What kind of insanity could this be? People using a 2D drawin’ tool to get some curvy art into SolidWorks? It’s heresy, I say!
Well, we may wish to banish them to the nether regions, but for some, working the Adobe Illustrator machine is a daily task. And, every once in a while, they need to squeeze it’s wily eyes to pop out a few paths to start a design in SolidWorks. It’s really one of the best options out there to get usable vector-based art into SolidWorks.
So, lay down the pitch forks, wrap your arm around an Illustrator user and feast your spectacles upon a few tips to keep you rollin’ out the designs. Huzzah!
Illustrator to SolidWorks Quick Tips
Install Illustrator
Ha! you’re joking right? Nope. To bring an Adobe Illustrator File into SolidWorks, you need to have Illustrator CS3 or newer installed. You can get a Trial version here. Yeah for you.
Paths only or DIE
Not die for real, but die from picking and deleting line you wish were not there. Make sure the .AI file you import only contains the paths (line art) you need and you’ll be much happier. What if it contains fills, shading, and a bunch of other mess?
Pick your Paths
… and your friends, but not your friends paths, or their nose. For graphics with fills or an over abundance of lines, in SolidWorks zoom in on the paths (splines) you need. Right-click and hit Select Chain to select only the splines you need, then copy and paste them into a new sketch. Delete the other sketch after you’re done.
Kill the Excess
After import, thin lines in the sketch may mean there are lines on top of each other. If you plan on using the imported paths, you’ll want to clean up the lines. Really, if it’s a large piece of artwork, it’s going to be easier to snort your nasal spray and…
Trace the Paths
You’re rocking along now, but those imported paths are way too complex. Start a new sketch and use the imported paths to create simple lines, arcs or splines in SolidWorks. Not ideal, but can really save some load time and the time of getting the imported lines cleaned up.
Illustrator Paths For SolidWorks Surfaces?
I’ve had a bit of luck using paths from Illustrator to produce smooth Curvature Continuous surfaces. It’s a little hit and miss and while you may be limited to an import from Illustrator, you’ll have more capabilities after you bring those paths into SolidWorks. Amazing as it may sound, the Spline (Path) tools in SolidWorks are much easier to manipulate.
I’m so not the surfacing wiz in SolidWorks though, so if anyone has used Illustrator to aid in the creation of surface models, throw down some tipage in the comments, and I’ll have a wild sea otter visit you with some bonus points. That’s a lie, I’ve never met a sea otter I liked.
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Solidworks 2D Spline interface > Adobe Illustrator Spline interface
Yeah, I said it. Adobe could learn a lesson from Solidworks. Adobe's trace function is far better. Their spline handles are also easier to manipulate, but they also require that quirky two different mouse pointer thing (black selection tool vs white selection tool).
eww yeah, the path select and direct select. I use the Ctrl key to toggle. I've gotten use to it, but still prefer the SolidWorks style. I'd like SolidWorks to export solids as paths, or maybe PV360 could have some non-photorealistic rendering like Penguin or 3DVia Composer. Going way off, but I can dream can't I?
I don't mind Illustrator or SW's spline interfaces – although unlike Charles I've always found grabbing the handles in Illustrator to be tougher than in SW. Also going towards SW's favour is the whole parametric thing – if you've ever tried to do a technical drawing of any kind in AI after using SW you'd rip your hair out.
My guess is that splines from AI to SW don't play nicely because they're created differently? It's disappointing.
Here's a couple of tips if you didn't know:
1) Export solid as paths – use a drawing file (and a custom view if necessary – would be nice if you could select camera views too!), save as DXF and import into AI. Unfortunately that breaks any non-circular curves into small line segments, so not much better than when you bring splines in from AI.
As of Illustrator CS2 you can use Live Paint to fill in areas instead of going around and joining all the segments into a continuous path.
2) You can import a vector PDF into SW by simply renaming the extension as .ai
The results may not be pretty, but you could use a free, open source program like Inkscape to edit the PDF to the bare essentials before you export. Good to know if you don't have access to AI.
There's a cool function in Inkscape that will actually recreate the spline handles as line segments, which is helpful when you have to go in and retrace in SW – gives you hints as to spline weights and tangencies.
P.S. Just started playing around with 3DVia Composer today – I think I'm in love!
So you're telling me that the best way to get Illustrator artwork into Solidworks is to drop it in and trace it! Why have compatibility at all?!? That's total BS! Solidworks and Adobe need to get together to work out a direct import function. Something that leaves illustrator clean as a whistle, only to get dropped into SW as junk does no one any good. (Specifically I'm talking about vector text here) I've mentioned this to SW people before, but it really needs to be done. It would save me weeks of frustration over the course of a year.
I'd like to see shading and fills like Illustrator in SW Drawing. 3DVia is junk to me… they're trying but it's definitely not there yet. I'd also like to see better printed output from SW, but that's a whole other topic…
Just an FYI,
In SW2010 we made some fundamental changes to our AI importer. Prior to 2010, you do not have to have AI installed. With 2010 you do because we found the custom designed importer we put in place in 2006 was just not the quality we wanted or our customers needed. One of the things we needed to do to get the the quality up was to have AI reside on the same computer.
Can you expand on this? Does this mean that if I have AI CS4 installed, I'll be able to import AI curves with little difficulty? i.e. Not having to redraw or have it add hundreds of pointless nodes?
Hi Mark, Thanks, I'm wondering the same thing as Chris. I notice the conversion opens AI briefly before bringing it into SolidWorks. There are some paths that come in with more nodes than I desire, but overall I've been please with the conversion. Not to happy about having to move the AI install from another machine to the solidworks rig though.
Hi Mark, Thanks, I'm wondering the same thing as Chris. I notice the conversion opens AI briefly before bringing it into SolidWorks. There are some paths that come in with more nodes than I desire, but overall I've been please with the conversion. Not to happy about having to move the AI install from another machine to the solidworks rig though.
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