The user must decide which option will be best depending on how the data will be used. With this box checked, you can either have SOLIDWORKS import the data as sketches or as curve features. We can also choose to import point or curved entities to import the data as 2D and 3D sketch data, by selecting “Free point/curve entities.” This option is useful if you’re importing free points or free curves from either a CAD or analysis package. This is faster than choosing the knit surfaces option, especially for importing complex models.įor this example, we’ll leave the B-Rep mapping box unchecked. The “B-Rep mapping” box, if checked, will try and use boundary representation data, or B-Rep data, to directly map the typologies as it directly imports the data. In this example we’ll ask it to try and form solids if it can and to merge entities by selecting “Try forming solid(s)” and “Merge Entities,” to leave us with the least amount of bodies possible. Related checkboxes underneath allow users to ask SOLIDWORKS to try and form the surfaces into solid bodies, import a smaller number of total surfaces by knitting surfaces together or import them individually, resulting in the most possible bodies. If users check the “Surface/solid entities” checkbox, SOLIDWORKS will import any 3D geometry it can from the file. Users can import one or the other or both and each have some sub-options that let you control exactly what data you’d like to import from the STEP file. The “Surface/solid entities” checkbox and the “Free point/curve entities” control what exactly we’re trying to import. Only the general settings are important here, as the STL/VRML and IDF settings only apply to specific files types and don’t apply to STEP files. The defaults are usually safe to use, but it sometimes pays to take a quick look before importing a STEP file to make sure you get the results you’re looking for. Select “Open” and change the file type to look for STEP files.īefore we click “Open,” click the “Options” button to go over some of the options. The best way to import a STEP file is through the “File” drop-down menu. In the video tutorial above, we have a STEP file received from a vendor that we’d like to look at and potentially modify in SOLIDWORKS. However, importing a STEP file from another system can be a little tricky. With a part file open, you just go to “File,” select “Save as…” and choose STEP as the file type. This file format is well-known and is a widely used way to exchange CAD data between platforms.Įxporting a STEP file out of SOLIDWORKS is easy.
The full name is the Standard for The Exchange of Product Model Data or more commonly, a STEP file. The International Standard Organization (ISO) tried to solve this by creating a uniform standard format. Not all CAD programs have the same capabilities as and so exchanging things like a STEP file between SOLIDWORKS and other CAD software packages can become troublesome.
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