Introduction

Design development often requires  pushing IP into the platform. CAD engineers can use specific authoring tools (SOLIDWORKS, CATIA, NX…) to open the data in a design session and then Save to the platform via the integration tools available from the authoring tool. But what if you want to avoid data import by your designers, because you may have a dedicated business process, outside of the design department, for such a process?
A complex  import solution would be overkill,  and probably  expensive The 3DEXPERIENCE platform provides  an alternative to this import process, through the cloud-based app called IP Import.

Objective

IP Import handles the following:

• a  number of CAD formats
• the import of Industry Foundation Class (IFC) files. IFC file format is an open, neutral file format used in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry.
   

How

The application supports the import of a single file or bulk loading of entire directories and sub-directories, recognizing child links in assemblies when importing CAD files. The user who imports the IP becomes the owner of the resulting data and is provided a prompt during import to assign it to a specific Collaborative Space. 
IP Import also supports the import of data with incremental changes. For example, a supplier could send the same structure multiple times and the import would not create a new data for the components in the structure that existed in a prior import. This greatly simplifies the import process when incremental changes are provided to a maturing design over the length of a development effort.
IP Import accomplishes this through the concept of “Scope”: Data imported in the same Scope will be checked against prior imports of the data. Only differences will be imported or existing components updated avoiding duplication for imports within the same Scope. Data imported under a different Scope will be recreated on the platform as new IP.
The app ‘CAD Data Processor Monitoring’  is used to create the Scopes used by the IP Import application. Saved Scopes are controlled by three maturity states (Create, Active, Archive), each with specific permissions for creating, reading, and updating save scopes. 

The ‘CAD Data Processor Monitoring’ application also allows users to monitor the status and results of import jobs. This enables non-engineering staff to handle import interactions with limited interaction.

In the following example, we will look at two CAD data imports from file folders representing incremental changes to an assembly.

Summary

IP Import provides a robust solution for importing and managing engineering data within the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, supporting both individual and bulk imports while ensuring data integrity and ownership management. IP Import supports incremental loading for CATIA V5, AutoCAD, Revit and NX with plans to expand this capability to other managed CAD solutions in the future.