- Home
- CAD Exchange
- How to Import CAD Objects
- Home
- Non Sequential Ray Tracing
- Objects
- How to Import CAD Objects
How to Import CAD Objects
- By Mark Nicholson
- Published 13 September 2005
- CAD Exchange , Objects
-
Rating:
Summary and References
Importing CAD objects allows ZEMAX to take advantage of the generality of design that mechanical CAD programs allow. This is particularly important when performing stray light analysis, as a full accounting of opto-mechanical effects can be made. CAD import is also useful in a wide range of illumination work, including automotive component testing.
The choice of CAD format you use is likely to be based on the CAD program you use. STL is good for objects that are inherently faceted, or where you will use stereolithography to generate rapid prototypes. IGES and STEP are CAD exchange standards, and the choice between them will probably be based on the quality of your CAD program's export routines. SAT format will be used if your CAD program is based on the ACIS engine.
External References
1. http://www.mmsonline.com/articles/019704.html
2. http://www.nist.gov/iges
3. The NURBS Book, Second Edition, by Les Piegl and Wayne Tiller, Springer-Verlag, ISBN 3-540-61545-8.
4. http://www.steptools.com/
5. http://www.spatial.com/
ACIS and SAT are registered trademarks of Spatial Corporation.
Related Articles
5 Responses to "How to Import CAD Objects" 
|
said this on 14 Sep 2005 7:34:16 AM PDT
Very informative. Worth reading.
mcodude
|
Author)|
said this on 19 Sep 2005 2:28:46 AM PDT
This article has almost nothing to add in compare with the ZEMAX Manual
|
|
said this on 19 Sep 2005 5:53:10 AM PDT
Informative. Easy to follow.
|
|
said this on 27 Sep 2005 4:23:26 PM PDT
I think this article has more detail about practical differences between the CAD formats than the user's manual: very interesting!
|