Opening SW files in Inventor 2

[SBaugh]

Not to start a flaming thread here... but I would have hoped that Inventor could import a SW part file in like SW can import Inventor part file.

Does it really require a 3rd party app and an expensive one to boot?

According to the Inventor group its a 3rd party app -

I believe transmagic will read a .sldprt and output a .ipt but it is not a cheap program.

thread790-185148

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Maybe they are using the "If we ignore it (SolidWorks), it might go away" tactic.

 

[Heckler]

It's just another strangle-hold AutoDesk has on it's customers. But the cat is out of the bag and now the MCAD world knows their are alternatives.

Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SWx 2007 SP 3.0 & Pro/E 2001
XP Pro SP2.0 P4 3.6 GHz, 1GB RAM
NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400
o
_`\(,_
(_)/ (_)

(In reference to David Beckham) "He can't kick with his left foot, he can't tackle, he can't head the ball and he doesn't score many goals. Apart from that, he's all right." -- George Best

 

[josephv]

BTW, AutoCAD can open .sat (ACIS) files from SolidWorks. Please don't ask me how I know this (2D customer ouch).

I believe Inventor can do the same.

 

[SBaugh]

Yeah that might be, but SW can open a lot of translated files as I am sure Inventor can. But the question is why would Inventor continue to hold down its other customer that use SW. SW gives the ability to allow customers with other CAD systems to intergrate into SW. Yes the models are dumb sometimes, but its translated. Pro-E files come into SW now. That was something I didn't see coming. From my other post of "Solidworks & Dassualt" maybe Catia will be brought into SW as a file type.

But I think Heckler hit the nail on the head. Just another way for AutoCAD to keep the leash pulled tight around their necks.

I have always disliked AutoCAD, not because of the software, but because of the way it treated its customers years ago and the fact they play dirty pool with its competitors. IMO SW has taken the punches very well and they don't seem to take and eye for and eye like I think they should some times. Instead they use their brains and get out a a situtation and makes ACAD look like the fool. This is just my opinion for what I have seen over the years. My opinion might be baised because I am a SW user, but before I went to SW I tested all the software at the time to figure out which one was the best tool for the job. SW won hands down and it still does.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376

 

[Heckler]

My opinion might be baised because I am a SW user, but before I went to SW I tested all the software at the time to figure out which one was the best tool for the job. SW won hands down and it still does.

Scott, I don't think you biased what you did was compare all the MCAD packages of the day. And SWx came out on top. Autodesk has held it's customers hostage by brainwashing them to think that if it's not an Autodesk product then it's inferior. I feel for those companies that are so entrenched in ACAD that they buy into the Inventor marketing hype. It's innovative companies like SWx that have called all the companies to the carpet. For example, look at Pro/E...that software use to cost $22K/seat back in 1995....look what PTC had to do to stay competitive. They had to drop the price and make Pro/E look like SWx....and now they have WildFire. So what changed between 1995 and 2007...well a company called SWx Corp started making mainstream MCAD affordable to small companies.

I remember a demo I had the pleasure of attending. This machine shop in the bay area wanted to get Pro/E and Pro/mfg. They just about fainted when the sales guy gave them the quote of $30K/seat and that didn't include the UNIX workstation to run the software. I have a dozen more of these types of stories from my PTC application engineer days.....

Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SWx 2007 SP 3.0 & Pro/E 2001
XP Pro SP2.0 P4 3.6 GHz, 1GB RAM
NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400
o
_`\(,_
(_)/ (_)

(In reference to David Beckham) "He can't kick with his left foot, he can't tackle, he can't head the ball and he doesn't score many goals. Apart from that, he's all right." -- George Best

 

[josephv]

Well, I think this hurts AutoDesk.

Let's say I had a company and I needed to work with both SolidWorks and Inventor files...

Option 1 - get Inventor which can only work with Inventor files

Option 2 - get SolidWorks which can work with SolidWorks files and open Inventor files

Number 2 wins.

Cheers,

 

[matherjd]

Yeah that might be, but SW can open a lot of translated files as I am sure Inventor can. But the question is why would Inventor continue to hold down its other customer that use SW. SW gives the ability to allow customers with other CAD systems to intergrate into SW. Yes the models are dumb sometimes, but its translated. Pro-E files come into SW now. That was something I didn't see coming. From my other post of "Solidworks & Dassualt" maybe Catia will be brought into SW as a file type.

But I think Heckler hit the nail on the head. Just another way for AutoCAD to keep the leash pulled tight around their necks.




Autodesk Inventor Certified Expert
Certified SolidWorks Professional

 

[matherjd]

>BTW, AutoCAD can open .sat (ACIS) files from SolidWorks. Please don't ask me how I know this (2D customer ouch).

Autodesk products can read ACIS only up to v7. Anyone using ACIS as a neutral file exchange format from SWX to an Autodesk product needs to click on Options and change to v7 on export.

Inventor will read ACIS(v7), IGES, STEP, Parasolid(labs.autodesk.com), and some Pro/E(don't know the latest release of that?).

Autodesk Inventor Certified Expert
Certified SolidWorks Professional

 

[josephv]

Hello matherjd,

"Inventor will read ACIS(v7), IGES, STEP, Parasolid(labs.autodesk.com), and some Pro/E(don't know the latest release of that?)."

... but it still can't open SolidWorks. And as you may know, many customers will not give you and ACIS, or an IGES or even a STEP or Parasolid file. Further to this many customers can't remember what type of file to send you let alone what version, so asking for a customer to send an ACIS file version 7 may be too much to ask.

Can you blame them? No, they are the customer.

This is a huge drawback for many organizations.

Cheers,

 

[Areva]

Inventor user (March 07)……….
“there is a problem for open IGES files. I couldn't open a IGES file from Inventor, but could open it from Solidworks.

Could someone tell me: it is a setting problem or something from software inside?”


Typical Autodesk response…….
”You could try opening the problematic IGES file in MDT. Then save it to another neutral format like STEP, SAT and bring it into Inventor.

You could always post the file and we could investigate why it dosen't open in Inventor. Thanks.”

 

[ctopher]

I wouldn't want an Inventor file imported into SolidWorks. From my experience, a lot of Inventor and AutoCAD users are not very design and computer savvy to create a good model.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/savvy

I would prefer using CATIA, UG, Pro-E or sketches.
I'm not saying Inventor is not good, it is just my experience of what I see from its users.

Chris
SolidWorks 07 3.0/PDMWorks 07
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 04-21-07)

 

[matherjd]

>I wouldn't want an Inventor file imported into SolidWorks. From my experience, a lot of Inventor and AutoCAD users are not very design and computer savvy to create a good model.

The OP's question was about going the other way - from SWX to Inventor, not Inventor to SWX. Probably a good thing then that those unsavvy users can only use dumb solids from SWX.

Autodesk Inventor Certified Expert
Certified SolidWorks Professional

 

[matherjd]

>Probably a good thing then that those unsavvy users can only use dumb solids from SWX.

From those SWX users savvy enough to remember to export as STEP, lest it gets too confusing to export as ACIS v7.

Autodesk Inventor Certified Expert
Certified SolidWorks Professional

 

[matherjd]

>Further to this many customers can't remember what type of file to send you let alone what version, so asking for a customer to send an ACIS file version 7 may be too much to ask.

I would hope for a better working relationship with customers. If you are having trouble getting ACIS 7 files from your customers you could use the Hoops ACIS Viewer to convert down.

http://download.spatial.com/viewer/ACISHOOPSPartViewer1315_install.zip

Autodesk Inventor Certified Expert
Certified SolidWorks Professional

 

[Adrian2]

Ask an Inventor user to import a solidworks file and you would probably get the response....why would you want to ?

Inventor users seem uniformly entrenched in their ways. They would rather go to all kinds of trouble converting their file formats, or demanding the model be sent as IGES.

One big difference between Inventor and Autocad is that Inventor allows the user to adjust thousands of parameters and settings. Just like regular autocad, you can fiddle with inventor untill its beyond recognition.

I think this is Inventors appeal. Contrary to what has been said about Inventor users not being so savvy, I think Inventor users are more likely to be the perpetual tinkerers. Perhaps it gives them job security, cause no one else can figure out how they make the program run.

Try to get an Inventor user to use Solidworks and it will be so simple for them that they brush it off as a light weight program with not enough features.

Personally, when I get paid to recreate models in inventor that were originally made in solidworks, I'm not complaining !

Solidworks Rules (But Inventor helps pay the bills too)



Adrian Dunevein
AAA Drafting Services

http://www.aaadrafting.com

http://home.cogeco.ca/~adunevein/

SW2006 Office Pro. SP4.1

 

[matherjd]

>Try to get an Inventor user to use Solidworks and it will be so simple for them that they brush it off as a light weight program with not enough features.

Huh,
Care to expand further?


Autodesk Inventor Certified Expert
Certified SolidWorks Professional

 

[josephv]

Hi matherjd,

"I would hope for a better working relationship with customers."

This would not be a problem if AutoDesk knew how to treat its' customers better. Further to this, you may know that in automotive, aerospace and other industries you don't ask for a CAD file format or version, you work with what the customer gives you.

All the same the problem is solved, the customer switched from Inventor to SolidWorks, and is glad with this move.

 

[ctopher]

I was at an Autodesk seminar all day today. From what I was told (on the side off the record), AutoCAD will be replaced within the next couple years by Inventor and Architectural (formerly ADT). The new 2008 Autodesk products have new features that SolidWorks came out with in 2006 & 07. They told be that SolidWorks is a huge competitor for them (I knew that) and they don't like to talk about it.
When it comes to any civil/arch/bldg designs, Autodesk is impressive. I use ACAD and soon Architectural, and continue use of SolidWorks.
When the discussion came up about file transfer between products, I was not surprised to hear not many users knew how to do it or what different types of files are available.

Chris
SolidWorks 07 3.0/PDMWorks 07
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 04-21-07)

 

[matherjd]

>Architectural (formerly ADT).
>I use ACAD and soon Architectural...

What is Revit?

>(on the side off the record), AutoCAD will be replaced within the next couple years ...

Off the record huh? I wonder why someone wouldn't want to back up their claims with their good name?

Autodesk Inventor Certified Expert
Certified SolidWorks Professional