Hello, everyone,
because I am not a computer programmer but rather a mechanical engineer, I turn to the more knowledgeable people of this issue. My question is:
Is it now possible to create a script that can create a DXF file of a unfolded shape of a sheet metal part (or even a normal part - for example a flange, a strip)? Something similar to what Alibre Design Expert has shown in the example export scripts for STEP, STL etc.
I'm now using AHK (I've also used a template script here from the forum - many thanks to the author and commenters), but it's not always completely reliable for me. Function is random (for example, 10 times it works great and 3 times it doesn't work as expected). The problem is when I run the script again without modifying it, if it didn't work 2 times before it works the third time (even for the exact same component). I've tried extending pauses, using different precision click functions, but I never achieved the function completely without problems. Although I always still check the files but sometimes it is really time consuming (with a large number of files) and exhausting. And mostly I'm frustrated with the random reliability.
I would like it if this ran directly in Alibre. I think it would be more reliable as well.
The condition is that it has to work on sheet metal parts as well. The export doesn't have to be in a group like Alibre has in the example scripts, but can easily be one part at a time that is currently open.
Is this realistic according to you more experienced in programming? Should I try to do it somehow, or is it more of a waste of time now in your opinion?
However, I'm afraid that even if this solution is realistic, it would be very time consuming for a non-computer programmer.
Thank you very much for any answer.
because I am not a computer programmer but rather a mechanical engineer, I turn to the more knowledgeable people of this issue. My question is:
Is it now possible to create a script that can create a DXF file of a unfolded shape of a sheet metal part (or even a normal part - for example a flange, a strip)? Something similar to what Alibre Design Expert has shown in the example export scripts for STEP, STL etc.
I'm now using AHK (I've also used a template script here from the forum - many thanks to the author and commenters), but it's not always completely reliable for me. Function is random (for example, 10 times it works great and 3 times it doesn't work as expected). The problem is when I run the script again without modifying it, if it didn't work 2 times before it works the third time (even for the exact same component). I've tried extending pauses, using different precision click functions, but I never achieved the function completely without problems. Although I always still check the files but sometimes it is really time consuming (with a large number of files) and exhausting. And mostly I'm frustrated with the random reliability.
I would like it if this ran directly in Alibre. I think it would be more reliable as well.
The condition is that it has to work on sheet metal parts as well. The export doesn't have to be in a group like Alibre has in the example scripts, but can easily be one part at a time that is currently open.
Is this realistic according to you more experienced in programming? Should I try to do it somehow, or is it more of a waste of time now in your opinion?
However, I'm afraid that even if this solution is realistic, it would be very time consuming for a non-computer programmer.
Thank you very much for any answer.
