Importing Solidworks 2D Geometry into MATLAB

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Matthew
Matthew on 28 Sep 2023
Edited: Matthew on 15 Oct 2023
Hello, I'm quite new to MATLAB but I was wondering, how can I import 2D Geometry coordinates from Solidworks into MATLAB? The ultimate goal would to get these geometry coordinates (specifically the distance from the origin to the Y coordinate of the contour, which the geometry is half of a rocket engine contour), to get the datapoints of the ratio of Area/Area of the throat along the entire contour.
Hopefully that makes sense,
Thank you for any help
  3 Comments
KSSV
KSSV on 29 Sep 2023
In what format the file is? STL ? You can happily import stl files.
Matthew
Matthew on 1 Oct 2023
@Mario Malic Yeah I'm not sure if it was possible in Matlab either (im also probably new to this which might limit my understanding of whats possible), but here I'll try to explain it better. In the picture I sent (I just grabbed this off the internet), I'm trying to import my contour (Which is 2D and is a 1/2 cross section) in a way that I could obtain the varying radius of the contour as I travel from the start to the end. I'll then use this radius to calculate isentropic flow equations. Though I'm not sure if MATLAB could read coordinates (? if thats the right word) from Solidworks.Hopefully u get a better idea now

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Answers (2)

Avni Agrawal
Avni Agrawal on 9 Oct 2023
Edited: Avni Agrawal on 9 Oct 2023
Hi,
I understand that you want to import 2D geometry coordinates from Solidworks, specifically an STL file, into MATLAB. You can achieve this by using the "importGeometry" function in MATLAB's PDE Toolbox. You can find more information about this function in the MATLAB documentation here: https://in.mathworks.com/help/pde/ug/pde.pdemodel.importgeometry.html#bulkov_-4
Here's an example of how you can import geometry using the "importGeometry" function in MATLAB's PDE Toolbox:
% Create a PDE model
model = createpde();
% Import the geometry using the importGeometry function
importGeometry(model, 'rocket.stl');
% Plot the imported geometry
pdegplot(model, 'FaceLabels', 'on', 'FaceAlpha', 0.5);
% Further processing or analysis of the imported geometry can be done here
% Display a message to indicate successful geometry import
disp('Geometry imported successfully.');
To extract the coordinates from the STL file and import them into MATLAB, you can use the "stlread" function. Here is an example that demonstrates how to do this:
% Import the STL file using the stlread function
[vertices, faces] = stlread('rocket.stl');
% Extract the coordinates from the vertices
x = vertices(:, 1);
y = vertices(:, 2);
z = vertices(:, 3);
% Process the coordinates as needed
% (e.g., calculate distances, ratios, etc.)
% Your further MATLAB code goes here
% Display a message to indicate completion
disp('Coordinates imported successfully.');
I hope this explanation helps you with importing the 2D geometry coordinates from Solidworks into MATLAB.
  4 Comments
Mario Malic
Mario Malic on 15 Oct 2023
What is the that curve you are trying to obtain the points from - arc, spline?
Matthew
Matthew on 15 Oct 2023
Edited: Matthew on 15 Oct 2023
@Mario Malic The "curve" is just straight lines in Solidworks, no arc or splines. I will also try your macro later today.

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Mario Malic
Mario Malic on 15 Oct 2023
Here is a SolidWorks macro, you have to select the edge and run the macro. Hopefully it works, otherwise you need to tell me what kind of curve is used to draw the edge.

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