3D World
What is the meaning of A, B and C that is displayed in the component Properties panel?
The degrees of rotation in Design Tool uses an ABC format which is referring to the ZYX coordinate axes in that order. That is ABC stands for Yaw, Pitch and Roll. This was changed in Design Tool version 2.0, due to function as other CAD tools.
What is the difference between World, Parent and object?
There are three available coordinate systems in the 3D world:
- World is a global coordinate system with a fixed origin.
- Parent references the object coordinate system of a selected component's parent. If a component is not attached to a node in another component, the parent of a selected component is the 3D world. In that case, both the World and Parent coordinate systems would have the same origin.
- Object references a selected component's coordinate system. That is, the location of a component is relative to its own origin. Most of the time this should not be used as it may have unforeseen consequences.
If two or more components are selected in the 3D world, the last component added to the selection is referenced as the selection's location in the active coordinate system.
Can I use my 3D mouse?
Yes, FlexLink Design Tool does support 3D mouse. E.g. Connexion 3D mouse.
Why cannot I see all components in the eCatalog?
Sometimes Design Tool has problems downloading components from the online eCatalog due to network problems. This may result that some components are missing in the eCatalog. This can be solved by refreshing the eCatalog, by doing the following:
- Show the eCatalog panel and click on the Plus sign
- Select Refresh from the menu
- Wait several minutes to let the eCatalog to download all components.
Lease Questions
Lease tool cannot connect to lease server
If the network where the computer running the Design Tool cannot connect to the lease server, then an error will be displayed stating "there is no network connection to lease server". The Design Tool must be able to connect to certain web servers in order to function properly. To see which web servers that must be accessible see the Network access article.
Why is it not possible to renew my lease on my Dell computer?
Latest released Dell computers now have a pre-installed software package called “Dell Precision Optimizer”, which has a CPU optimization setting that actively changes the number of CPUs that are running. This is interfering with the lease checking procedure. After disabling this setting, the lease should work again.
3D CAD Generator
All parts are located in world's origin after importing a STEP into Autocad Mechanical 2013, 2014
In order to import a STEP file correctly the "Insert -> Import -> Import" (IMPORT) menu command must be used. If the "Insert -> Import -> STEP" (STEPIN) menu command is used, all parts in the file will be inserted at the world's origin point.
In Autocad Mechanical 2015 it is possible to use both commands to import the STEP file.
3D PDF Questions
Components does not look like they do in Design Tool
In newer versions of Acrobat Reader some machines will look like they are missing parts compared to how they look in the exported 3D PDF. This can be fixed by changing a setting in the Acrobat Reader tool. The setting can be through checking the Edit -> Preferences -> 3D & Multimedia -> Enable Double Sided Rendering check box.