Revision as of 17:58, 23 November 2015

Cutout Library Overview

Protocase Designer includes a built-in cutout library that allows you to create, edit, delete, organize, and place single or groups of cutouts, hardware, and graphics on your enclosure. All cutouts are in the PDC (Protocase Designer Cutout) format.

Protocase also offers a separate, online cutout library, which provides cutouts in DXF (Drawing Interchange Format, or Drawing Exchange Format) and SLDPRT (SolidWorks Part File) formats. You can download any cutout for free, and contribute custom cutouts of your own. You can also update the Designer library from the online one. For more information on using the online library or to search it, see [Protocase online Cutout Library].

The rest of this page contains information on the Designer cutout library.

Opening the Cutout Library

From the 3D View window, choose Cutout Library Manager > Open Cutout Manager, or from the Face Editor, choose Cutout Library and Fasteners > Cutout Library.



The Cutout Library Manager lists the cutouts in two sections, main library and personal library. The cutouts you create (or modify) and save are automatically added to the personal library. This prevents the main library of stock cutouts from being changed, and also helps you find your own cutouts more easily.

The main library section lists items by category. Click any category to view its items; click any item to view it along with details such as its name, manufacturer, and part number.

Managing Cutout Library items

When opening the Cutout Library from the 3D View, you can:

• Create a new item: To draw a new item or to group existing items, click the New Item button. See Creating a cutout in the Library below for detailed instructions.
• Create a new category: To create a new category for items, click the New Category button, then enter the category Name. You can then move items into the category by dragging them to the category name. Any new categories are also accessible from the Cutout Library and Fasteners menu in the Face Editor.
• Add a new item: To add an item to the library in the format .DXF or any of the Designer formats (.PDC, .PDA, or .PDP), click the Load Item from File button.
  
• Edit an item: Click the item you want to edit, then click the Edit Item button, which opens the cutout in an editor similar to the Face Editor.
• Update an item: Click the item you want to update, then click the Update with New File button and select the file to replace it. The file you select must be a previously exported item.
• Delete an item or category: Click the item you want to delete, then click the Delete button.
• Export an item: Click the item you want to edit, then click the Export to File button. The file is saved in the PDC format. Besides being used to export an item you want to alter and reload, this function is useful when sharing an item in your library with other people or computers, since the exported file can be opened in a different Designer installation.
• Upload an item to the online library: Click the Upload to Online Library button to let others use the item. Items uploaded to the online library will be downloaded and included in your Designer library when you install a Designer update.
  

When opening the Cutout Library from the Face Editor (Cutout Library and Fasteners > Cutout Library), you can also:

• Place an item onto the current face. Click the item you want to add to a face, then click the Place Item button. The Face Editor opens, and the cursor changes to an image of the cutout. Click in each location on the face where you wish to place the cutout; when done, press <Esc>.
  
  

Creating a cutout in the Library

1. In the Library Manager window, click the New Item button. The New Library Item dialog opens.

   

2. In Name, enter a unique identifying name for the cutout.
3. If you want to change the origin, in Origin Placement click the dot that you want to be the origin. (It will turn red.)

   Notes

   • The origin is the origin of the canvas, not just of the cutout on it.
   • Using the center as the origin makes it easiest to place objects; you will not need to use the grid because you can center objects on the origin.
4. Enter the Height and Width of the cutout canvas. This is the area shown in green, on which the cutout is drawn. Tip: Make each cutout canvas as large as the item that goes into the cutout, not just the hole it goes into, so that you can add an exclusion zone that fills the canvas around the cutout to prevent objects from being placed too closely.
5. Click OK.
   
   

Saving a custom cutout to the Library from the Face Editor

When you create a cutout of your own on a face, you can save it to the Cutout Library.

1. After creating the cutout in the Face Editor, click the Edit button and select the cutout.
2. If the cutout consists of more than one object, click the Group button in the Properties panel. Note When grouped, the origin for the group is the origin of the first object created in the group.
3. Click the Add to Library button.

   The Edit Properties dialog opens.

   
   

4. Enter a new Name for the cutout.

   You can optionally add x and y offsets, Width, Height, Manufacturer, Part Number, and Description.

5. Click OK.

   The cutout is added to the personal library section of the Cutout Library.
   

See Also:

• Importing DXF cutout files
  
  

Importing DXF files

Two-dimensional DXF files for cutouts, silkscreens, or groups of each can be imported into Protocase Designer directly into your design, or into your Cutout Library. Note that cutouts must be closed loops of continuous lines, and that splines are not supported. Our implementation cannot cover every version of every software tool that makes DXF files. If you have trouble importing a DXF file, please send it to info@protocase.com and state that you cannot import it into Protocase Designer, and if possible let us know what software package it was created in.

How DXF Line Types are converted to Protocase Designer

Note that some DXF line types, upon import, are converted to Construct or Exclusion zones.

To import a DXF file into a design

1. Load the assembly and select the face you want to add the cutout to.
2. In the Face Editor, choose Cutout Library and Fasteners > Place Object From File.
3. Browse to the DXF file, select it and click Open.

   If units of measure are not found in the file, you are prompted to select the unit (Inches, MM, or CM).

   The New Library Item dialog opens, with the Keep Default Origin radio button selected and the default origin displayed as a red dot in the graphic.

4. To accept the default, click OK. To change the default, select the Assign New Origin radio button, click the dot that you want to be the new origin, then click OK.

   The Face Editor opens with the cutout displayed at the cursor location. Move it to the desired location on the face, and click to place it on the face with its origin at that point.

To import a DXF file into your Cutout Library

1. From the 3D View, choose Cutout Library Manager > Open Cutout Manager, or, from the Face Editor, choose Cutout Library and Fasteners > Cutout Library Manager.
2. Click Load Item from File.
3. Browse to the DXF file, select it and click Open.

   The New Library Item dialog opens, with the Keep Default Origin radio button selected and the default origin displayed as a red dot in the graphic.

4. To accept the default, click OK. To change the default, select the Assign New Origin radio button, click the dot that you want to be the new origin, then click OK.

   The cutout is added to your library and is displayed at the bottom of the cutout list.