Defining Your Own Fastener Symbols

For specific needs, you can define new fastener symbols by using any graphics editors. For each symbol you create, you need to generate a BMP file and a SVG file. You can then assign these two 2D graphics to the process type by editing the FstStandard file.

This task shows you how to:

See Also
Fastener Symbols
Customization of the Fst_Standard File

Create the BMP File

You can create the BMP file that will be used for display in the Process Type field of fastener reference dialog boxes.

  1. Draw the image in your graphics editor. This image must be 22x22 pixels.
  2. Save the file.
    1. To ensure functionality, comply with this naming convention: Pick a number between 501 to 599. For example, enter I_FstSymbol_523.
    2. Add the BMP extension file.

Create the SVG File

You can create the SVG file that will be used for display in the 3D area.

Important: Users can see customized symbols in the 3D area, ifSymbol support assignment > Process Type is selected. For more information, see Fastener Technological Parameters.

Draw the image in your SVG editor. You can create a simple symbol with only one shape or a complex one with many shapes. Whatever your choice, this image must be 40x40 pixels.
  1. To create a symbol with complex shapes such as the example below, first define a primary shape and place it at the center of the SVG image. This shape will be indicative of the fastener diameter.
  2. Specify 10 pixels as the driving dimension of this primary shape.
  3. Draw the other shapes around the primary shape. We recommend to use 0.5 px as the line width for all the shapes.
  4. Keep the primary shape at the center to make the 3D symbol appear exactly at the fastener instance precise location.

    Example 1: the primary shape is a circle and the driving dimension is its diameter (10 pixels)

    Example 2: the primary shape is a square and the driving dimension is its diagonal (10 pixels)

  5. To ensure functionality, comply with this naming convention: Pick a number between 501 to 599. For example, enter I_FstSymbol_523.
  6. Add the SVG extension file.

SVG images are used to display symbols in the 3D area.