Approximately 23% of CAD professionals globally use SOLIDWORKS on daily basis. Together they generate tremendous volume of 3D files in native format, which are troublesome to feed into 3rd party major and minor CAD systems due to format specifics.
SOLIDWORKS files (previous to version 2015) use the Microsoft Structured Storage file format. This means that there are various files embedded within each SLDDRW (drawing files), SLDPRT (part files), SLDASM (assembly files) file, including preview bitmaps and metadata sub-files.
CAD Exchanger seamlessly reads SOLIDWORKS data (.sldprt and .sldasm extensions) and converts to the file format of your choice.
Navisworks is a native file of Navisworks® project review software by Autodesk.
Navisworks files come in three formats: NWD, NWF, and NWC. An NWD is a single file that contains all model geometry, environment, viewpoints, and review markups. An NWF file is a list of links to the original files. It doesn't keep model geometry and, to be opened, requires access to the original CAD files. An NWC is a cache file created from any native CAD or laser scan files, when opened in Navisworks.
A CAD file is an output of a CAD software, containing key information about the designed object: its geometry and topology representation, 3D model hierarchy, metadata, and visual attributes depending on the format of the file.
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