MasterCAD and DXF Output

 

MasterCAD is primarily used to set up and export 2D and 3D models to 3rd party systems. The export/import features of MasterCAD focus on geometry, section sizes, and orientation. Using MasterCAD you can export models to the following software:

 

AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT

MasterSteel

MultiSteel

StruCAD

XSteel

3D+

 

Opening MasterCAD

1.With your MasterSeries file open, from the top tool bar go to: BIM Exchange > MasterCAD: GA Drawings and Solid CAD Model

 

Exporting a 2D Drawing to DXF

1.With MasterCAD open, from the top tool bar to go: Export 2D > GA Drawing as DXF File

 

          

 

You will be presented with a dialogue that allows you the set up the export’s output. It contains two tabs: Page Setup and Page Layout. See each section for the individual steps involved in their set up.

 

Editing the 2D Drawing Page Setup

1.Select the view(s) you want to display in the DXF output by clicking the list of Selected Views from the right-hand-side of the dialogue

a)You can make use of the “All”, “Selected” and “Current” radio buttons at the bottom of the Selected Views area to quickly filter your selection

2.Fill out the details for your Title block

a)You can enter a client name, architect, job details, drawing details and a drawing number (none of these required are required items for exporting purposes)

3.Under the Text Styles & Settings area, use the Style dropdown to apply your chosen settings for Title, Labels and Dimensions

 

For each item you will have access to:

Font

Height: the height of the text item in mm and its ratio to the width

Colour by Layer: the text item will match the layer colour

Omit Default Grades: leave out the grade in a section size that has a default grade applied

Omit Spacing from Labels: leave out the spacing between members

Text Case: choose between sentence case, upper and lower case

 

          

 

1.Under the Global Drafting area, apply a line style for stick lines and cross-sections

a)These settings can be saved by clicking the Save button below the Global Drafting area

b)To reload saved settings, simply click the Load Settings button

2.At the bottom of the dialogue, click the Browse button

3.Navigate to the directory you want to save the DXF output to

4.Provide a name for the file and click open

 

Editing the 2D Drawing Page Layout

The Page Layout screen is an interactive dialogue that allows you to modify and position drawing elements prior to their output. The Page Layout will provide you with an indication of the size and location of each drawing component. There will be one drawing component for each view that has been selected in the Page Setup.

 

1.Set the page size from the bottom left-hand dropdown

a)You can output both single pages and drawings that run over a series of pages

2.Set the scale for the drawings using the Dwg Scale dropdown

3.Apply a Title Block

a)The No File setting means no title block will be drawn

4.Apply a Layering Table

5.Enter the page margins for the left, top, right and bottom in mm

6.Click and drag each drawing component into position

 

          

 

Auto Scaling and Locating All Drawing Components

As a starting point to laying out your DXF output, you can make use of the Auto Scale and Auto Locate buttons found at the top right-hand-side of the Page Layout screen. After this you can customize the scale and location of drawing components if required.

 

Individual Drawing Component Options

You can apply a number of settings to each drawing component in the Page Layout using the right-hand-side options.

 

1.Click on the drawing component you want to edit

2.Under the Active Object heading, set the scale and line style from the dropdowns

3.Select the items you wish to be displayed in the output of the drawing component, you have a choice of:

a)Visible: hide/show the component

b)Grid Lines: hide/show grid lines in the component

c)Centre Lines: hide/show centre lines in the component

d)Sections: hide/show members that are sections in the component

i)You can filter this to near (above) and/or far (below) members

ii)When in plan use the Far setting except when at ground level – in this case you should be using near (above)

e)Dimensions: hide/show dimensions in the component

4.Under the Labels tab, set the selected output for Member Labels

Typical DXF/DWG GA output for sections and dims

 

5.Under the Forces tab, select the selected output for forces present in the drawing component

a)There are four items required for displaying forces: type of force, limit state, members to print forces on and value filters

b)The maximum moment, shear force, and axial load will be displayed on the ends of a member

c)The limit state will be set to Ultimate Limit State by default

d)Member types include beams, columns, inclined and at supports

e)Filtering force values can be applied by separating items with a “;”, for example “5;75;25;10” corresponds to a moment of 5kNm or greater, shear of 75kN or greater, axial of 25kN or greater, and all forces being rounded up to the nearest 10kN

Typical DXF/DWG output for base support reactions

 

6.Click the Export button to export the DXF file

 

Global Options

Three additional items are available from the bottom right-hand-side of the Page Layout. They are:

Border: choose whether to draw the page border or not

Landscape: set the page to landscape or portrait

Load AutoCAD: automatically load the file in AutoCAD after exporting

 

What to Do If Your Export Text is Too Big

If your text is too big it’s an indication that your drawing or drawing component scale is too large. For example, if you have a member that is 5000 mm long and is drawn at a scale of 1:250 scale with 2.5 mm high text, then the text will be 250 x 2.5 = 625 mm high. We suggest that you limit your scales to between 1:20 and 1:150 for best results.

 

Exporting a 3D Model

MasterCAD can be used to export 3D models to a variety of 3rd party applications. There are two main systems, which it exports to:

 

3D DXF: exports DXF surfaces that can be imported to AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT, along with any other application that allows importing of DXF format

3D Script: exports the 3D model as a script file

•This can be read by AutoCAD only (i.e. not AutoCAD LT) as it creates extruded and truncated solid objects

 

Exporting a 3D DXF Model to AutoCAD

1.With MasterCAD open, from the top tool bar to go: Export 3D > DXF File (Surfaces)

2.Select the profile type you want to export

a)Full Profile: full thickness sections – an I-section would have 12 surfaces

b)Outline: zero thickness sections – an I-section would have 3 surfaces

c)Wire frame: draws each member as a single line

3.If you want to automatically load AutoCAD after exporting, check the Start AutoCAD box

4.If you want each line to be coloured according to its layer information, check the Colour by Layer box

5.Click the Browse button and navigate to the directory where you want to save the file

6.Enter a name for the DXF file

7.Click Open

8.Apply a Layering table from the dropdown

9.Click Export

 

          

 

Exporting a 3D Script Model to AutoCAD

1.With MasterCAD open, from the top tool bar to go: Export 3D > AutoCAD Script File (Extruded Solids)

2.If you want to automatically load AutoCAD after exporting, check the Start AutoCAD box

3.If you want to delete the automatically generated guidelines for extruded solids, check the Delete Guide box

4.If you want to shade the model using gouraud and edge shading, check the Shade Members box

5.Click the Browse button and navigate to the directory where you want to save the file

6.Enter a name for the script file

7.Click Open

8.Apply a Layering table from the dropdown

9.Click Export