone can share some light on what I'm doing incorrectly, I'd appreciate it!

I'm working on a FS that sets up a number of planes (as well as moves some solid bodies around) to act as trimming geometry further down the model tree. The number of planes created depends on user input, though each plane should have a unique name that is assigned in the FS. In other words, if the user selections lead logic to create a given plane, it should always be called 'Special Name Plane'. 

I'm creating the planes with opPlane calls and setting the name with setProperty calls:

opPlane(context, id + "FCP3DPlane", {

                "plane" : plane(fcp3DLine.origin, fcp3DLine.direction),

                "width" : 100*millimeter,

                "height" : 100*millimeter

        });

        

    

        setProperty(context, {

                "entities" : qCreatedBy(id + "FCP3DPlane", EntityType.FACE),

                "propertyType" : PropertyType.NAME,

                "value" : "3D FCP Plane"

        });

however, the planes that show up in the feature tree are simply called 'Plane #'.  Basically - the setProperty call does not seem to be working. 

What am I missing here?

Thanks!

NeilCooke

@Jed_Yeiser setProperty is for properties of a part. It's not possible to name planes through FS, Can you create an improvement request in the category on the right ==> ?

MichaelPascoe

@Jed_Yeiser, SetAttribute() may be of use to you. Then you could check all previous planes for their "names" via attributes, then create your new one based on the previous "names".

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/bdc2ba2f0442948f980c2dbd/w/b8075d373e20aaa5f1c34512/e/6f7a8...

Jed_Yeiser

Thanks, @MichaelPascoe! I'll play around with the FS you provided and dig into the docs to further my understanding between Properties and Attributes. I've also submitted an IR per @NeilCooke's suggestion. Because FS (... and OS, for that matter) is pretty new to me, I've been playing around with some code that lets me create similar reference geometry as a surface, plane and mate connector. I'm able to name the Surfaces, but not the planes or mate connectors - I'm guessing this is because a mate connector isn't a part, so setProperty won't work. I've found one forum where a user suggests using setProperty to name a mate connector, but found no examples of it actually working. 

I suspect that as I become more familiar with OS and FS, I'll get to the point where I find a better way to accomplish what I want - until then, it's off to the docs. Thanks!

MichaelPascoe

@Jed_Yeiser legit. Feel free to post on the forums, lots of helpful people here. It's where I learned FS. There are some really neat things you can do using FS and or the API, the possibilities are almost endless depending on your knowledge and time you are willing to spend setting up.