SDNF and CIS/2 |
  
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SDNF and CIS/2 |
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The CIS/2 and SDNF formats have also been found useful for transferring a steelwork model between packages, as these formats enable the transfer of ‘BIM” like data and object entities, rather than simple wireframe geometry.
Similar to the IFC command, in CADtools Bentley Structural v8 2004, these commands have been un-intentionally hidden in the window menu. They should appear at ‘File > Import > SDNF’ or ‘File > Import > CIS/2’ (with appropriate matching entries in the ‘Export’ menu. To access these tools, use the following keyins, ‘stfimport sdnf’ or ‘stfexport sdnf’, for the CIS/2 format, ‘stfimport cis2’ or ‘stfexport cis2’ . This problem does not affect CADtools 2.1 for Bentley Structural XM 8.9.4.
Note: Versions of Bentley Structural before 8.9.4 may include a bug whereby CIS/2 files are imported using feet and inches, rather than decimal units. This *may* be fixed in v8.9.4.
Note:- 8.9.4 currently has a bug when importing SDNF files for members that are rotated away from the XY plane. It does not import them at the correct rotation. This has been noted as TR with Bentley and should be fixed in a later revision.
To ensure the best translation to SDNF from Bentley Structural, users are advised to remove any Local Y/Z offsets from members, and set all members to ‘Center/Center’ placement point. (‘Top/Center’ is also ok for straight members only). Any members drawn using a tapered section profile will not export to SDNF, and ‘feature cuts’ are also ignored during export to SDNF.
Usually changing these values would modify the physical location of the members, but CADtools 2.2 (or later) includes the ‘Remove Offsets in place’ and ‘Change placement point in place’ tools which will change these settings without moving the member location. Note: Users are advised to use these tools in a copy of the working file, and reference the working file back in to carefully check the output, especially for curved path members.
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