GEHAEUSE.EXE
AUTOFACT-6 IGES Test Files

GEHAEUSE.EXE (96K) is a self-extracting archive that contains three IGES files for use in testing postprocessors. They are all based on the IGES test file used to demonstrate vendor interoperability at AUTOFACT-6 in Anahiem, CA in 1983, the original part being a "housing" created on a CAD system by an engineer at Messerschmitt in Germany.

The part represented by these IGES test files has appeared in technical papers at seminars and in professional journals. It is referred to as "MBB Gehaeuse" (Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Housing) in a paper by Ernst Schlechtendahl, et.al., in IEEE COMPUTER GRAPHICS AND APPLICATIONS, Vol. 9 Num. 5 (ISSN 0272-1716) Sep'89. Renderings of this part have also been used in the advertisements for several CAD/CAM vendors and graphics terminal vendors.

These test files were packaged and distributed by WiZ WORX, offering software imagineering since 1983. The renderings were generated using IGESDRAW™. For information on WiZ WORX products, visit our homepage or send e-mail to dennette@wiz-worx.com. Share & Enjoy!

TESTAF6.IGS (156K)

A MIL-D-28000 Class II (Engineering Drawing) IGES Subset conformant file. It contains a 3D wire-frame model of the MBB Gehaeuse part and two Drawing Entities (Type 404) that specify D size sheets (44x34 inches). The first Drawing Entity (named "FIRST" in the IGES file) references three View Entities (Type 410) that define top, front, and side views of the part with beaucoup dimensions (see DRAWING.IGS). The second Drawing Entity (named "SECOND") references a single View Entity that defines an isometric view of the part with no annotation (see MODEL.IGS).

TESTAF6.IGS is a practical, robust test for IGES postprocessors. At the very least, 2D systems that do not support models and views should be able to blow the geometry through the transformation matrices (once for each View) and display the annotation. (Such a postprocessor might create distinct CAD system files for each drawing.) Note that some of the General Note Entities (Type 212) use the Drafting Symbol Font Code (FC 1003), and the multi-view drawing contains subordinate annotation (the sheet border and text in the corners of the sheet).

TESTAF6.IGS is a real widow-maker, but unlike the IGES Files From Hell that we sometimes encounter, everything in this file conforms to the standard. All of the major CAD/CAM systems can read this file, and most will write it back to IGES with the same structure. In short, if your IGES postprocessor chokes on it, then you should suggest that the implementor perform some enhancements.

15-Aug-96 - Rotate the 3D model with Java!

DRAWING.IGS (330K)

An annotated rendering of the part on a drawing sheet with orthogonal views. This file is the result of applying one of the IGES file flattening tools to TESTAF6.IGS. It represents the drawing with three orthographic views (named "FIRST") projected onto the zed nought plane (as the British call Z=0). It contains 1only 2D entities, i.e., circular arcs, 3D splines, and dimensions have been converted to strings of 2D line segments. DRAWING.IGS is not a MIL-D-28000 Class I (Technical Illustration) IGES Subset conformant file, but it's close enough; any flat-earth CAD system or display tool that claims to support IGES should be able to postprocess this file and give you a pretty picture.

DRAWING.IGS - 2D rendering of test part with 3 orthogonal views and annotation

MODEL.IGS (110K)

An isometric rendering of the test part. This file is the result of the same processing as DRAWING.IGS, except that the drawing with one isometric view (named "SECOND") was selected. MODEL.IGS can be used as a sanity-check for what the second drawing in TESTAF6.IGS should look like when correctly processed.

MODEL.IGS - 2D rendering of test part with a single isometric view

THIRD.IGS (N/A)

A Very Bad rendering of the test part. This file is the result of what an un-named (because they have since corrected it) IGES Translator from Hell generated as output, and is a good example of what happens when IGES translators go bad.

THIRD.IGS - output of an IGES Translator from Hell