You may either import a shape as a text file or as a graphic entity from the current drawing.
- Enter the scale and units of the imported outline in 1 Drawing Unit Represents.
- Ensure that the shape is correctly aligned with respect to the axis system and reference datum of the parent unit. Your shape should be oriented facing to the left and it is assumed that the origin of the shape is coincident with the reference datum on the unit (usually the primary front axle or front coupling), e.g. a circle with its centre at coordinates 5, 5 is displayed on the vehicle 5 units back and 5 units up from the reference datum.
- If the origin does not coincide with the reference datum, use the Origin Offset to make adjustments. To adjust the origin of an imported entity, enter in Origin Offset in Drawing Units the amount by which the imported outline is offset from the required origin. So, in the example above, to move the circle being imported to the reference datum enter 5, 5.
Note: If you use this feature to import side elevations, note that the reference datum is assumed to be the road surface. Thus, again assuming zero offset, your shape should be defined with the lower edge at the height of the required ground clearance.
- Select Import block or polyline to import a graphic from the current drawing and then either select the block name from the drop down list or use the Pick button to select a polyline using the mouse.
- Select Import file to import an AutoCAD drawing file, or an ASCII text file (comma or space delimited) and click the Browse button. When the Open File dialog is displayed, select the appropriate file type and browse to find your file. Click Open to get the data into the table.
Note: A delimited format should be simply a list of coordinate pairs either comma (CSV) or space delimited (TXT), e.g.:
X1, Y1
X2, Y2
etc...