Working Units - Intergraph Smart Interop Publisher - Help

Intergraph Smart Interop Publisher Help

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Smart Interop Publisher Version
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Working units are set for all file format types except for CAESAR II, for which only a scaling factor for load cones is required. Working units are coordinate units that correspond to the position and definition of a point in a model. There are a fixed number of points on each axis of a model. You establish working units to ensure that the objects that you want to draw can be entered with adequate precision, and at the same time fit in the design plane.

Working units include Master Units (the largest unit in use in a design), Sub Units (a portion of a Master Unit), and Positional Units (a portion of a Sub Unit). Positional Units are the smallest degree of accuracy possible in your design. Working units are usually referred to as MU:SU:PU.

Master Units

Specifies the largest working unit. Click the Master Units list menu to see the available imperial and metric units.

Sub Units

Possible values for this field are the same as Master Units. Sub Units must be defined the same as Master Units unless the Positional Units per Master Units are greater than the conversion factor between the defined Master Unit and Sub Unit. For example, if the Master Units are meters, then the Sub Units must also be meters. If the number of Positional Units per Master Units is 100, then the Sub Units can be defined as centimeters. If the number of Positional Units per Master Units is 1000, then the Sub Units can be defined as millimeters.

Sub Units per Master Units

Defines the actual conversion factor between the defined Sub Units and the Master Units. For example, if the Master Units is defined as meters and the Sub Units are defined as centimeters, then this value must be 100. If the Master Units and Sub Units are set to the same unit type, then this value must be defined as 1. For most situations with currently supported data types, the Sub Units are set equal to the Master Units. The value can be set to 1.

Positional Units per Sub Unit

Defines the number of Positional Units in the model dataset that equals a single Sub Unit. A Positional Unit is the smallest whole number (unit of resolution) used to represent model coordinates in the dataset. Modify this value to scale your data. Increase this value to scale your model data to be smaller in terms of the defined master units. Decrease this value to scale your model data to be larger in terms of the Master Units.

  • If the source data is already using working units that measure correctly in the Smart Model, you do not need to change the working units.

  • The working unit settings provide basic conversion between systems, but round-off errors can occur. If the source data was modeled in one system but needs to be converted to another system, then we recommend you recreate the model in the required system before using Smart Interop Publisher. If you do not, you can scale to the largest unit possible in the other system to help minimize round-off error.

  • Translation of MicroStation V7 source files always uses only the working units defined in the source file.

  • AutoPLANT:

    • For AutoPLANT .dgn files, Smart Interop Publisher uses the working units in the source file if you check the Working Units Keep units from V8 source files option in the MicroStation translation settings. See MicroStation options.

    • For unitless AutoPLANT .dwg source files, Smart Interop Publisher uses the working units set in the AutoCAD translation settings. The default working units are in meters.

  • When Smart Interop Publisher reads the source files to get the Master and Sub Units, such as in the case of MicroStation V7 files, Smart Interop Publisher recognizes the units listed below and uses the corresponding unit values such as 1 m = 1000mm, and 1 ft. = 12 in., or 1' = 12 ".

    • NANOMETER: nm

    • MILLIMETER: mm

    • CENTIMETER: cm

    • KILOMETER: km

    • INCH: in

    • FOOT: ft

    • YARD: yd

    • MILE: mi

    • POINT: pt

    • FOOT SYMBOL: '

    • INCH SYMBOL: "

For both MicroStation V7 and V8, if there are unsupported units in the source files, or if the Sub Units Per Master Units ratio is incorrect, then Smart Interop Publisher defaults all units to meters.