CNC Download Members by Location ( Modeling )

Tool summary :

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   Step-by-step instructions :

The following instructions assume that you are using a 3-button mouse. You must do either step 1d (preselection) or step 3 (in-tool selection) to perform this operation.

1 . Before using this tool:

1a : Make sure that User and Site Options > Output > " CNC " is set to the directory (file folder) you want the CNC files to be downloaded to.

1b : Set " CNC configuration " and " CNC type " on the Computer Numerically Controlled window to generate a download file format that is appropriate for the CNC machine that you plan to download to.

1c : On the CNC Setup window, the option " Use CNC piece quantity in " can be set to ' Job ' or ' Selection '. Set it to ' Job ' if you want the quantity reported in a file to be a count of all members under the particular member piecemark that you selected. Set it to ' Selection ' if you want the quantity in the download file to exactly match the quantity of members (with that same mark) that you selected.

1d : Also on the CNC Setup window, the option " Include attached submaterial in member download " affects, when you select a member, whether you get download files for all submaterials associated with that member or only a single download file for that member's main material.

Select Items bindings (step 1e)

1e : (optional) : In Select Items mode with the selection filter set to ' Default ' or ' Legacy Default ' or ' Beams ' or etc., use Select or Select + (or draw an area box ) to select the member(s) that you want to download. Use Select- if you want to deselect members. When selected, the members will be displayed in the User and Site Options > Modeling > " Primary selection color ," which by default is green.

2 . Invoke CNC - Members by Location using any one (1) of the following methods:

Methods 1, 2 & 3 : Click the icon, or use a keyboard shortcut, or use the context menu. A CNC - Member by Location icon can be added to your toolbar (classic) or ribbon (lightning). The icon, keyboard shortcut or context menu command can be found in the group named ' Model -- Member '. For lightning, Customize Interface is used to configure ribbons, keyboards, the context menu and modes.

Method 4 : If " Modeling layout style " is ' Classic ', you can use the menu system to choose Model > Member > CNC - Download by Location .

3 . Skip this step if you already selected member(s) in step 1e.

Select Item(s) bindings.

3a (if you didn't preselect) : CNC - Download by Location prompts you to use Select Item(s) mouse bindings to Select or Select + one or more members. You can also select members by drawing an area box or using the Model Tree . Press the Enter key or right-click ( Menu ) and choose " OK " on the context menu to signal to CNC - Download by Location that you are done selecting members.

4 . CNC - Download by Location downloads member main materials (and, if applicable, submaterials). Errors are handled per the CNC setup options " Download holes outside diameter range as " and " Download holes too close to edge, web, flange, bend and hole as ." Or if " Disable error checking " is on (checked), you get a download without correcting the problem. For each download file that is generated for a member, member edit > press " Status " > " Downloaded to CNC " is checked on the Member Status Review window. For each download file that is generated for a material, " CNC Downloaded " on the General Information window is set to ' Yes '. The download files are named after member piecemarks (upper case) or submaterial marks (lower case).

Scenario 1: You select one member ( B_76 ). Since the CNC setup option " Include attached submaterial " is not checked ( ), you get one download file. For DSTV, this file would be named B_76.nc1 . The file provides CNC instructions for fabricating the member's main material. If " Use CNC piece quantity in " is set to ' Job ', the quantity of that main material is all members under that piecemark ( 4 ). If " Use CNC piece quantity in " is set to ' Selection ', the quantity is 1 .

Scenario 2: Same as above, but " Include attached submaterial " is checked ( ), which results in three download files ( B_76.nc1 , a38.nc1 , a39.nc1 ). If " Use CNC piece quantity in " is ' Job ', the B_76.nc1 file reports a quantity of 4 , the a38.nc1 file reports the total a38 s in your Job. With " Use CNC piece quantity in " set to ' Selection ', the B_76.nc1 file reports a quantity of 1 , and the a38.nc1 file reports a quantity of 2 .

Scenario 3: Same as above, but two of the B_76 members are selected. " Include attached submaterial " is checked ( ), which results in three download files ( B_76.nc1 , a38.nc1 , a39.nc1 ). With " Use CNC piece quantity in " set to ' Selection ', the B_76.nc1 file reports a quantity of 2 , and the a38.nc1 and a39.nc1 files each report a quantity of 4 .

In general, if " Use CNC piece quantity in " is set to ' Selection ' and " Include attached submaterial in member download " is checked ( ), the quantity in the download files for those members that you selected will exactly match the quantity in your selection, but the quantity in the download files for the submaterials of those members will be multiples of the quantity in your selection.

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