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Orientation is lost for objects imported from CAD file

Question

I imported a CAD file into TracePro, but the local origin defined in the CAD Program is lost. Now I want to scale and rotate objects relative to each other, but it doesn't work right. How can I resolve this?

Synopsis

Orientation is lost for objects imported

Symptoms

When objects are exported from a CAD program, then imported into TracePro, the local origin of each object is lost. Selecting Edit|Object|Orientation in TracePro for any object shows (0,0,0) as the origin. Please perform these steps in TracePro to demonstrate the issue:
  • new model
  • insert a block at location (1,2,3)
    • right-click/Modify, displays location (1,2,3)
    • Edit|Object|Orientation, displays location (1,2,3)
  • Save As .stp
  • close model
  • open .stp
    • right-click/Modify, displays location (0,0,0)
    • Edit|Object|Orientation, displays location (0,0,0)

Solution

Explanation, not a solution ... Each CAD program can have a different convention for defining a local origin of an object, and the points of the object relative to that local origin. File formats like .stp and .igs are universal, and do not retain the relationship to the local origin.