can anyone change this excel file into a cad file?

[knight_toolworks]

I know autocad can do it. they are just simple rectangles but there are over 200 of them and it would be a nightmare to draw them up. if anyone can do it it would make life so much easier.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1939753/CBC_ChurchPanelSeasonalDecor.xls

[Gary Campbell]

Steve...
If you dont get a reply, try Ryan P. at ShopBot. His Nester (guided by him) works some real wizardry. Nesting 200 rectangles is what his app is made for.

[knight_toolworks]

gt to get them into cad first. that's the main issue. nesting is easy but drawing them would be a nightmare.

[Ryan Patterson]

Steve,
ParaNest will do this, the download is found on this page http://www.cabinetpartspro.com/OtherProducts.aspx. You can import a list of parts from a csv file then ParaNest will nest and produce a dxf file for each nested sheet. You could also use the VB script feature to add to the drawings. For example if you needed to have a hole on every part 1" in on all corners or a offset rectangle this can automaticly be done through VB Script. If you have any questions you can email them to info@cabinetpartspro.com

Ryan Patterson
info@cabinetpartspro.com
www.cabinetpartspro.com (http://www.cabinetpartspro.com)

I have attached a csv file that will import into ParaNest

[bcondon]

Ryan,I have a rudder profile (Nada014) and it is 300 points. Will PartsNestread in a csv, create a dxf and just leave points because then I could put a spline through the points to calculate the tool path?ThanksBob Condon

[knight_toolworks]

I will get the customer to buy the software for me. it will cost less then drawing it all up.

[Ryan Patterson]

Bob,
Can you email me a sample of your CSV file. It may be possible.

[dana_swift]

I can do that easily, for a fee. Put each rectangle into its own layer with the layer name being the rectangle number and perhaps the seasonal info if you like.

If you are interested send me a private message-

D

[dana_swift]

Here is an example of what importing it looks like. I created a DXF then brought that into Aspire to check that everything works. Then I paneled it onto 23 sheets of 48x96 stock. Each panel is labeled with its number and seasonal info. That part could be left out when you toolpath it.

Thats what my program does-

D

[Ryan Patterson]

Steve,
You had posted when I was posting to Bob and did not see your post.
I do not want to talk you out of buying but the demo version will allow you to use it 25 times. Unless you have other projects like this you can just use it in demo mode. When I imported the csv file with a part spacing of ½” it used 21 sheets.

[knight_toolworks]

I got 19 sheets as I was using a smaller bit. it worked well though I got a error message I think related to the font. I will get them to pay for it telling them it costs less then drawing it up manually.
I may cut the numbers into the plans but I need to ask the customer first.
I don't usually do such work though but it could be handy to have the program.

[bill.young]

Don't think this will help Steve, but for Bob's application Rhino has an import option for "Points" that will read multiple text formats including .csv, .asc, .txt, and .xyz.

If you don't use Rhino already there's a free demo version that is full featured but limited to 25 saves...enough to see if it works for you. http://www.rhino3d.com/

Bill

[AWillette]

Steve:

Let me know if you still need those shapes drawn. I do a fair share of scripting work in Rhino and could bump that out easy if there's a need.

Aaron

[bcondon]

Ryan,

This csv file contains a spline or foil shape that holds the z = 0
and varies x and y.

Essentially, if we can load this in, I can run a tool path over it, to get the toolpath calculation and then hand code for the foil...

CONVERT .txt extension to CSV
=========
Do you recommend Rhino if we are going to use surfaces?

Thanks Ryan
Bob Condon

[bill.young]

Bob,

The Evaluation version of Rhino opens that file as a txt file without any conversion steps, and can also create a curve through the points if you want. Here are some screenshots of the nose section.

[knight_toolworks]

thanks for all the help. I have not heard from the customer yet.
not sure if I want to get involved in rino.

[mims]

hey Bob, as an aside, I made a Grasshopper definition (kind of like a script) for Rhino's free Grasshopper plugin that creates NACA 00xx profile curves with sliding inputs to adjust chord length and NACA number.

go here to download: http://www.mimsworks.com/sw/

[AWillette]

Steve (or anyone else interested):

Here's a download link (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5987034/CBC_Panels.zip).

Included in the zip you'll find a couple files:

- the XLS file I used to generate the CAD drawing. I just copy/pasted your numbers into a separate worksheet in the same file to remove the unwanted text & convert to decimal inches.

- the Rhino file (.3dm) that has the drawn panels along with identifiers showing their ID number and dimensions (#:H,W). I didn't include the Fall/Winter information because I wasn't sure if it was needed and opted to keep things simple.

- the ACAD file (.dwg) that I exported from Rhino. I don't have ACAD to test the file and I'm not sure if the textdots will transfer over. In case they don't they're organized from 1-222 (or whatever the number was), left-to-right. I can quickly change the code to add the text if needed, just let me know.

- the Rhinoscript file (.rvb) that can be used in Rhino for the same thing if you ever run into it again. Its quickly thrown together do I didn't include any error checking on most of it. Just make sure the simplified worksheet is the active worksheet in Excel and you're good to go.

Let me know if you have any problems with the file. I spot-checked the dimensions and didn't find any errors.

UPDATE:
Checked the ACAD file at work and the textdots didn't translate, so I've update the Rhinoscript to allow one to pick if they want text, textdots, or both. It also groups everything so that you can nest the text with the rectangle. There's a second DWG file in the zip (CBC_Panels_ACAD_v2) that has the plain text labels and proper grouping.

[cabnet636]

ryan the new site looks excellent!!