Import DSTV in Raptor

I hope you are having a good day. I'm Duane Bates, the pre-installation and training department manager at Peddinghaus. The purpose of this video is to describe the DSTV import process in Raptor.

There are three ways to get to the DSTV import window. You can use the DSTV icon on the toolbar or under the file menu. Select import and then DSTV NC files. You can also use the keystroke Control + D. The DSTV import window will open up.

Once the window is open, the first thing you should do is select the files you want to import. Click the "add files" button. Navigate to the folder that contains the files you want to import. In this case, I have a folder on my desktop where I have six files. I'll select the files to be imported and click the "open" button. You see the files listed here.

We also need to make sure the options are set correctly. Please note, there are different tabs for the different profiles. We have angles, beams, channels, plates, tubes and T shapes. Make sure to set the options for each type of profile the way you need them to be. The tabs are all essentially the same with just a few distances.

In the top section you can decide whether or not to import a particular profile either by selecting or unselecting this box. You can choose what features on the profile you want to import, whether you want to import copes, scribes, holes, pop marks or all of the above. You can also choose to flip the gage location of the features on any of the surfaces by clicking these boxes. If you import the files you will find the holes or copes are directly opposite where they need to be on that surface. Simply select that surface and reimport the files. The features should be in the right location.

In the lower option section there are a number of choices. The first is X location of slotted holes measured to slot center. This forces the slotted or oval holes to be measured to the center of the hole. In DSTV, the X and Y dimensions, or the X and gage dimensions, are to the center of the round hole. There's an additional distance. This is forcing it to measure to the center of the slot. Flip X locations does exactly that. If checked, all features on the part are flipped over the length of the part. Anything near the leading edge of the part will now be near the trailing edge. If swap flanges is checked, all features on the top flange will be moved to the bottom flange and vice versa.

DSTV files created in Tekla. If the DSTV files originated in Tekla detailing software you should check this box. This is mainly for importing of copes as the direction of the radius corner is different in Tekla than it is in other software.

The next choice is create flange copes from contours on the flange edge. This will cause copes to be created on the flanges from contour lines in the DSTV. Typically, this will not need to be selected. Contours are cope lines. Change slot angle direction. This changes the slots from vertical to horizontal or horizontal to vertical.

The next choice we have is reference top left. This option forces all features to be referenced from the top left of each surface. We have swap slot height and width. This checkbox swaps the dimensions for the height and the width of slotted holes. In a DSTV, a slotted hole is described as a diameter and an additional distance. That additional distance can either be in a height or width column. This choice right here is just switching the location of the value, and will change the direction of the slotted hole as well.

The next one we have is orient text. The text will be oriented so it can be read. Use diameter to find countersink angle. If importing countersunk holes, use this check box to have Raptor calculate the countersink angle for you. Zero thread pitch override. If importing tapped holes use this box to define the thread pitch. Edge adjustment distance with the dimension in this box, Raptor will change any miters that are less than this value to a zero degree cut. If for instance, I had a value of 1/8" in here and I had a cut that was less than that 1/8", the cut would now be changed to a zero degree cut. It would be processed as a straight cut.

Import miters defined in header. In the header of the DSTV, there are four lines that contain the four potential miters on the part. You have Z miters and Y miters. Z miters are webbed miters and Y miters are flange miters. Those miters can either be on the leading edge or trailing edge of the part. You have Z miters on the leading edge and Y miters on the trailing edge. We have the ability to import that information if we want to by checking these boxes. If desired you can also flip them on either the lead edge or trail edge.

We also have "don't check for matching copes". As a default, Raptor is checking to see if there's a cope cut line at the same location of the miters that is defined there. If there is a cope that crosses or coincides with, it will ignore the miter and import the cope line. Select this if you want to ignore the cope. It will import the miter as defined.

Import bottom flange as top flange. In a DSTV, an angle is described as having a web and bottom flange as the two surfaces. In Raptor, and running through Peddinghaus machines, we desire to have a web and top flange so we can change that bottom flange to be a top flange. If for some reason we want to import that angle as a bottom flange, we can check this box as well. It will come in as a web and bottom flange.

Optimize settings will optimize the other settings if you have angles with bottom flange selected. If I select this, it will optimize the other settings here to match what is needed for that box.

Beams, channels, plates, and tubes all have the exact same options except the last two that I mentioned. "Angles and bottom flange" and "import bottom flange as top flange" are specific to an angle profile. T shapes also have switch width and height and import the "o" surface as top flange. With switching width and height, if the stem height of a T and the flange width are coming in directly opposite or backwards from the way they should be, you can check this box and it will swap the dimensions for you.

Importing the "o" surface as top flange. This forces the "o" surface in a DSTV to be imported as the top flange by default. The "o" surface in a DSTV is the top flange. This is just forcing it to be that way.

The part data tab can import this bit of part information directly from the DSTV file. These four bits of information are the first four lines in a DSTV file. Historically, they have been in the order as shown: order identification, drawing identification, part or phase, and piece identification.

Recently, some detailing software is allowing the user to change the order of this information. The piece identification might be the third bit or the second bit. Now, they're allowing it to be changed. In the instance that you import your DSTV files and they all have the same part name, it is because the last two lines are switched. Typically, I set this up as project number, assembly, lot name and finally part name. If all of your parts import and have the exact same name, the piece identification is the third bit of information, and they're all coming in as the lot name.

It is taking the lot name information instead. You can come back here, swap these two values and reimport the files. They should have the part name listed correctly. Typically, those choices are going to work and be fine throughout the length of any particular job. This order is the standard order. This is how they would normally be ordered. As I said, recently they are allowing detailers to change the order of these bits of information. You might have to manipulate these choices as you import a job.

When we're done, simply go back to the import tab and hit go. As you see, my six files have been imported and created. I close this window and go to my pending part window. Select the expand key, and you can see my six files. At this point, I can open any of these files to view them.

For any other service-related questions please contact Peddinghaus support at 1-815-937-3800 and press 2 for technical assistance. Visit our website at www.peddinghaus.com for more how-to videos and additional machine information.