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+--- Thread: Importing protocol from CATIA,Solidworks or AutoCAD (/thread-21174.html)
Importing protocol from CATIA,Solidworks or AutoCAD - Elijah - 2016-03-16
Hello,
I am a newbie who would like to import my design from CATIA. Can anyone please provide the necessary steams such that i get a ready part for assembly in LeoCAD. Also is there any way for me to import the .DAT file into CATIA for assembly?
Re: Importing protocol from CATIA,Solidworks or AutoCAD - Damien Roux - 2016-03-16
From CATIA to ldraw :
Save you CATIA part to STLl and use stl2dat to get a DAT part.
Be aware that such part will not be ldraw standards compatible and will need to be reworked. If it is only for you own use, then it would be fine.
From ldraw to CATIA :
Use ldview to save you DAT part to STL, import you STL file into CATIA. Then you will need to rework the mesh, close holes and you should be able to solidify it to get a CATIA part.
RE: Importing protocol from CATIA,Solidworks or AutoCAD - snakegreenich - 2025-09-06
(2016-03-16, 7:14)Damien Roux Wrote: From CATIA to ldraw :
Save you CATIA part to STLl and use stl2dat to get a DAT part.
Be aware that such part will not be ldraw standards compatible and will need to be reworked. If it is only for you own use, then it would be fine.
From ldraw to CATIA :
Use ldview to save you DAT part to STL, import you STL file into CATIA. Then you will need to rework the mesh, close holes and you should be able to solidify it to get a CATIA part.
Or maybe there is a detailed tutorial somewhere on how to make a complete part from A to Z? I'm doing 3D scanning and modeling at NX. I made a copy of the part that was missing from the kit, uploaded it to Part Designer, exported it to Studio 2.0, but something went wrong with the proportions and bindings. Although when I printed out the part I modeled, it fell into place perfectly.
RE: Importing protocol from CATIA,Solidworks or AutoCAD - Willy Tschager - 2025-09-06
(2025-09-06, 14:32)snakegreenich Wrote: Or maybe there is a detailed tutorial somewhere on how to make a complete part from A to Z? I'm doing 3D scanning and modeling at NX. I made a copy of the part that was missing from the kit, uploaded it to Part Designer, exported it to Studio 2.0, but something went wrong with the proportions and bindings. Although when I printed out the part I modeled, it fell into place perfectly.
No, but some modelling tips:
http://marc.klein.free.fr/lego/parts/modelise.html
What is not mentioned: Model in LDU not mm or inch.
w.
RE: Importing protocol from CATIA,Solidworks or AutoCAD - Chris Böhnke - 2025-09-06
Export from your to .obj works as well.
1) CAD -> obj
2) obj (via Bricklink Studio's Part Designer) -> dat
3) cleanup .dat for use in LDraw
As Willy mentioned above, it is advisable to already model in LDU, otherwise you would need to re-scale.
EDIT:
Assuming your model is in millimeters that takes a scaling factor of 250% when importing to Studio.
RE: Importing protocol from CATIA,Solidworks or AutoCAD - Hageta - 2025-09-07
You can use my tool Convert To LDraw to convert various 3D file formats to an LDraw Part.
It can convert stl, obj, step, 3mf and more. It also supports colours and multipart models (to a certain degree).
RE: Importing protocol from CATIA,Solidworks or AutoCAD - Hageta - 2025-09-07
(2016-03-16, 7:14)Damien Roux Wrote: From CATIA to ldraw :Does stl2dat actually adjust the rotation of a model to the LDraw Coordinate system without specifying a transformation matrix?
Save you CATIA part to STLl and use stl2dat to get a DAT part.
Be aware that such part will not be ldraw standards compatible and will need to be reworked. If it is only for you own use, then it would be fine.
From ldraw to CATIA :
Use ldview to save you DAT part to STL, import you STL file into CATIA. Then you will need to rework the mesh, close holes and you should be able to solidify it to get a CATIA part.
I know that the python script with the same name does not do that.