NC Files and CNC Integration: How SDS/2 Exports Drive Shop Equipment

An NC file is the numerical control data a CNC machine uses to process one steel part: the profile and length to cut, the location and size of every hole, the shape of copes and contours, and any markings. Detailing software generates NC files from the same model as the shop drawings, replacing manual layout.

The machines that use them range from beam drill lines, band saws and coping systems to angle lines and plate processors that drill, punch or thermally cut. Used well, NC files remove hand layout, reduce measuring errors and speed the shop. Used carelessly, they let a machine repeat a detailing error on every piece in the run.

DSTV NC1 is the most widely used exchange format for steel CNC data. It originated with the German steel construction association, the Deutscher Stahlbau-Verband, and most beam lines and many plate processors can read it. Each file typically describes one part, with a header of identifying data followed by blocks describing holes, contours and markings.

Machines differ in which blocks and features they support, so a file that runs perfectly on one line may need different export settings for another.

KISS files, short for Keep It Simple Steel, are text files that carry piece, assembly and material data from a detailing model into fabrication management and production control software. They are used for purchasing, nesting material, scheduling, and tracking pieces through the shop, rather than for driving a machine directly.

A KISS export lets the shop load marks, quantities, sizes, grades and weights without retyping bills of material. Like NC files, it is only as good as its match with the drawings: a KISS file from an earlier revision can put the wrong quantities into purchasing just as easily as an old NC file can put the wrong holes into a beam.

Beam lines, saws, coping systems and angle lines generally read DSTV NC1 files. Plate processors read DSTV NC1 or CAD geometry such as DXF, depending on the machine and its software. Fabrication management software reads KISS files. What the detailer needs to know differs by machine, so list your equipment before the first export.

SDS/2 generates NC files from the same model that produces the shop drawings, one file per part, identified by piece mark. Each file inherits the part's profile, material grade, holes, copes and cuts, so the NC data and the drawing describe the same piece. Export settings are configured for the target machines before the first release.

The discipline that matters is timing. NC files should be exported at the fabrication release, from the same model revision as the drawings and bolt lists, and regenerated whenever a revision changes a part. Vertex treats that as a release rule: drawings, reports and NC files for a release always come from one model revision. See SDS/2 detailing and 3D modeling.

Most NC problems are mismatches rather than bad geometry: files from an older revision than the drawings, export settings that do not suit the machine, features the machine cannot process, field-drilled holes exported as shop holes, profile or grade names the machine does not recognize, and duplicate file names that overwrite each other.

• Revision mismatch. The drawing was revised, but the NC file in the machine queue was not replaced.
• Machine settings. Different controllers and software versions read files differently.
• Unsupported features. Slots, countersinks or markings exported to a machine that cannot make them.
• Field holes. Holes intended for field drilling included in shop NC data.
• Naming. Profile names or material grades that do not map to the machine's library.
• Cut lengths. Assumptions about weld preparation, cutback or camber that differ between detailer and shop.
• File names. Duplicate or inconsistent names that overwrite files or confuse operators.

Tell a detailer which machines and software you run, which NC format and settings each expects, which features they support, how you name profiles and files, and how you want field-drilled holes and markings handled. That information belongs at intake, alongside your shop standards, so the first export runs on your equipment instead of being fixed at the machine.

Check NC files before cutting by confirming their revision matches the approved drawing, opening a sample in an NC viewer to compare hole locations, lengths and copes against the drawing, and running a first piece before releasing a batch. Most expensive NC errors are revision mistakes, so the revision check matters more than any other step.

On the detailer's side, the protection is procedural: generate NC files from the same model revision as the drawings, reissue them with every revised sheet, and check the drawings they come from independently before release. Vertex's checking sequence is on the quality control page, and what a fabricator receives is summarized on the steel fabricators page.

NC/CNC files are one of Vertex's standard deliverables. From SDS/2, the team exports DSTV NC1 files for your beam lines, saws and plate processors, and KISS files for fabrication management software, with export settings agreed for your equipment at intake. NC files are reissued with every revision, from the same model revision as the shop drawings and bolt lists.

Send your machine list, NC format requirements and naming conventions with your first package, along with your shop standards. That setup is carried forward to later packages.