CAD Format & Compression Information
CAD Format Information
There are many CAD models available on our website. Our Product Details page, which can be accessed in numerous ways, including through a part number search, will display CAD models that are available for immediate download. You will find the available CAD models in the Product Documentation & Related Product Information section under the heading CAD Files. You can also use the CAD Model Search capability to find CAD models for products that are not currently in our on-line catalog. If you cannot find needed CAD models using these methods, you can request one by sending an e-mail to teCAD@tycoelectronics.com
- IGES - Initial Graphics Exchange Specification - is an American
National Standard that defines a neutral data format for the digital exchange of
information among computer-aided design (CAD) systems and other applications of
graphic (vector) presentation nature. The standard is developed and maintained
by the IGES/PDES Organization (IPO); a program area of the U.S. Product Data
Association.
The databases of CAD systems from different vendors are often incompatible with one another. A circular arc on one system may be defined by a center point, its starting point and end point, while on another it is defined by its center, its diameter, starting angle and ending angle. IGES solves this problem by providing a neutral definition and format for the exchange of these data and is available in the public domain.
Applications supported by IGES include traditional engineering drawings as well as models for analysis and/or various manufacturing functions. In addition to the general specification, IGES also includes application protocols (listed above) in which the standard is interpreted to meet discipline-specific requirements. Version 1.0 of the specification was adopted as an American National Standard (ANS Y14.26M- 1981) in November 1981. Versions 3.0 and 4.0 of the specification have subsequently been approved by ANSI. The current version IGES 5.2 was approved by ANSI under the new guidelines of the US Product Data Association and published as "ANS US PRO/IPO-100-1993." Under these guidelines, the IGES/PDES Organization (IPO) became the ANSI-accredited standards body for product data exchange standards.
- DXF - Drawing Interchange Format - is a file format, developed
by Autodesk, in order to facilitate AutoCAD drawings to be opened by other programs.
AutoCAD's native file format, DWG (Drawing), couldn't be opened by other CAD
programs. Therefore DXF was introduced as standard ASCII text files to store
the vector data of the drawing. As Autodesk introduces new versions of their
AutoCAD DWG file format, the DXF internal version changes as well, causing compatibility
issues with other programs.
On this website, you will find that most of the DXF files are R14, an older, simpler version that should be compatible with whatever program you may be using.
- STEP - Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data - is also
known as ISO 10303. It is an International Standard for the computer-interpretable
representation and exchange of industrial product data. The objective is to
provide a mechanism that is capable of describing product data throughout the
life cycle of a product, independent from any particular system. The nature
of this description makes it suitable not only for neutral file exchange, but
also as a basis for implementing and sharing product databases and archiving.
Typically STEP can be used to exchange data between CAD, CAM, PDM/EDM and other
systems. STEP is addressing product data from various industries such as mechanical,
automotive, aerospace, building construction, ship, oil & gas, process plants
and others.
On this website, you will find AP203 STEP files. AP203 is short for Application protocol, Part 203: Configuration controlled 3D designs of mechanical parts and assemblies. STEP is developed and maintained by the ISO technical committee TC 184, Technical Industrial automation systems and integration, sub-committee SC4 Industrial data. Like other ISO and IEC standards, STEP is copyright by ISO and is not freely available.
CAD File Compression Information
All of the CAD files provided by this service are compressed. This saves transfer time, and better utilizes the Internet's limited bandwidth.
We use WinZip to compress the files. This compression standard was chosen as it is supported by many readily available compression tools across most computer and operating system platforms.
Examples:
Please refer to your WinZip documentation for information on how to use WinZip with compressed files.For more information on obtaining this utility, please search Google for "WinZip".
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
WinZip is a registered trademark of WinZip Computing, Inc.
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