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Ellipses not rendered properly under DXF Export

MotorcycleWriterMotorcycleWriter Member Posts: 13
I've been working on another project (Gauge Holder) and found my exports were behaving strangely under some conditions. (Forum discussion is HERE.) The problem was not immediately apparent since the ellipses in this model look like circles. However, I have isolated the problem as an ellipse problem that can be seen in my model "DXF Test". It is a simple model with three holes. The leftmost is a circle made using the circle tool. The center hole is a circle made with the ellipse tool. The rightmost hole is an ellipse made with the ellipse tool. When I export this very simple model to a DXF and then upload it to Big Blue Saw, the left most ellipse is not rendered. It also does not appear in some external CAD programs. I haven't tested it for positive extrudes. Interestingly, the circle made by setting the major and minor axes of the ellipse equal using the ellipse tool renders fine.

I then took the extra step of loading the OnShape DXF file into LibreCAD then saving it as a DXF as suggested by tech support at BBS, and it also did not render when uploaded to their site.

This bug has been tested on Linux using FireFox and on a Mac using both Safari and FireFox and the behavior is the same for each.

I do have a workaround since the DWG files seem to be working okay. I have submitted a bug ticket specifically for this but thought others might want to be aware of the problem since some parts I ordered were not manufactured correctly as a result of this problem.

I have been quite impressed by OnShape tech support and forums, which both responded very quickly, as did tech support at Big Blue Saw. In fact, the support at both was so good that I'll continue to use them in spite of the set backs and confusion this bug caused.


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Comments

  • NeilCookeNeilCooke Moderator, Onshape Employees Posts: 5,310
    Hi @MotorcycleWriter - intermediate exchange protocols such as DXF are open to interpretation by each and every vendor who claims to "support" it. Just because another vendor does not import the file correctly does not mean that it is a bug in the exported file. If you export DXF from Onshape using the default options (release 2013) it will export an ellipse entity. If Big Blue Saw etc. do not support the ellipse entity then that is probably where the fault lies.

    To be safe, exporting to an older version of DXF will "guarantee" compatibility with more systems, as the ellipse will be exported as a polyline. Hope this helps.

    Senior Director, Technical Services, EMEAI
  • MotorcycleWriterMotorcycleWriter Member Posts: 13
    Just something to be aware of.
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