How to downgrade a monolithic Part body imported as IGES into its components?

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nagmat84
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Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2019 9:02 pm

How to downgrade a monolithic Part body imported as IGES into its components?

Post by nagmat84 »

I got an IGES file from the manufacturer of a cabinet for an electric distribution box. I can import that file into my FreeCAD project where it appears as a single Part object.

Unfortunately, the cabinet is drawn with the door being closed. I would like to remove the door. Optimally, the door would be an independent object whose visibility I can toggle on/off later, but it would also be fine, if the door was deleted entirely, if that was easier.

I selected the Part object and used the tool Draft_Downgrade as I assumed that this would be the right tool. After some processing time, I got a glimpse of hundreds of surfaces in the project browser, but then the following error message appeared

Code: Select all

16:58:07  ----------------
GuiCommand: Downgrade
----------------
Downgrade objects
Mehrere Flächen gefunden: Werden getrennt
----------------
Downgrade objects
Mehrere Objekte gefunden: Subtrahiere sie vom ersten Objekt
<App> Document.cpp(3473): Recursive calling of recompute for document Rittal_Cabinet_1376_000__exploded_
and I end up with a single Part object in the project browser which is called "Subtracted" and the result doesn't look like the original cabinet at al.

If I press "Ctrl + Z", then the individual surfaces reappear and the cabinet looks right. I can even select individual surfaces. But as soon as I try to do anything with them (e.g. delete a surface), the same error message appears and I end up with a single Part "Subtracted" again.

What am I doing wrong? Isn't Draft_Downgrade the correct tool? How do I remove the doors from the cabinet?

As the file exceeds the size for attachments, the projects can be downloaded from Google Drive:
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thomas-neemann
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Re: How to downgrade a monolithic Part body imported as IGES into its components?

Post by thomas-neemann »

nagmat84 wrote: Sat May 27, 2023 3:21 pm
i would do it like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4pHexDGf9k

phpBB [video]

Code: Select all

OS: Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS (XFCE/xubuntu)
Word size of FreeCAD: 64-bit
Version: 0.21.0.33303 (Git) AppImage
Build type: Release
Branch: master
Hash: 5b075a9938b78076fdde9034de4a05685e42690e
Python 3.11.3, Qt 5.15.8, Coin 4.0.0, Vtk 9.2.2, OCC 7.7.1
Locale: German/Germany (de_DE)
Installed mods: 
  * Curves 0.6.9
Last edited by thomas-neemann on Sat May 27, 2023 5:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Gruß Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Thomas Neemann

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domad
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Re: How to downgrade a monolithic Part body imported as IGES into its components?

Post by domad »

nagmat84 wrote: Sat May 27, 2023 3:21 pm ....
Hi nagmat84, greetings to the Community!
You have to use "Explode compound" of the "Part" Wb to get the volumetric components (mesh/shell) that you can easily convert into solid always from the same "Part" wb and then be able to use the boolean functions.
A greeting
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papyblaise
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Re: How to downgrade a monolithic Part body imported as IGES into its components?

Post by papyblaise »

I start the same: I degrade the box,
I select the front face of the door and click space bar
then the 2nd side, ditto ... and the 2 no longer see each other and show the interior
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Vincent B
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Re: How to downgrade a monolithic Part body imported as IGES into its components?

Post by Vincent B »

The file appears to be of good quality, and you can easily separate the parts using the "compound filter" adjusting the specific items parameter
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nagmat84
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Re: How to downgrade a monolithic Part body imported as IGES into its components?

Post by nagmat84 »

thomas-neemann wrote: Sat May 27, 2023 3:41 pm i would do it like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4pHexDGf9k
@thomas-neemann Thank you for the video tutorial, but this is exactly which doesn't work for me. After you have selected the cabinet, you pick the command Draft_Downgrade. This leads to the error message. Apparently, it works for you. I noticed that you are using FreeCAD 0.21.0, while I am still on 0.20.2. So maybe. this is a bug in my version which got fixed in the meantime.Unfortunately, 0.21.0 isn't yet in the repo of my Linux distro.
nagmat84
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Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2019 9:02 pm

Re: How to downgrade a monolithic Part body imported as IGES into its components?

Post by nagmat84 »

domad wrote: Sat May 27, 2023 3:56 pm You have to use "Explode compound" of the "Part" Wb to get the volumetric components (mesh/shell) that you can easily convert into solid always from the same "Part" wb and then be able to use the boolean functions.
Same problem with ExplodeCompound as with Draft_Downgrade. FreeCAD starts processing and then it shows the error message

Code: Select all

<App> Document.cpp(3473): Recursive calling of recompute for document
I guess I need to update to v0.21.0 first and give it another try.
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thomas-neemann
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Re: How to downgrade a monolithic Part body imported as IGES into its components?

Post by thomas-neemann »

nagmat84 wrote: Sat May 27, 2023 5:05 pm
20.02 works for me too. apparently the best combination is appimage with xubuntu lts
Bildschirmfoto_2023-05-27_19-15-50.png
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Code: Select all

OS: Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS (XFCE/xubuntu)
Word size of FreeCAD: 64-bit
Version: 0.20.2.29603 (Git) AppImage
Build type: Release
Branch: (HEAD detached at 0.20.2)
Hash: 930dd9a76203a3260b1e6256c70c1c3cad8c5cb8
Python 3.10.8, Qt 5.15.4, Coin 4.0.0, Vtk 9.1.0, OCC 7.6.3
Locale: German/Germany (de_DE)
Installed mods: 
  * Curves 0.6.9
Gruß Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Thomas Neemann

https://www.youtube.com/@thomasneemann5 ... ry=freecad
jeno
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Re: How to downgrade a monolithic Part body imported as IGES into its components?

Post by jeno »

nagmat84 wrote: Sat May 27, 2023 3:21 pm I got an IGES file from the manufacturer of a cabinet for an electric distribution box. I can import that file into my FreeCAD project where it appears as a single Part object...
Rittal also offers an assembly in Step AP214. Any reason to not use it?
Screenshot_20230528.png
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cheers
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nagmat84
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Re: How to downgrade a monolithic Part body imported as IGES into its components?

Post by nagmat84 »

jeno wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 6:10 am Rittal also offers an assembly in Step AP214. Any reason to not use it?
Screenshot_20230528.png
Didn't know that. The number of file formats offered by Rittal are overwhelming. I tried the first dozen until I found something which worked with FreeCAD and so I stopped with IGES. I will give it a try.
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