C4 export options

Output Style

Choose to preserve surfaces or (depending on your drafting packages) convert them to curves.

If you choose to convert surfaces to curves and have set the patch precision to a number greater than the default, all isoparametric curves are stored in the file.

The default is PRESERVE SURFACES.

Include Comments

Determines whether or not comments entered in the Edit File Comments section (found in the C4 File Header Information window) are included in the exported file. The default is OFF.

Rebuild Geometry

When set OFF (default is OFF) the degree of the resulting surface and the weights on the CVs do not change.

When set ON, your models are modified so that all curves and surfaces are compatible with CAD systems or neutral file formats that cannot fully support NURBS and/or high degree geometry by:

Reducing high degree curves and surfaces to degree 3.
Making non rational curves and surfaces where rational ones existed before.

When set ON, the resulting curve or surface is forced to be at most degree 3, with the weight of all control vertices equal to a value of 1.0.

For example, if your model contains curves or surfaces that are rational (with some weights that are not equal to 1.0) or high degree (higher than cubic or bi-cubic), then it is sampled at a number of checkpoints and the data is fit with a cubic or bi-cubic, non-rational curve or surface. Knots are inserted until the fit is within the specified tolerance.

Scale Factor

Lets you save the wire model at a scale other than it was constructed. 1.0 is the default value.

Significant Digits

The number of significant digits for coordinate data in the exported file can be specified in this field. The minimum number is 1 and the maximum number is 15.

Output Units

Lets you choose either millimeters or inches as the data units used for exported coordinate data. The exported coordinate data is converted from the current linear units set in Alias to the selected units. MILLIMETERS is the default.

The C4 standard allows only inches and millimeters, so these are the only two choices available.

Note

The C4 standard requires the file extension of a C4 conforming file to be .c4x. This file extension is automatically appended to the filename of the exported file

C4 File header information

If you choose the C4 file format, the Save Options window expands to display the following:

Edit File Header: When you click this field, a File Header Information menu is displayed with fields specific to the file format you’ve chosen. Use these fields to communicate information about the model being exported and the sender and receiver of the data. This information is exported in the file header of the file.

These fields are optional.
Edit File Comments: When you click in this field, an editor window is displayed where you can type comments specific to the file you are saving. This editor window can be specified in the General section of Preferences > General Preferences.