DXF/DWG Task Functionality in SOLIDWORKS PDM 2019

With the 2019 release, SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional is now able to support DWG and DXF file creation for sheet metal files requiring a flat pattern output using the Convert Task in PDM. This option has long been asked for by PDM users. Various workarounds have been used with mediocre success, less than impressive outputs or complex configuration requirements that make the manual output method just as appealing.

Help Article Link for Reference

The task setup itself has not changed much at all which makes implementation very simple for a PDM Administrator.

Where the changes can be seen are in the “Conversion Options…” when the DWG and DXF file type is the selected output file format.

The options within the PDM conversion task are nearly identical to the options when manually exporting a DWG/DXF file from a SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal part file.

Since this is intended to be an automated function, a standard output selection will need to be decided. Anything that would need to be chosen to the contrary of the standard setup will either need be done manually by the users or, if happening often enough, set up as a separate task.

The task is able to handle a wide variety of sheet metal part files in conjunction with the standard SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal flat pattern functionality.

For example:

Single body parts with curves

Multi-body parts

This task, like the standard Drawing to PDM conversion task, can be added to the CAD workflow for even more automation driven by PDM.

With this 2019 PDM enhancement, companies using PDM will be able to take advantage of the ability to create DXF and DWG flat pattern outputs of their sheet metal parts.

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Alignex, Inc.

Alignex, Inc. is the premier provider of SOLIDWORKS software and partner products to the mechanical engineering industry in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming and Illinois. With more than 25 years of technical experience, Alignex offers consulting services, training and support for SOLIDWORKS as well as support for partner products. For more information, visit alignex.com.