Reference Code Lego Part LDD VS LDraw

[LEGOFUN]

Hello, my name is Fran. I've been reading this forum for a long time, but now I want to participate. First, I apologize for my English.

I have been a fan of the Lego world for a few years, but recently I started designing a model with LDD. To generate the instructions I use LPUB (from the LDRAW group). Sometimes there are pieces of LDD that are not recognized by LPUB, and in the instructions do not place them. When I have that problem, I use my ingenuity (alternative reference number in bricklink, etc.) and the problem is fixed.

But now I have a problem that I do not know how to solve. It is on piece 15070 of LDD (attached photo). This piece does not have an alternative reference code in bricklink, and of course, LPUB does not recognize it, and it does not appear in the instructions.

As in my design there are many 15070 pieces, the result in the instructions is very ugly..

What alternative reference could you use for LPUB to recognize this piece?

If there is no alternative reference, what solution has this problem?

Can you please help me?

Thank you very much !!!

[NathanR]

Hi LegoFun, welcome to eurobricks!

This is an odd problem, as 15070 is definitely in the ldraw parts library: http://www.ldraw.org/cgi-bin/ptscan.cgi?q=15070

In your LDraw parts library, do you have a file LDraw/parts/15070.dat? If not, you should update LDraw to the latest version.

If yes, then it is possible that the part is appearing but is scaled incorrectly.  In LPUB,  a brick is added with a line like this:

   1 72 -24 0 -40 0 -1 0 0 0 1 -1 0 0 4871.dat

where 1 = colour, 72,-24,0 = position, and  "0 -1 0 0 0 1 -1 0 0" define what is called a matrix that can rotate, position and scale a brick.  If this last set of. numbers is messed up, the brick could appear very small, or very big, or even inside out, which could leave it invisible.

Hope this helps!

[SylvainLS]

 15070 is in BrickLink: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?id=123911#T=C

It’s also 15070 in LDraw (hence LPub).

Maybe you should upgrade your parts library (LDraw 2017.1 is just out).

As for LDD to LDraw conversion, look here: 

 

[LEGOFUN]

Hi. Thank you for the quick response.

I looked at the list of parts within Ldraw, and there is no piece 15070 (nor 11213, which I have the same problem).

But I have a question. I use, within the Ldraw group: LPUB, MLCAD and LDVIEW:

I update only Ldraw?

I'm afraid that LPUB will update, I'm used to the LPUB that I have, and I want to stay the same.

That is, if I update LDRAW can I keep the others (LPUB MLCAD etc.) without touching, just as I have them now?

Thank you.

[NathanR]

Don't worry, LDraw is a library of 3D models of the Lego bricks.  LPUB, MLCAD and the rest are programs that use the LDraw library of bricks to create and edit lego models.  

All you have to do is update LDraw to the latest version (http://www.ldraw.org/parts/latest-parts.html, choose complete.zip and replace your draw folder with the contents of the zip file). The programs will not change, but they should find the new parts.

Edited January 9, 2018 by NathanR

[LEGOFUN]

Ohhh !!! That good !!!

 

I'll do it tomorrow, and I'll tell you how it went.

 

Many thanks !!!

[LEGOFUN]

Hi. When I click on complete.zip I get what you see in the picture I attached.

I simply copy the folder that says "parts" and replace it with the one I now have in my LDRAW program that says "parts"?

Or do we have to do something else?

Thank you.

[SylvainLS]

Replace everything.  Granted, Readme.txt and licences are the same but all the other files are important too (e.g. p contains primitives).

[LEGOFUN]

Hello again. I have replaced the entire content of the update in the Ldraw folder, and there is something good and something bad:

-Bad: When I open the model with MLCAD some pieces (15070, 11213 etc.) still do not appear, and when generating the instructions with LPUB they are not, but:

-Good: If I replace the missing part with another known one, If I change the line known by the missing one and write "15070.dat", This did not happen before the update.

In short, the parts library has been updated, but it seems that MLCAD does not recognize them.

I have to do something MLCAD to recognize the new parts?

Thank you.

[Holly-Wood]

On 10.1.2018 at 6:41 PM, LEGOFUN said:

I have to do something MLCAD to recognize the new parts?

File > Scan Parts

[LEGOFUN]

That is just what I ask:

Must something be done in MLCAD after updating the pieces in Ldraw?

I have downloaded the update files (in the link that NathanR sent), I have copied them, and I have replaced them with the ones I had in my Ldraw.

Now I have all the pieces that I did not have before (such as the 15070), but if I open the model (made with LDD) with MLCAD or LDVIEW, it does not recognize the piece 15070, it simply removes it, it is not seen.

Does anyone know what to do after updating LDRAW?

Thank you.

[Philo]

MLCad needs an update of "parts.lst" in LDraw folder, this is done as Holly-Wood suggested: in MLCad, File -> Scan Parts and accept the update of Parts.lst when prompted.

[djm]

59 minutes ago, LEGOFUN said:

Does anyone know what to do after updating LDRAW?

 

25 minutes ago, Philo said:

MLCad needs an update of "parts.lst" in LDraw folder, this is done as Holly-Wood suggested: in MLCad, File -> Scan Parts and accept the update of Parts.lst when prompted.

Assuming you have already selected the MLCAD menu option "File/Save As" and it has not solved the issue, might I suggest you go one step back. It was identified earlier in this topic

that you need to get a more up-to-date customised part conversion file.

Assuming you followed the instructions in that thread, after you had installed it did you then again save the model from within Lego Digital Designer as an LDraw file? The part conversion is done at the time your model is saved, so if you didn't save it after updating the conversion file, your LDraw model won't be as good as it can be.

Regards,

David

P.S. I'd also suggest to look at using LDCAD rather than MLCAD for modelling with LDraw files. If you turn on "part snapping" (see "Basic brick placement using part snapping" within here) and consider whether to use it in "trackball" verses "spin" mode (see "The camera system" on the same page), your modelling experience will be more enjoyable.

Edited January 13, 2018 by djm
Explicitly identified menu as being in MLCAD. Added PS.

[LEGOFUN]

Hi.

It is very strange everything. I have updated MLcaD as you have indicated (Scan ...) and it has been updated correctly. If I click on "find", it finds all the pieces that were not there before (15070, 87994, etc.)

However, I generate with Ldd a model that has those pieces (15070, 87994 ...), I save it as an ldraw file, and when I open it with Mlcad, those pieces still do not appear.

I design with LDD, I only use MLCAD to generate instructions.

 

If I change to LDCAD, can I still use LPUB?

Are LDCAD and LPUB compatible?

 

I've been using LPUB for a long time, and I do not want to change to another instruction designer.

Thank you.

[djm]

35 minutes ago, LEGOFUN said:

If I change to LDCAD, can I still use LPUB?

Are LDCAD and LPUB compatible?

I've been using LPUB for a long time, and I do not want to change to another instruction designer.

Yes, if you switch to LDCAD, you can still use LPub. The tools MLCAD, LPub, LDCAD, LPub3D, etc all operate on LDraw files. If you try switching from one "equivalent" tool to another (e.g. from MLCAD to LDCAD) and decide you prefer your original tool choice, you can switch back and any changes to your model made with the newer tool will be visible in the older tool.

As an FYI, within LDD I created a model with just the 15070 part in and saved it as an LDraw file. I then opened the "ldr" file using LDCAD and it successully shows the same part. That would suggest the issue is related to one of configuration on your machine.

Regards,

David

 

[SylvainLS]

@LEGOFUN Did you update your ldraw.xml file in LDD?

If not, see:

 

[djm]

@LEGOFUN, open the file "%ProgramFiles%\LEGO Company\LEGO Digital Designer\ldraw.xml". Check if the first line in the file looks something like:

<LDrawMapping versionMajor="1" versionMinor="7" comment="MG beta 4.32 ldr-ldd_conver@gallaghersart.com LDD 4.3.6 Brick ver 1033">

or like

<LDrawMapping versionMajor="1" versionMinor="7" comment="LDD 4.3.11 Brick ver 2670">

If it looks like the first one, you have not updated your LDraw.xml file. See the post from @SylvainLS above.

When I restored the original LDD ldraw.xml file (i.e. the one that came with LDD) I see the behaviour you are experiencing i.e. missing parts. When I use the updated ldraw.xml file, the iissue you are experiencing goes away.

Regards,

David

Edited January 13, 2018 by djm
Typo correction.