Techpub software. What's good for doing articles on GD&T? 3

[Tunalover]

Folks, I am looking into publishing some articles on the proper use of GD&T and I've come to believe that others who have done the same have struggled with a tedious publishing process that means working with a 3D CAD program, an illustration program, and a word processor. One combination, for example, being Pro/Engineer-Creo, Adobe Illustrator, and MS Word. The 3D CAD program is used to generate 2D and isometric views to go into figures, the word processor to generate the words, and the illustration program to manage the layout/final product. Yikes! Is there another way? Wouldn't it be great if a single program tied all this together? What have you used and what are the pitfalls to look out for?

ElectroMechanical Product Development
(aka Electronic Packaging)
UMD 1984
UCF 1993

 

[pylfrm]

Tunalover,

What format do you want for your end result? How will it be published?

Just out of curiosity, what has inspired you to do this?


pylfrm

 

[drawoh]

Tunalover,

I am running Linux at home. I write a lot of documents with LaTeX. I use Xfig to draw vector graphics. I use a Makefile to generate the document in PDF and/or HTML format. From LaTeX, I can generate online documents with linked tables of contents. One of the nice things about Xfig is that there are command line tools for extracting EPS or PDF copies of its files. I can write a command line script, like a Makefile, that builds the final document out of the latest available files. LaTeX is available for Windows. There is something out there called WinFIG. Transfig provides the command stuff that extracts the FIG files.

For the purposes of CAD drawing, Xfig is not as good as a decent CAD package. It does not do intelligent dimensioning.

Your next choice is to generate your drawings in some available CAD package, and save them in EPS format. You will have to update your graphics and the EPS copies, manually. Your graphics would have to be imported manually into your Microsoft Word or Open/Libre Office files. If you use the word process styles properly, you can add a table of contents.

I write stuff in straight HTML, using a text editor. Xfig is exportable to PNG, JPEG and GIF format. It does anti-aliasing, so your graphics will look as good as you can make them in Xfig. Once again, you have the ability to use a script, like Makefile or Microsoft BAT, to generate the latest version of your web page.

Another useful Linux utility is Image Magick. This appears to be available for Windows. It was the big Linux graphics program before the GIMP came along. It still provides command line utilities that will copy and resize your photos, change the quality, and add copyright notes. This is very useful again if you use any sort of build script for LaTeX or HTML.

--
JHG

 

[Tunalover]

drawoh, I am running Windows 10 so Linux software is not an option. But sounds like you've got a great thing going there!

pylfrm, the final document would be in whatever format the publisher will take. I haven't gone that far yet but I suppose most publishers take MS Word formats.


ElectroMechanical Product Development
(aka Electronic Packaging)
UMD 1984
UCF 1993

 

[drawoh]

Tunalover,

Everything I listed above is available for Windows.

--
JHG

 

[pylfrm]

Tunalover,

What is the publisher going to do with the article once they get it? How will readers receive and view the article?


pylfrm

 

[Tunalover]

Thanks for that drawoh. I tried a while back to find a turnkey LaTex installation online but no luck. That would be good tool to have and I wanted to use it to write a OP in PhysicsForums.com. I gave up and just did the write up in Word then pasted a dumb image into the post window.

pylfrm, I have been working with a magazine lately for publishing a thermal article and they accept articles in Word, Google Docs, .TXT, and other non-proprietary forms. They take images in JPEG, EPS, SVG, PDF, and other non-proprietary raster or vector formats. But I have not met with a for-profit publisher yet to discuss acceptable formats for the GD&T material. I might publish submit to Machine Design or the magazine put out by the ASQC (I don't recall the name nor am I even sure they publish a magazine anymore).

If anyone out there knows of other magazines that might publish articles on dimensional management I'd be much obliged if you would share the names!

Thanks!


ElectroMechanical Product Development
(aka Electronic Packaging)
UMD 1984
UCF 1993

 

[drawoh]

Tunalover,

I don't know about the install. When I install Linux on a computer, the LaTeX install is huge. I have several books on LaTeX, only one of which is any use, A Guide to LaTeX2e, by Helmut Kopka and Patrick W. Daly. This shows you how to create a document template. This gets you started.

--
JHG

 

[Tunalover]

Thanks for that drawoh. I just ordered a copy of that book (used in good condition $13.45). Since posting this, I found an open source illustrating program called Inkscape 0.91 that looks to be VERY capable. Now if I can only figure out how to print the tutorial!

ElectroMechanical Product Development
(aka Electronic Packaging)
UMD 1984
UCF 1993

 

[pylfrm]

Tunalover,

If you go the magazine route, they will almost certainly handle the page layout and text formatting. That just leaves you with the creation of figures and text.

If the figures you intend to create are similar to those in ASME Y14.5-2009, I can't imagine wanting to use anything other than actual CAD software. Ideal would be something with 3D modeling and 2D drawing capabilities, including built-in GD&T features. If that's something you have ready access to, then I would look no further.

I've used Inkscape a bit, although mainly as a way to edit or convert existing files. I'm sure you could get decent results from it with enough effort, but I don't think it would be much fun. By the way, the current version appears to be 0.92.3.

Whatever software you end up with, hopefully you can provide vector graphics to the publisher.

As for the text, you probably won't need anything very sophisticated. Whoever does the page layout will have to rejigger things anyway, so you don't have to get too fancy with the formatting.


pylfrm

 

[Tunalover]

Thanks for the input pylfrm. Actually the first article I intend to submit is a thermal article and has nothing to do with GD&T. That magazine requires the author to prepare the text, formulas, tables, figures, and bibliography "good to go" under strict guidelines. But for GD&T articles, I agree that a 3D CAD program is the best choice and I have a good open source one for that. But the text of the articles will be interlaced with standard drafting and GD&T symbols like feature control frames. The CAD program won't help with the body of the article. So I am hoping I can get a font library for Inkspace 0.91 (I just installed that a few days ago and your saying 0.92.3 is already available!). But maybe I'll be able to get away with just MS Word.

Does anyone know where to get a drafting font/symbols library and GD&T font/symbols library for MS Word or Inkspace?



ElectroMechanical Product Development
(aka Electronic Packaging)
UMD 1984
UCF 1993

 

[MintJulep]

. 3D CAD program is the best choice and I have a good open source one for that.

Please share.

 

[drawoh]

Tunalover,

Are you sure your GD&T fonts will work at the publisher's end?

--
JHG

 

[3DDave]

Look at

http://p-00-kanold.com/?page_id=7

He's created True type fonts and an interface for composing FCFs, et al.

Also seen at

http://www.fontspace.com/category/GDT

 

[Tunalover]

MintJulep the open source program is FreeCAD. I've heard it is a CATIA V5 clone but since I'm not a CATIA V5 user I can't tell. It has a very big following but the tutorials need improvement (by the user base). I tried to download the 64-bit version on my Windows 10 laptop but that didn't work. So I tried the 32-bit installation and that one DID work. I'm working through my first part model with my free time.

drawoh,
I don't know if any GD&T font will be compatible with publishers but thanks for bringing that to my attention. I'll have to call around and find out.

Thanks guys!





ElectroMechanical Product Development
(aka Electronic Packaging)
UMD 1984
UCF 1993

 

[pylfrm]

Tunalover,

Where did you even find Inkscape 0.91? It's been obsolete for 16 months. The latest version should be available here.

pylfrm

 

[Tunalover]

pylfrm Wow! Good catch. Good thing I didn't get deep into it.

ElectroMechanical Product Development
(aka Electronic Packaging)
UMD 1984
UCF 1993

 

[Tunalover]

Great link 3DDave! I saved it for the future.

ElectroMechanical Product Development
(aka Electronic Packaging)
UMD 1984
UCF 1993

 

[pyromech]

Interesting topic. never used xfig or inkscape. i do all my vector graphics in Creo. Straightforward but painstaking long. I always wondered a better software graphics for creating tolerance loops. i am draftsman so if you need helping with CAD, i try to help

 

[drawoh]

Tunalover,

I was having some problems converting DXF to EPS graphics, and a web page suggested Inkscape. I have just installed it, and it works! Now I have to read the $^(@# tutorial.

When you convert from LibreCAD to EPS, you get an EPS[ ]bitmap. It writes SVG in proper vector format. Inkscape reads this and saves it as a proper EPS[ ]file. This is probably not the intelligent way to do this, but at least I can do it.

--
JHG