Importing Excel Data into ME10 & SolidDesigner

Here is the basic procedure to import Excel data into ME10 and/or
SolidDesigner:

  1. Clean the data within Excel so that all you have is two columns of
     numbers (X and Y values).  Make sure there are no additional lines (no
     header rows) or other extraneous data or text in the sheet.

  2. Insert a line at the beginning to start the curve.  Use the following to
     decide what to put on the first line:

     Desired Curve   For use in     First line command
     ==================================================================
     LINE SEGMENTS   ME10           LINE POLYGON
     SMOOTH CURVE    ME10           BSPLINE
     LINE SEGMENTS   SolidDesigner  POLYGON
     SMOOTH CURVE    SolidDesigner  BSPLINE_INT

  3. Append a line just after the last set of values to end the curve: 

     For use in     Last line command
     ==================================================================
     ME10            END
     SolidDesigner   COMPLETE

  4. Save the data from Excel as a comma separated value file.

  5. Open the file from within a text editor, for example Notepad or
     Wordpad.  Wordpad is available from the Start menu / Programs /
     Accessories / Wordpad

  6. Remove the trailing comma on the first and last lines.
     For example:

     LINE POLYGON,   becomes:   LINE POLYGON
     BSPLINE_INT,    becomes:   BSPLINE_INT
     END,            becomes:   END
     COMPLETE,       becomes:   COMPLETE

  7. Save changes to the file.

After performing these steps, you will have a text file that looks something
like this, for ME10:

     BSPLINE
     0,0
     3.5,7.34
     9.0,34.0
     3.4,7.8
     END

or for SolidDesigner:

     BSPLINE_INT
     0,0
     3.5,7.34
     9.0,34.0
     3.4,7.8
     COMPLETE

To use your file in ME10, navigate to the directory where you stored the
file, and on the command line, enter the command:

     INPUT 'filename.csv'

where filename.csv is the name of the file that you created above.  The
curve will be created.

To use your file in SolidDesigner, use the Toolbox / Recorder goody.
Select the file you stored above, then hit Playback / Start.  The
curve will be created on the workplane.  You MUST have an active
workplane for this process to work.  Note the recorder goody expects
*.rec files.  You can either use the pulldown to select all file types
and locate your 'filename.csv' or you may change the file extension
in Windows from .csv to .rec before using the recorder in SolidDesigner.

This page created on 10/4/2004 by James Osborn