Brep vs Visrep Models

Brep vs Visrep Models

What are the advantages of Brep vs Visrep models, and how do you tell them apart? Brep Models Brep refers to Boundary Representation. As the name suggests, the boundary between solid and non-solid geometry is in view here, the solid geometry being a collection of interconnected surfaces. This is a mathematically precise representation of geometry. Depending on the format and the CAD software you have in your possession, the features and underlying sketches may be editable, or the shapes may be editable – but generally speaking, if you don’t have the CAD system used to create the file, you cannot edit the features or sketches unless you run a...
CAD Format Analysis

CAD Format Analysis

What CAD format, and what version, did that colleague just give you? Most of the time it’s clear what format it is, and most of the time the version doesn’t matter, BUT – sometimes it does. This is a repost from a few years back. It has turned out to be one of our most referenced resources, so here it is again! The following CAD Format Analysis cheat-sheet will allow you to open up CAD files in a text editor like Notepad or Notepad ++ to find out what format they truly are, and in some cases, which version. I’ve seen cases from some of our customers where CAD files had, for whatever reason, been given the wrong extensions; once we learn...
Do Your Translations Look Like This?

Do Your Translations Look Like This?

Do your translations look like this? If so, you’ve got problems! This is the actual result of a translation by a software solution we will not name here – but you can imagine how dismayed the user was when they saw this output! The user contacted us and we set them up with a copy of TransMagic to solve their problem right away. Different Types of Bad Translations Mis-translations can take many forms, from missing geometry (usually the most complex, organic geometry is missing, and prismatic geometry is retained), to missing details and PMI, to geometry that is there, though unusable; the screenshot above is simply the most outlandish and...
Calculate Edge Length

Calculate Edge Length

All core TransMagic products allow you to calculate mass properties (weight, volume, centriod), surface area, create a bounding box, measure and add dimensions – but have you ever needed to calculate the length of straight or curved edges? You might need to know edge length in order to estimate a particular machining operation, for example breaking edges. Getting that value is not intuitive, so we thought we’d show you how here. It’s basically a two-step process: Select Edges to Measure Select the edges you want to get the length of. As you can see in this first screenshot at right, we have a solid model that has had several edges selected...

Video Tutorials and Overviews

Many TransMagic users are not aware that there are helpful video tutorials and overviews available on the TransMagic site; here’s the rundown. All of these videos can be found at https://www.transmagic.com/support/video-tutorials/ Overview Videos TransMagic R12 What’s New Aerospace Validation and Certification Overview Basic TransMagic Video Tutorials Top 5 Tips for New TransMagic Users Quick Tips: Save As and Export Quick Tips: File Open and Import 7 Ways to Improve Your CAD Game Viewing & Quoting Video Tutorials Where’s My CAD Data, Part 1 Where’s My CAD Data, Part 2 Where’s My CAD Data, Part 3 Reorient Parts for Bounding...
Free Sample CAD Files

Free Sample CAD Files

Many TransMagic users are not aware that TransMagic comes with over 100 free sample CAD files (parts and assemblies) representing CAD systems such as CATIA, Creo, NX, SOLIDWORKS, Inventor and AutoCAD, as welll as Neutral formats like STEP and IGES, and file extensions of .model, .CATPart, .CATProduct, .prt, .dwg, .ipt, .iam, .sldprt, .sldasm, .stp, .igs, and more. These files can be useful for testing, comparisons with your own files, or for going through TransMagic tutorials. Testing your CAD or translation software If you are not able to open a STEP file in TransMagic, or in your CAD system, try opening one of our sample files as a test. If the sample file...