aj/ExportDXF
1
0
Fork 0
Code Issues Pull Requests Projects Releases Wiki Activity

docs: update README for Excel export and template-based naming

Browse Source 
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
AJ Isaacs
2026-04-13 22:33:46 -04:00
parent 0fd117da92
commit 41022a93cc
1 changed files with 109 additions and 89 deletions
Download Patch File Download Diff File Expand all files Collapse all files

198
README.md
View File

@@ -1,89 +1,109 @@
# ExportDXF
A Windows desktop application that automates exporting flat pattern DXF files from SolidWorks drawings, assemblies, and parts. Built for sheet metal fabrication workflows, it extracts BOM data, generates DXF flat patterns with etch/bend line markings, and exports drawing PDFs to a local output folder with SQL Server tracking.
## Features
- **Batch DXF export** from SolidWorks drawings, assemblies, or individual parts
- **Flat pattern generation** with automatic sheet metal detection
- **Etch line insertion** on bend-up lines for fabrication reference (via EtchBendLines library)
- **PDF export** of SolidWorks drawings
- **Local file export** -- saves DXFs and PDFs to a configurable output folder
- **SQL Server database** -- tracks export history and BOM data via Entity Framework Core
- **View flip control** with automatic, manual, and prefer-up strategies
- **Active document tracking** -- connects to SolidWorks and displays the active document in the title bar
- **BOM extraction** from drawing BOM tables or assembly component trees
- **Drawing history dropdowns** -- equipment and drawing number filters populated from past exports
## Requirements
- Windows 10/11
- .NET 8.0
- SolidWorks (installed and licensed)
- SQL Server (default: `localhost`, database: `ExportDxfDb`, Windows auth)
## Solution Structure
```
ExportDXF.sln
ExportDXF/ Main WinForms application
EtchBendLines/ Library for adding etch lines to DXF files (git submodule)
netDxf/ DXF file read/write library
```
### Key Namespaces
| Namespace | Purpose |
|-----------|---------|
| `ExportDXF.Services` | Core services -- SolidWorks connection, DXF export, BOM extraction, PDF export, file export |
| `ExportDXF.Forms` | WinForms UI -- main export form with log and BOM grids |
| `ExportDXF.Models` | Data models -- BomItem, ExportRecord, ExportContext, SolidWorksDocument |
| `ExportDXF.Data` | Entity Framework Core DbContext for SQL Server persistence |
| `ExportDXF.ViewFlipDeciders` | Strategies for determining if a flat pattern view should be flipped |
| `ExportDXF.ItemExtractors` | Extract component items from BOM tables and assemblies |
| `ExportDXF.Utilities` | SolidWorks helpers, sheet metal property extraction, text utilities |
| `ExportDXF.Extensions` | Extension methods for SolidWorks, UI, unit conversion, strings, TimeSpan |
| `EtchBendLines` | Post-processes DXF files to add etch marks on bend-up lines |
## How It Works
1. **Startup** -- Connects to a running SolidWorks instance (or launches one) asynchronously. Loads past export history from the database to populate equipment/drawing dropdowns. Displays the active SolidWorks document name in the title bar.
2. **Export** -- Based on the active document type:
- **Drawing**: Extracts BOM items from BOM tables, exports the drawing as PDF, then iterates through each component to generate flat pattern DXFs.
- **Assembly**: Extracts components from the assembly tree and generates flat pattern DXFs for each sheet metal part.
- **Part**: Generates a single flat pattern DXF for the active part.
3. **Post-processing** -- Each exported DXF is run through the EtchBendLines library, which identifies bend-up lines and adds short etch marks at their endpoints on a dedicated `ETCH` layer. Only up bends are etched because SolidWorks automatically flips the flat pattern so the shortest flange is the first bend. The etch marks let the press brake operator verify part orientation right off the laser table without flipping -- the first bend (shortest flange) will always have an etch line.
4. **Save** -- DXF and PDF files are copied to the configured output folder. Export records and BOM items (with sheet metal properties) are saved to the SQL Server database.
## Configuration
Settings are in `App.config`:
```xml
<appSettings>
<add key="MaxBendRadius" value="2.0" />
<add key="ExportOutputFolder" value="C:\ExportDXF\Output" />
</appSettings>
<connectionStrings>
<add name="ExportDxfDb"
connectionString="Server=localhost;Database=ExportDxfDb;Trusted_Connection=True;TrustServerCertificate=True;"
providerName="Microsoft.Data.SqlClient" />
</connectionStrings>
```
## DXF Filename Format
Exported files follow the pattern: `{DrawingNumber} PT{ItemNo}.dxf`
Example: `5007 A02 PT01.dxf`
## Building
Open `ExportDXF.sln` in Visual Studio and build. The EtchBendLines submodule must be initialized:
```bash
git submodule update --init --recursive
```
# ExportDXF
A Windows desktop application that automates exporting flat pattern DXF files from SolidWorks drawings, assemblies, and parts. Built for sheet metal fabrication workflows, it extracts BOM data, generates DXF flat patterns with etch/bend line markings, and exports everything to a local folder with an Excel workbook for downstream tools like [OpenNest](https://github.com/ajisaacs/OpenNest).
## Features
- **Batch DXF export** from SolidWorks drawings, assemblies, or individual parts
- **Flat pattern generation** with automatic sheet metal detection
- **Etch line insertion** on bend-up lines for fabrication reference (via EtchBendLines/ACadSharp)
- **PDF export** of SolidWorks drawings
- **Excel BOM output** -- generates an xlsx workbook with a BOM sheet (direct copy of the SolidWorks BOM table) and a Cut Templates sheet (DXF filenames, thicknesses, K-factors, bend radii, content hashes)
- **Revision tracking** -- content hashing detects unchanged DXFs across re-exports; changed files get revision suffixes (e.g., `PT03 Rev2.dxf`)
- **Configurable filename template** -- format like `4321 A01 PT{item_no:2}` with placeholders for item number, part name, configuration, and material
- **Pluggable drawing info extraction** -- auto-fills the filename template from the document name; extensible via `IDrawingInfoExtractor`
- **View flip control** with automatic, manual, and prefer-up strategies
- **Active document tracking** -- connects to SolidWorks and updates the UI when the active document changes
- **Per-export and app-level logging** to plain text log files
## Requirements
- Windows 10/11
- .NET 8.0
- SolidWorks (installed and licensed)
## Solution Structure
```
ExportDXF.sln
ExportDXF/ Main WinForms application
EtchBendLines/ Library for adding etch lines to DXF files (git submodule, uses ACadSharp)
```
### Key Namespaces
| Namespace | Purpose |
|-----------|---------|
| `ExportDXF.Services` | Core services -- SolidWorks connection, DXF export, BOM extraction, PDF export, Excel output, logging, filename template parsing, drawing info extraction |
| `ExportDXF.Forms` | WinForms UI -- main export form with log, BOM, and cut templates grids |
| `ExportDXF.Models` | Data models -- BomItem, CutTemplate, ExportContext, SolidWorksDocument |
| `ExportDXF.ViewFlipDeciders` | Strategies for determining if a flat pattern view should be flipped |
| `ExportDXF.ItemExtractors` | Extract component items from BOM tables and assemblies |
| `ExportDXF.Utilities` | SolidWorks helpers, content hashing, sheet metal property extraction, text utilities |
| `ExportDXF.Extensions` | Extension methods for SolidWorks, UI, unit conversion, strings, TimeSpan |
| `EtchBendLines` | Post-processes DXF files to add etch marks on bend-up lines |
## How It Works
1. **Startup** -- Connects to a running SolidWorks instance (or launches one). Auto-fills the filename template from the active document name using pluggable extractors.
2. **Export** -- Based on the active document type:
- **Drawing**: Copies the raw BOM table to the Excel BOM sheet, exports the drawing as PDF, then generates flat pattern DXFs for each sheet metal component.
- **Assembly**: Extracts components from the assembly tree and generates flat pattern DXFs for each sheet metal part.
- **Part**: Generates a single flat pattern DXF for the active part.
3. **Post-processing** -- Each exported DXF is run through the EtchBendLines library, which identifies bend-up lines and adds short etch marks at their endpoints on a dedicated `ETCH` layer. Only up bends are etched because SolidWorks automatically flips the flat pattern so the shortest flange is the first bend. The etch marks let the press brake operator verify part orientation right off the laser table without flipping.
4. **Save** -- DXF and PDF files are saved to a `Templates/` folder next to the source file. An Excel workbook is written with the BOM and Cut Templates sheets. If re-exporting, content hashes are compared against the existing workbook -- unchanged DXFs are skipped, changed DXFs get a revision suffix.
## Output
```
C:\Projects\4321\
├── 4321 A01.SLDDRW
└── Templates\
├── 4321 A01 PT01.dxf
├── 4321 A01 PT02.dxf
├── 4321 A01 PT03.dxf
├── 4321 A01 PT03 Rev2.dxf (revised, original kept)
├── 4321 A01.pdf
├── 4321 A01.xlsx
└── 4321 A01.log
```
### Excel Workbook
**BOM sheet** -- exact copy of all visible columns and rows from the SolidWorks BOM table (Drawing exports only).
**Cut Templates sheet**:
| Item # | File Name | Revision | Thickness | K-Factor | Bend Radius | Content Hash |
|--------|-----------|----------|-----------|----------|-------------|--------------|
## Configuration
Settings are in `App.config`:
```xml
<appSettings>
<add key="MaxBendRadius" value="2.0" />
<add key="DefaultSuffix" value="PT{item_no:2}" />
</appSettings>
```
### Filename Template Placeholders
| Placeholder | Description | Example |
|-------------|-------------|---------|
| `{item_no:N}` | Item number, zero-padded to N digits | `{item_no:2}` → `03` |
| `{part_name}` | SolidWorks part name | `Bracket` |
| `{config}` | Configuration name | `Default` |
| `{material}` | Material name | `AISI 304` |
## Building
Open `ExportDXF.sln` in Visual Studio and build. The EtchBendLines submodule must be initialized:
```bash
git submodule update --init --recursive
```