Overview of CAD property mapping

CAD files often contain valuable information stored as properties or parameters (the term varies from product to product). Some examples of these properties include:

  • Material

  • Description

  • Surface and heat treatment requirements

The CAD properties or parameters can be mapped to aPriori User Defined Attributes (UDAs) and to specific system-defined production input attributes using an XML mapping file. The following illustration shows an example of mapping two production inputs (Process Group and Annual Volume).

ALL inputs required for costing a part can be provided by CAD properties.

  • A material property can automatically drive aPriori Material.

  • A description property can contain meaningful text that complements the component part number.

  • A surface or heat treatment requirement property could be mapped to a UDA to indicate that aPriori needs to add a secondary process.

aPriori extracts properties from CAD files whenever it extracts (or re-extracts) GCDs. All properties are extracted and stored in the aPriori database with the GCDs, but with one exception only mapped properties are visible to aPriori users. (The exception is CAD standard CAD material properties, which automatically get mapped to the aPriori material property if it exactly matches an aPriori material.)

Values mapped from CAD properties can be viewed and cleared in aPriori, to explore the cost impact of different manufacturing scenarios. See the aPriori Professional User Guide for more information about the Cost Overrides dialog or the Reconcile Inputs dialog.

Properties get mapped to UDAs and production inputs by means of a user-written XML file. This XML mapping file is prepared externally and then is loaded and stored in the aPriori database using the System Administration menu item File > Import > CAD Property Mapping File.

Note: Because every company has different CAD property fields, aPriori cannot provide a standard out-of-box mapping file. See CAD properties mapping examples. Please contact aPriori Customer Support or aPriori Professional Services to acquire an example starting point mapping file and guidance for how to modify it for your purposes.

CAD files also sometimes contain datum objects that define draw direction. A mapping file can be used to designate a draw direction aPriori should use in costing.

You can specify Stock Form as a Production Input by mapping a CAD attribute to the STOCK_FORM_NAME production input in the CAD mapping file for Bar & Tube, Stock Machining, and Multi-Spindle process groups.

You can include CSL expressions in your mapping file, meaning that it is not necessary for the value of the CAD property to exactly match an available value of an aPriori field. For example, the CAD field COMMODITY with a value of “Casting” could be mapped to the “Casting – Die” process group in aPriori.

The availability of CSL expressions in the mapping file also means that the value of the aPriori field can be driven based on the value of multiple CAD fields as well as just a single CAD field.  For example, the aPriori Digital Factory may be chosen based on the values of both the PRODUCTION_REGION and TOOLING_REGION CAD fields.

The export feature allows you to create a fresh XML file from the currently loaded mappings, including comments. This feature is found under the System Administration File > Export > CAD Property Mapping File menu item. Also note that the original import mechanism (File > Load CAD Property Mapping File) is now found at
File > Import > CAD Property Mapping File.

Supported CAD systems and neutral file formats

aPriori 's property extraction feature supports the following CAD systems:

  • Pro/ENGINEER and Creo® (includes Direct Integration mode)

  • CATIA™ V5 (includes the Cost in aPriori Plug-in)

  • NX™ (includes the Cost in aPriori Plug-in)

  • SOLIDWORKS™ (includes the Cost in aPriori Plug-in)

  • STEP AP242

Note the following: 

  • Earlier versions of the STEP standard (AP203 and AP214) do not support CAD properties.

  • aPriori supports property extraction from part- and assembly-level but does not currently support feature-level attributes.

  • aPriori Supports property extraction from a Family-Table Instance of a component but not a generic.

  • aPriori does not support extracting SOLIDWORKS™ properties that are defined in configurations.

  • NX™ properties are sometimes defined as “category/attribute”. This can be mapped in aPriori using the vertical bar (“|”): <source name="MyCategory|MyAttribute"/>