CAD File Conversion Overview

Often the CAD data you need to use exists in a format that is not directly compatible with your design system. Since designers use different tools, and because older versions are constantly being replaced with new ones, it is important that your design software can translate data “from” and “to” other design and manufacturing tools.

SOLIDWORKS provides a variety of translators with broad capability to import and export file data, enabling you to work with a wide range of suppliers and customers. Speed your product development by easily converting data to “intelligent” SOLIDWORKS CAD geometry from existing data (both 2D and 3D) and modify the geometry and even create many new designs based on the initial design. Solidworks file conversion capabilities include:

• CAD Import and Export —Convert CAD data into a format to meet your needs
• Sheet Metal Data Exchange—Convert imported CAD data directly to SOLIDWORKS sheet metal models and automatically input your own bend radius, thickness, and K-factor
• Maintain Existing 2D CAD Drawings — Use DraftSight™ to maintain existing 2D CAD data
• 2D to 3D CAD Conversion Tools—Create 3D CAD models from 2D CAD data
• Automatic Feature Recognition — Make future design changes faster by automatically converting non-SOLIDWORKS data to native SOLIDWORKS features
• Electrical CAD and Mechanical CAD data exchange —Use CircuitWorks™ to provide two-way data exchange between Electrical CAD and Mechanical CAD designers
• ScanTo3D —Facilitate reverse engineering with SOLIDWORKS ScanTo3D to convert scanned data into SOLIDWORKS 3D geometry

Prior to manufacturing, SOLIDWORKS confirms hole alignment between mating components in assembly designs to ensure proper fit. This alignment applies both to components to be assembled and those that hold the design together (screws, bolts, pins, etc.). The Hole Alignment tool is especially good for confirming complex linear and circular hole patterns. In addition, interferences can be detected resulting from mismatched threads, misaligned threads, or other interfering geometry.

Specific SOLIDWORKS features include:

• Find and compare alignment of holes created using SOLIDWORKS Hole Wizard
• Find and compare alignment of holes and cylindrical cut features
• Confirm complex linear and circular patterns of holes
• Set allowance for hole center deviation before running hole alignment check
• Check and identify thread mismatch between holes and fasteners

3D Animations and Photorealistic Renderings

Moving from 2D to a 3D CAD system improves how your ideas and concepts are communicated inside and outside your company. It’s simply easier to understand a design when you see it in 3D, as opposed to a static 2D drawing. Potential customers and internal company decision makers want a virtual experience with a design that is as close to the “real life” experience as possible.

People want to see the design in action, moving and performing the tasks it is designed to do. They want to see the 3D model as they would the real life product, with its specific colors and materials—even the environment or setting of their choosing, be it sitting on a picnic table on a sunny day or on a coffee table in a lamp-lit living room. They also want to interact with, maneuver around, and even go through the design to gain perspectives impossible to capture in 2D.

The ability to experience the design as it would be in “real-life” helps win more business by providing a more engaging way to present proposals. It helps guide critical internal decisions earlier in the design phase, without a need for building costly physical prototypes. And it’s a faster, more cost-effective way to get feedback and confirmation from potential customers and buyers, ensuring you are making the right product decisions.

SOLIDWORKS visualization capabilities enable you to quickly and easily create powerful images and animations to clearly communicate your design intent:

• PhotoView 360—Create life-like photorealistic images and animations quickly, without being a graphics expert
• Walk-through/Fly-through—Take a virtual tour of your design or record a video to help explain it to others
• CAD Animation—Demonstrate your design’s basic operation by applying motion, gravity, and component contact or by manually moving components. Then, record and save a video