Exporting DSTV from Tekla

DSTV — the .nc1 files Tekla Structures writes — is the main route for getting parts into KRON without re-keying anything. This chapter covers what to set on the Tekla side so the import behaves, and what to check on the KRON side afterwards.

What KRON reads from an NC file

For each part, KRON recognises:

• the geometry, including the shape of both end cuts
• the profile designation
• the material
• the cut angles
• the holes, cut-outs and part connections used to derive splice restrictions

What it does not get from a standard export is the standard the profile belongs to. That is the single most common source of confusion, and it is covered below.

Before you export

1. Decide what a single export contains

KRON nests everything you give it together, so an export containing more parts of the same profile and material gives the optimiser more to work with and produces a tighter plan. Exporting one small assembly at a time is the most common reason a shop sees disappointing results.

2. Enable the settings that expose part connections

The automatic part connection splice restriction — the one that stops KRON putting a weld where another member frames in — depends on connection information being written into the NC files. A default Tekla export does not always include it.

If you export without those settings and then switch the restriction on in KRON, the import will succeed but the restriction will silently have nothing to act on. If part connections matter to you, verify on a small test export before committing a whole project.

3. Check the encoding

Tekla writes NC files in different encodings depending on version and locale. KRON asks which to use at import time, and the selector carries hints: UTF-8 covers Tekla 2016 and later, Advance Steel, and most modern software. Older exports are usually a legacy single-byte encoding.

Importing into KRON

Where: Production → Adding Parts → the file icon labelled dstv.

1. Select the drawing set the parts belong to first — the button is inactive otherwise.
2. Choose the File Encoding.
3. Set the splice constraints to derive from the files:
   • Forbid splicing in hole zones — with a constraint length in millimetres
   • Forbid splicing in part connection zones — with a constraint length in millimetres
   • Forbid splicing in part cut-out zones — with a constraint length in millimetres
   • No splice at the ends of the part — as a percentage of length
   • Forbid splicing in the centre of the part — as a percentage of length
4. Select the NC files. Loading takes a while for a large set.

KRON adds the profiles and materials it finds to the drawing set as it imports.

Getting the standard right

With a standard Tekla export, NC files contain geometry but no standard information. KRON therefore selects a standard by matching the geometry against the catalogues you have ticked in the Standards Manager.

If parts import with the standard shown as non-standard:

1. Open the Standards Manager and tick the catalogues you actually work with.
2. Delete the parts you already imported.
3. Import them again.

Changing the catalogue does not retroactively re-match parts that are already in the project, which is why the delete-and-reimport step is necessary.

After the import

Check the failures list. Parts that could not be loaded are listed with the reason. It is worth reading rather than dismissing — a systematic failure usually points at an export setting.

Check the encoding immediately. If profile or material names contain garbled characters, delete the added parts and profiles and import again with the correct encoding. There is no way to fix the encoding after the fact.

Expect duplicates to be renamed. If a part with the same name has already been loaded, KRON appends the date and time of the repeat load to the name rather than overwriting the original. This is deliberate, but it does mean a re-import of the same files leaves you with two copies to clean up.

Remember what is locked. Parts imported from DSTV cannot be edited in KRON — they are bound to their source file so that the two cannot diverge. Only splice restrictions remain editable. If the geometry is wrong, fix it in Tekla and re-import.

Quick troubleshooting