Someone sent me a box shaped file that looks like a sheet metal part, in the iges format. She wants me to “flatten it out” in Solidworks.
Is my thinking wrong, or if this model was created in Solidworks, why wouldn’t it had been sent to me in the sldprt format? That being said, am I also on the right track thinking that this was probably drawn using another CAD system, maybe Catia, or Rhino, or Pro-E? If the latter is true, can a model drawn in one system be edited on another system? I really do not understand the functionality of the different formats used, iges, slt stp etc, other than if something was drawn in Rhino, for example, it can be saved as an iges and opened in Solidworks, but for viewing only? I do know that they are sometimes referred to as “dumb solids”. I see that there is no design tree, just the word “Imported”.
If someone would kindly explain the functions of all the formats used, and the limits involved, I would most certainly appreciate it. This principle has alluded me for some time now.
Thank you, and sorry for the long winded query,
Regina Alden