ACIS Writer

ACIS

File Extension

SAT SAB

Supported Versions

5.0

Platforms

wy ly my an in

Tessellation

c_grey N/A

B-rep

c_green Supported

PMI

c_grey N/A

ACIS is a widely-used geometric modeling kernel that provides robust 3D modeling functionalities for various CAD, CAM, and CAE applications. The ACIS file format stores 3D geometry data, including vertices, edges, faces, and bodies, using a precise and efficient representation. This format is commonly used for interoperability between different CAD systems and for accurate geometric representation in engineering and design applications.

Our support for ACIS covers both reading and writing ACIS files on Windows, GNU/Linux, and macOS.

How to Export to ACIS

Our writer supports version 5.0 of the ACIS format. To export a model to ACIS, use A3DAsmModelFileExportToAcisFile(). Customize the export using A3DRWParamsExportAcisData.

A3DRWParamsExportAcisData sParamsExportData;
A3D_INITIALIZE_DATA(A3DRWParamsExportAcisData, sParamsExportData);
// ... set export parameter options

A3DAsmModelFileExportToAcisFile(pModelFile, &sParamsExportData, "path/to/file.sat");

Assembly

ACIS does not support the concept of assemblies, so we flatten the assembly before exporting. All parts will appear as sibling parts, with transformations and coloring preserved to match the source data.

Export to Buffer

Our ACIS writer provides additional methods to export data:

Tessellation

This format does not support tessellation representation.

B-rep

All B-rep data is exported with surfaces and curves approximated to the following types:

  • Surfaces: B-spline surface, Cone, Plane, Torus.

  • Curves: B-spline, Circle, Line, UV curve, Ellipse.

Miscellaneous

Hidden Objects

ACIS does not support hidden objects. We export hidden objects as visible by default with A3DRepresentationItemExportToAcisBuffer(), but this is not possible with A3DAsmModelFileExportToAcisFile().

Unsupported Features

ACIS does not support PMI and views, so our ACIS writer does not export these elements. The ACIS kernel does not support conversion of tessellation to geometry, so exporting files with tessellation to ACIS will result in an empty model.