About the Generation of Drawings or Views from 3D

You can generate a drawing from a layout, or create a view from 3D directly from within a drawing. This lets you create classical drawings for production needs, enabling you to exchange strictly required data with third-parties without sharing the 3D model.

In this topic, you can learn more about what you need to know before you begin generating drawings from a layout, or creating views from 3D.

The following are discussed:

This page discusses:

Support of 3D Shapes

This subtopic discusses the support of 3D shapes when generating drawings or views from 3D.

You can generate a drawing (or a view from 3D) from the 2D layout representation of a 3D shape:



Projection views of the 3D shape are defined in the 2D Layout for 3D Design window:



The 3D shape is projected in the resulting drawing representation:



Support of Assemblies

This subtopic discusses the support of assemblies when generating drawings or views from 3D.

You can also generate a drawing (or a view from 3D) from the 2D layout representation of an assembly:



The 2D layout representation of the assembly and its context are shown in the 2D Layout for 3D Design window:



The 2D layout assembly is projected in the resulting drawing representation:



Note that only the 2D layout representations that are loaded in the current session can be projected. If part of an assembly is not loaded, then it is not projected in the drawing.

Miscellaneous Remarks Regarding the Generation of Drawings or Views from 3D

This subtopic discusses miscellaneous points about the generation of drawings or views from 3D.

The following subtopics are discussed:

Important: Before you begin generating drawing or views from 3D, you need to verify that your settings are appropriate. Go to Me > Preferences > App Preferences > 3D Modeling > Mechanical Systems > Drafting > View section, and:
  • make sure that Exact view is selected as the view generation mode under View Generation (other view generation modes - CGR, Approximate, and Raster - are not supported).
  • select the type of 3D representation that you want to project in the view from the 3D extracted representations list.
For more information, see View.

2D Components

  • 2D component references in layout detail sheets are not generated in drawings. Likewise, detail sheets are not taken into account during the generation.
  • 2D component instances are generated in drawing views. They are linked to their 2D component references located in the 2D Layout. Thus, changes on a 2D component reference are reflected in the generated 2D component instance, when this one is synchronized.
  • When a 2D component instance in the 2D layout has its own color applied, and when this color is different from white, the 2D component instance in the drawing view has the same color. In the other cases, black is specified on the 2D component instance (this is the default color for generated items).

Associativity and Update

The created drawing is associative to the layout, that is if you modify the layout, the drawing appears as not up to date and you can update it. For example, if you add or delete annotations, dimensions or dress-up, or if you add, delete, or modify the geometry, 3D shapes, or assemblies aggregated under an assembly layout.

There are exceptions:

  • If you modify the geometry (for example, change the coordinates) or graphic properties, the drawing does not appear as not up to date.
  • If you change the scale, position, or orientation of the layout view, has no effect when updating the drawing. This lets you overload the position, scale, or orientation of generated drawing views to add extra views to the drawing.

Update is active in the Update toolbar to indicate a drawing or a sheet that is not up to date and needs to be updated (this can be all views in the sheet or some of them only). Update symbols also appear in the tree to indicate drawings and sheets containing views that need to be updated.

  • You can update all views in the active sheet by clicking Update .
  • You can update all views in a given sheet (or in a selection of sheets), by selecting and right-clicking the sheets and then choosing Update Selection. You can also use the same method for a drawing: this updates all the sheets (and therefore all views) in the drawing.
  • You can update a selection of views by selecting and right-clicking the views you want to update and choosing Update Selection from the context menu. Only the items you select are updated.

Update symbols appears in the tree for the items that have not been updated, so you always know which items are up to date and which are not.

  • Any operation (for example, change the color, delete, move) performed on drafting items generated from a layout view content is lost after an update. However, you are not prevented from modifying these items.
  • Drawing generated from 2D Layout with the Activate 2D visualization mode option activated on a view has only the 2D planar elements that are in the same plane as this view. For more information, see Visualizing the 2D Elements.

Dimensions

  • Dimensions that are generated directly from the 3D are isolated. Such dimensions are displayed by default using the dark blue color when the Activate element's analysis option is selected in Display.
  • Generated Curvilinear and Chamfer dimensions cannot be manipulated and are seen as not-up-to-date.
  • Dimensions added to generated 2D geometry (in drawing views) are not associative. Such dimensions are displayed by default using the gray color when the Activate element's analysis option is selected in Display.

Geometry

  • Interactive geometry cannot be constrained to generated 2D geometry. Therefore, when adding interactive geometry, geometrical constraints are detected but not created, and constraint creation commands do not authorize the selection of generated 2D geometry.
  • Associative position and associative orientation do not work on generated 2D geometry and generated annotations (in drawing views). Therefore, selecting such items is impossible when creating annotations.
  • The generation of 2D geometry (wireframe and 2D points) is optional. You can specify whether you want to generate 2D geometry using the View from 3D > Generate 2D Geometry option available in View. (You can access this option from the view properties: right-click the view and select Properties > View from 3D > Generate 2D Geometry).

Show/No Show

  • Construction geometry and geometry that is placed in the No Show space, is not generated in drawing views.
  • Layout elements that are hidden are not generated: this avoids overloading drawing representations with elements in No Show space.

Standards

The standard used for the drawing must be compatible with the standard used for the layout (for example, JIS for the drawing and JIS_3D for the layout).

Views

  • Once created, the drawing views have the same type and the same name as their original views.
  • Only design views and isometric views can be generated from a layout to a drawing. Main views and background views cannot be generated. However their content is copied when creating a full drawing.
  • In Drafting, it is impossible to create clipping views from drawing views that have been generated from a 2D Layout for 3D Design view.

View Callouts

2D Layout callouts are represented similar to other annotations during the creation of a drawing view from a 2D Layout view.

  • The callouts are isolated (there is no link with any 2D Layout or generated view).
  • Callout texts are isolated. That is even if the name of the generated view is changed, the callout texts do not reflect this change.
  • The generated callout is deleted and recreated at every view update.
  • Invalid callouts are systematically generated since they are present in the layout.

Generation of Drawings or Views from 3D Using Generative View Styles (GVS)

You can generate a drawing view from a 2D Layout for 3D Design view that uses a generative view style. In this case, the generative view style is entirely managed in the 2D Layout for 3D Design view and layout.

  • If the 2D Layout for 3D Design view is associated with the GVS, the generated view also has the same GVS. However, you cannot modify or delete the associated generative view style.
  • Views extracted from a layout with embedded generative view styles turn to not-up-to-date in the following cases:
    • When an embedded generative view style is either synchronized with its corresponding XML file, added to the layout or removed from the layout.
    • When a generative view style is applied to, or removed from, any view in the layout.

Integration with 3D Tolerancing & Annotation

This subtopic provides information about the integration with 3D Tolerancing & Annotation.

The following subtopics are discussed:

Object Generated in 2D Layout Views Created from 3D Tolerancing & Annotation

In the case of 2D layout views created from 3D Tolerancing & Annotation, the following 3D Tolerancing & Annotation objects are generated from the 2D Layout for 3D Design in a drawing or view from 3D:

  • Text with Leader
  • Text
  • Text Parallel to Screen
  • Flag Note with Leader
  • Flag Note
  • Datum Element
  • Datum Target
  • Geometrical Tolerance
  • Constructed Geometry
  • Roughness
  • Framed (Basic) dimension
  • Dimension
  • Cumulated Dimension
  • Stacked Dimension
  • Coordinate Dimension
  • Curvilinear Dimension
  • Note Object Attributes

The following objects are visualized in 2DL views background, but not generated in a drawing or view from 3D:

  • View Frame
  • Capture Callout
  • Restricted Area
  • Deviation
  • Correlated Deviation
  • Distance Between Two Points

Note Object Attributes (NOA)

The Note Object Attributes (NOA) from 2D components behave like generated 2D instances.

  • When the orientation of the Note Object Attribute from 2D component is modified, the text orientation follows the text orientation reference specified in the 2D component reference.

  • In 3D Tolerancing & Annotation, this attribute has no impact on annotations since the notion of sheet does not exist. The texts contained in Note Object Attribute from the 2D component always follow the NOA orientation. So it is important to specify the orientation reference of texts contained in the 2D component to View/2D component option in Text Properties section (Right-click the view, select Properties) whenever the texts orientation needs to follow the NOA orientation.



3D Tolerancing & Annotation Annotations: General Information

3D Tolerancing & Annotation annotations are generated only if they satisfy the following conditions:

  • Belong to the same 3D shape as the one containing the 2D layout view that is generated. A drawing view generated from a 2DL view never extracts the context in which it is edited.

  • Belong to a 3D Tolerancing & Annotation view whose normal equal to the extraction plane normal (same direction and same orientation) are generated. Even if the annotations are visible in layout, they are not extracted if the plane of extraction is not parallel.

  • Annotations that are not in No show space at generation or update are generated.

  • Annotations that are not hidden by a filter applied to the 2DL view are generated.

3D Tolerancing & Annotation Annotations: Specific Information

  • Annotations generated from 3D are isolated.
  • Red crosses are not displayed when generating 3D Tolerancing & Annotation annotations from a 2DL view.
  • The annotations are not adjusted when pointing at a partially hidden geometry. In such a case, 3D Tolerancing & Annotation tries to move annotations extremity to visible 3D shape.

  • The Mirroring property for the annotations is specified to No flip so the representation is the same as visualized in 2D Layout.

    By default, the orientation of the 3D Tolerancing & Annotation texts is not the same as the drawing texts. The Mirroring property, when specified to Auto flip (default behavior), allows drawing texts to be always readable from left to right whatever their orientation maybe.

Dress-Up Elements

The 3D specification is interpreted to create equivalent dress-up elements.

For example, a Cone Axis can be exported to a drawing as an Axis Line. The created dress-up elements inherit properties from the Generative View Style definition when specified or from Drafting Styles otherwise.

Constructed Geometry

  • Axis line, centerline, and thread objects can be generated if the corresponding options are selected through Me > Preferences > App Preferences > 3D Modeling > Mechanical Systems > Drafting > View.
  • Constructed geometry is generated only if they belong to suitable planes. For example, it is possible to generate a circle in a view that is parallel to the plane containing the circle or in a view that is normal to the plane containing the circle. In the first case, the circle is exported as a centerline (circular shape); in the second case, it is exported as an axis (linear shape).

    • They are not generated if they are in No Show space.

    • They are not generated if they are declared as invisible in a Mask filter or in an Equivalent filter or not declared in Display Filter.

    The table below lists 3D Tolerancing & Annotation constructed geometry and their equivalent dress-up elements:

    Constructed geometry Parallel to view plane Perpendicular to view plane Neither perpendicular nor parallel to view plane

    Point

    Created

    Created

    Created

    Line

    Created

    Created

    Not created

    Circle

    Created

    Created

    Not created

    Plane

    Not created Created

    Not created

    Cylinder (axis)

    Not created Created

    Not created

    Thread (axis)

    Not created Created

    Not created
  • When a 2D layout view has a clipping frame, the elements in the background can be hidden. 3D Tolerancing & Annotation annotations and constructed geometry that are out of the visible area of the background are not generated.

    The annotations that have one or more characteristic points inside the clipping frame of the view, are generated.

    The table below lists the characteristic point for each generated 3D Tolerancing & Annotation annotations and constructed geometry:

    Geometry Characteristic Point Description

    Center



    One point at center

    Line



    Two Points on each extremity

    Circle



    One point at center

    Annotation



    4 point on each corner of the annotation bounding box without taking into account the leader

    Note: Annotations cannot be partially clipped.