Is there a problem with export?

MotorcycleWriter

I have been using OnShape for several weeks now. I have exported several dxf and dwg files. Today (June 12, 2017) as I was duplicating my previous workflows the export function would not work. Same drawing. Same computer. Same network. Is 'export' down at the moment for some reason?

Jason_S

@MotorcycleWriter,

This is an issue with how Big Blue Saw reads in DXFs. The large circles are coming in fine in multiple 2D viewers, including non-Onshape ones, they come in fine to my multiple cutting programs I use when I export as Release 14 from Onshape. They probably don't support how circles, splines, and arcs are drawn in new versions of DXF.





R11-R12 is the more 'universally accepted' format. Every laser cutter, water jet, CNC i have ran had no issues with R11-R12 and When I upload a file exported with R11-R12 they read the file fine. There are many differences between different versions of DXFs. 


So just use these settings and you can continue to use DXFs with your manufacturer.

 

Thanks!

Jason


p.s.

Instead of copying and pasting, I would recommend the 'Use' command. then you retain the associativity to the other sketch entities. there are too many things that can go wrong, including misaligned holes when copy and pasting then manually making them interact with each other.

ilya_baran

We did do an update today, so while we've done extensive manual and automated testing, it is possible that something broke.  The best way to handle issues that appear to be genuine bugs in the product (as opposed to "I don't know how to do X" or "X didn't do what I expect", which are good things to post in the forum) is to raise a support ticket from the help menu.  That way we can take a look at your browser configuration, network, etc., and figure out the issue.

MotorcycleWriter

I might also mention that it rendered a file incorrectly and cost me over $100 when the parts arrived from the water jet cutter missing two MAJOR cuts. Useless. Worked fine the first time. Not so much the second time. Same file with a few minor changes, and not of the sketch components that appear extruded on the display but not at the water-jet cutter.

philip_thomas

@MotorcycleWriter - please open a support ticket and share the document with support. When we can see the data, we would love to learn what happened and are happy to share our findings with you - we take all production issues very seriously!

MotorcycleWriter

I filed a support ticket this morning then spent a little time trying to figure out what went wrong. I was able to export a .dxf using the Linux workstation at my place of work where I have found that the .dxf is not exporting properly. It is a simple planar drawing with some edges, some small circles, and two very slightly elliptical, larger circles with a single extrude. I'm not able to view a .dwg at my office desk but I can view a .dxf so I exported that (which worked on my Linux box but was NOT working on my Mac at home.) Viewing the .dxf I found that, for whatever reason, the two large elliptical circles are not rendered in the export, so didn't get cut in the parts I ordered from BigBlueSaw. Everything else looks great, and indeed, the production materials delivered yesterday looked great, but they were missing the large interior holes making them useless. I made a new circle on the drawing to see if that would extrude and export and it did. I thought about deleting and making new holes but decided not to change anything else to give you a chance to look at the document. I would file a support ticket but that isn't working on my Linux machine. The document is called "Gauge Holder" created by me, MotorcycleWriter. I'll try the support ticket from my Mac at home.

John

philip_thomas

Thank you John - I found the  public document - now i know who you are!
(we worked together previously regarding your sketch questions).

I exported the face of the part as DXF and reimported it so that i could compare it to the original.
Here is a link to the public document in which i did this.

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/031c32a282d0529814fcfa81/w/4bbf53129b317a72348a55cc/e/1325fe5864ee709f58eb643f The results were an exact match (as shown in this screenshot) I dont doubt that you are having problems, i just need a little help to reproduce the issue! As a first level sanity check - you are using a supported browser (chrome, firefox, safari) and that you exported a dxf file by RMB over the face of the part and selected 'export DXF/DWG' ???

MotorcycleWriter

Yes, I am using Firefox on the Linux box and Safari on my Mac. Try opening the exported DXF in an external program such as DIA or a different CAD package. I exported the file that you created via your export/import and opened it with an external package and it has the same problem; no large holes. They just aren't there. I'll try reworking the model so it'll work but I really don't think that's something I should have to do when the model appears to be fine.

nick_kania

@MotorcycleWriter
There is no difference in what you see between Onshape and a popular 2d cad software (First is Onshape and the second is the other program)

mthiesmeyer

Hi John,

I noticed another comment you had here. Is it possible that the failed export was actually an export of your frame and not an export of the 'merged' sketch?

Best,

Mike

NeilCooke

@MotorcycleWriter could it be that you are exporting the sketch (not the part face) to DXF? If the sketch is still visible it usually takes priority during selection. Hide all sketches then select the part face and try once more?

MotorcycleWriter

Thanks much for the comments and I'm checking them all as I move forward. I am exporting by right-clicking on the part face and choosing Export as "DXF/DWG", choosing DXF and naming the file. It is exporting to my "Downloads" directory on Linux Kubuntu. I hid all sketches as Neil suggested and exported as I described above. This is what I see in Onshape:

This is what I see in "DIA"

And this is what I see when I upload to BigBlueSaw

And this is what I see when I upload a DWG to BigBlueSaw

This is correct so I will use the DWG. I prefer DXF as they seem to be more widely used and I can 'see' them easier. I have nothing that will preview a DWG other than by uploading to BigBlueSaw. I consider this a workaround and not a true fix.

To generate this model I made two sketches, one with lines and one with circles, because the dimensioning was getting busy. I then combined the images by using "Copy Sketch" then "Paste Sketch Entities" and aligning the two manually with a reference mark on each sketch.

NeilCooke

@MotorcycleWriter best practice would be to create one sketch with the outside lines then extrude. Then create another sketch for the holes on the face of the part and extrude remove. That way there is no need to copy sketches (and now I know why you were possibly struggling with this) and the sketches are much more manageable. 

Jason_S

@MotorcycleWriter,

This is an issue with how Big Blue Saw reads in DXFs. The large circles are coming in fine in multiple 2D viewers, including non-Onshape ones, they come in fine to my multiple cutting programs I use when I export as Release 14 from Onshape. They probably don't support how circles, splines, and arcs are drawn in new versions of DXF.





R11-R12 is the more 'universally accepted' format. Every laser cutter, water jet, CNC i have ran had no issues with R11-R12 and When I upload a file exported with R11-R12 they read the file fine. There are many differences between different versions of DXFs. 


So just use these settings and you can continue to use DXFs with your manufacturer.

 

Thanks!

Jason


p.s.

Instead of copying and pasting, I would recommend the 'Use' command. then you retain the associativity to the other sketch entities. there are too many things that can go wrong, including misaligned holes when copy and pasting then manually making them interact with each other.

MotorcycleWriter

So, I studied everybody's comments and I really appreciate the help! Been super impressed with OnShape's forums and with the technical support. This evening was the first time I've had the opportunity to get back to my model and I reworked it using the suggestion that @NeilCooke made and it turned out a lot cleaner. This is my first introduction to CAD and I am finding OnShape to be very straightforward and easy to use, but I am going to have to learn a few things about workflow.

I have also noticed that the export feature is working again. So, I've re rendered my model and will be uploading it to BigBlueSaw again.

Thanks again for all the help! I've got more things I want to make and these new technologies are turning my imagination into things.

philip_thomas

@MotorcycleWriter - Thank you for your support.
We didn't change anything - it was always working

MotorcycleWriter

I've gone to FireFox.

scott_willis165

If there's an open download dialog in another browser window, if e.g. you were downloading something else and switched to OnShape, that will block the export download window from opening.

tony_459

MotorcycleWriter said:

I might also mention that it rendered a file incorrectly and cost me over $100 when the parts arrived from the water jet cutter missing two MAJOR cuts. Useless. Worked fine the first time. Not so much the second time. Same file with a few minor changes, and not of the sketch components that appear extruded on the display but not at the water-jet cutter.

Bummer!

I would spot-check my files before sending them off to the waterjet---or to the CNC or to the laser cutter or to the 3D printer.

If you're like me, you'll punch a hole or ten in your wallet trying to machine parts. Ha ha.

Then again, I'm not a machinist, but if something is clear to me, it's that if you blindly trust things will just work, then things will most decidedly not work ;-D