NavisWorks

Navisworks - Wireframe Proxies During DWG Import

Volker Joseph wrote this up on his blog, Beyond the Paper. It's the first key step in bringing in objects and properties of objects from the construction modeling program to NavisWorks. I wanted to write an article about this, but why repeat something after it's been done so well already. Thanks for the article.

Some of you may have experienced the display of wireframe graphics (bounding boxes) of ducts, pipes or similar during opening of a DWG file in Navisworks Manage.

Some applications based on the AutoCAD platform (including Autodesk products such as AutoCAD Architecture, AutoCAD MEP, and non-Autodesk products such as AutoPLANT, CAD-PIPE and CAD-Duct generate custom objects, which are then saved in the subsequent DWG file.

In order to properly display the geometry and access the properties of these custom objects, you must have the corresponding Object Enabler (OE) installed on your computer. You can obtain the necessary Object Enablers from the manufacturers of these applications. For example, the Autodesk Object Enablers are available from the following webpage:

http://www.autodesk.com/oe

http://www.cadduct.com

Follow these steps to display custom objects:

1. Open the file that contains the proxy graphics in Navisworks.
2. Click View menu > Scene Statistics. A list of the missing Object Enablers will be displayed.
3. Locate, download, and install the missing Object Enablers from the manufacturer's website. Important! Some Object Enablers have dependencies on other OEs, and, therefore, need to be installed in a specific order. For example, the AutoCAD® MEP 2009 OE has a dependency on the AutoCAD Architecture 2009 OE. Therefore, you must install the AutoCAD Architecture OE before installing the AutoCAD MEP 2009 OE. Also, be aware that some OEs may not be designed to work with non-AutoCAD-based applications, such as Navisworks. In these cases, the OE may already be installed, even though it was listed as missing in the Scene Statistics dialog box, or it may cause the application to crash when used.
4. Start Navisworks.
5. Click Tools menu > Global Options > File Readers > DWG/DXF/SAT.
6. From the Loader for DWG drop-down menu, select the year that corresponds to the DWG year of the file. Note: Depending on the OE, you may also need to change the Render Type from Automatic to Shaded.
7. Click OK.
8. Exit Navisworks.
9. Delete any NWC (cache) files associated with your DWG file. A new NWC file will be created when the model is reopened.
10. Start Navisworks and open the DWG file.

Note: When using some OEs (for example, AutoCAD Architecture, AutoCAD MEP, AutoCAD® Civil 3D®, and other OEs based on these) the display of the geometry in Navisworks depends on the display configuration in use when the DWG file was saved. For example, if a model was saved in a wireframe view in the AutoCAD-based application, it will appear as wireframe in Navisworks.

To change this behavior:

1. In Navisworks, click Tools menu > Global Options.
2. In the Options Editor, click File Readers menu > DWG/DXF/SAT.
3. Select the Use ADT Standard Configuration check box.