Drawing lines in 3D from a list of end point coordinates

[Gordon Smith]

I have a collection of line endpoints, the line representing a tube in an airplane fuselage, and need a way to import the data into a CAD program so I can view the fuselage by zooming in and out and rotating the structure. I have written a program that calculates the the settings on my notching tool (www.accujigger.com) to make cutting the tubes prior to welding easier and want a way to check the data before comitting to steel !!!

Basically I have XYZ coordinates and want to get a file format that a CAD program can read and display as lines. I have found a dwg2xyz converter but what I need is a xyz2dxf or xyz2dwg or whatever.

Can this be done?

[Mike Wheeler]

Dear Gordon,

The DesignWorkshop file format is text based and simple to read and write. Start by making a model with some line segments in it and look at the file. Te geometry will be at the end and easy to understand.

Given your experience writing a program to calculate settings on your notching tool I think you could write a simple program to translate the XYZ points you have into a DesignWorkshop model of all your line segments.

The program would simply write the standard header of a file including phases and material definitions, which would be the same for every model you generate. Then for each line write a short unchanging bit of text before and after the XYZ points you have.

You could even do it with a good text editor like BBEdit and a few find and replace commands.

Best wishes,

Mike Wheeler
support@artifice.com

[Gordon Smith]

It works !!! I edited the text of a line and made three intersecting line segments representing the tube in the engine mount of the airplane. AND I can zoom and pan all around. Really cool.

Thanks so much!!!