Unable to open .ai files in Part Wizard.

[luke]

I am trying to open a file in Part Wizard 2 but I receive the error, “EPS/AI file does not have a valid header.” Initially, I thought it was the file but I found the same was true with Vector Art 2. I can open the .eps vectors but not the .ai. Any suggestions?

[knedert]

Hi Luke,
I had the same problem.

http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/messages/31/10032.html

This forum is great! Utilize the SEARCH function to get all sorts of info. I used EPS/AI to find the above thread for you.
If you need any more info, or help....
ww,
Rose

[paco]

If you're OK with the EPS, why do you want the AI?... aren't they the same design?

As for getting AI into PW, you'll have to find the right software (or the right way) to "process" 'em (re-save/export)... do you have any other CAD software? Normally, PW can open both type... with reserved...

[luke]

I utilize the search functions extensively.
I only have the file as a AI, so I can't resave/export until I can open it. When I attempt to open the file in Rhino I get, Error reading file, Expected dictionary. I can open the file in VCarve Wizard but I can only save it as a crv and Parts Wizard doesn't recognize the extension.

[paco]

Congratulations to you both for the search feature use!

Luke, you either need another software... or a friend that will help you! ;-) Just pick the one you prefer around here...

[luke]

Thank you Paco for your congrats. You have brought sunshine to an otherwise cloudy day.
I totally agree with Rose. The forum is organized exceptionally well and novice users such as myself have benefited greatly.
I have grown very curious about this problem.
I incorrectly assumed that the AI file was based on a Codec Standard so all programs could use them. (I made the same mistake when I tried to edit some home videos within Pinnicle.)
You say I need another program to open the AI file. Is there a way to find the program that created this file without the hit and miss? There must be hundreds of programs that can create an AI file.

[paco]

There sure a bunch.

I believe there are no such things as "standard" AI, EPS, DWG, DXF and so on for many file formats.

If Rhino haven't been able to open or import it, then you might want to give a try to COREL. If you prefer to look at free stuff first, you can try Inkscape (not sure it handle AI) and Open Office's DRAW application.

Out of curiosity, what do you want PW to do that V Carve Wizard cannot; I'm assuming that you have VCW from your previous post... but maybe you're looking to do more than just toolpathing (working on the design)... right? Until the next VCW release (!), you might want to temporarily use the previous suggestions... you could send a request to SB and ArtCAM for 'em to update the import filters too... or let us know if we can help you with this current file.

[luke]

When I opened the file in VCW I notice it had some unconnected and poorly overlapped lines so I need to make some minor edits before carving. My friend who gave me this file doesn't know the author. It is his son's baseball team logo. I will check out Inkscape and Open Office. Thank you for the help.


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[jay_p]

Luke,

You might try opening it in Illustrator. Illustrator is commonly used by graphic designers. Then you might be able to edit and re-save as an .eps. Save it back as an older version (6? or maybe 8?) of Illustrator when you re-save it.

Jay

[drodda]

Illustrator will export it as a DXF and then you can import this into PW2 or many other choices for cutting. If you don't have illustrator shoot me an email and I can send it back in the format that you need.

[luke]

Thank you Dave. Email sent.

[luke]

Dave, thank you very much for your help. The file opened in parts wizards. I hope to have results to post soon.

[drodda]

once again this was a case of a file saved in a newer version of illustrator and like most new softwares it won't import into PW2. Why is it that other software developers (should read as non-artcam) can update the compatibilty of new versions of supported software types but these programs don't even support the last three versions of Autocad or illustrator. These are by no way small software companies that should slip through the cracks. They claim that PW2 is a free software so it is not as quick to update. I argue that I paid over $15,000.00 for PW2 and it should be updated to keep up with technoligy. Without it I have no way to make a cutting file for the machine they sold me that supposedly works with these file types. Get rid of the asticks and just fix the importer. It can't be that hard? You want ideas on new features? How about fixing the existing ones first.

Just my .02 cents

I will climb down from my soap box now. Glad to hear that I could help Luke.

[jeffreymcgrew]

Dave, for what it's worth, and while I'm not defending any of the software companies here with falling behind in compatibility, there's a whole lotta issues with the latest versions of Illustrator and AutoCAD you might not be aware of.

Illustrator CS2 has a whole host of problems in saving down to old versions of Illustrator alone, let alone other applications. I've found that saving as Illustrator 8 EPS files out of CS2 works the best for me. But from what I'm hearing, Adobe's having a hard time getting their own products to talk to each other perfectly...

And as for AutoCAD, well, DXF is supposed to be a standard, but it's not really, for AutoCAD add-ons, and heck any old CAD or 3D program that uses DXF, can add on extra data that sometimes causes problems with other CAD applications. A lot like modern day G-code, actually, in that it's not really universal nor a standard, for G-code from one machine can't work in another most of the time from my understanding.

And DWG isn't an open standard, it's been reverse engineered in order to work at all (Autodesk doesn't share DWG with anyone as far as I know) and it just changed again with AutoCAD 2007. And it's now encrypted, IIRC, meaning that to reverse engineer it is a federal crime. Technically.

So yeah. It sucks and the Partwizard folks should be more on the ball. But it's a pretty challenging task, that's all. What might be better in the long run is to get Partwizard to support an actual open format, like SVG...