Program to view IGS/IGES drawing files 1

[Anthony]

We have had some drawings delivered to us, saved as IGS/IGES format files. We have no need to modify these files and so don't want to purchase a complete CAD package to be able to open them.

Is anyone aware of a cheap viewer of IGS/IGES format drawings.

 

[austim]

Hi, Anthony,

I don't know your specification for 'cheap', but... From a quick search for "IGES + Viewer" I found two sites which could help you.

http://www.cadlook.com;

http://www.actify.com.

Both sites appear to offer evalution copies of their viewers for download, so you may be able to read your drawings (for a limited period ?) at zero cost. Actify sell 3D View for $195.00 per copy.

 

[Anthony]

Thanks for that.

We must be using different search engines, cause I had only uncoverred translators, and no viewers. We are considering the options now.

Thanks.

 

[austim]

Hi again, Anthony,

I'm glad to have been of some help.

For the record, the search engine that I was using is

http://www.alltheweb.com,

but I get similar results from Google.

 

[knobhead]

The best viewer I've found of this type is 3Dexplorer. It's shareware, (I think), and will read just about everything, and even lets you convert a couple of file types. You can even render with it. Get it from

http://www.xdsoft.com/explorer

Other than that, the Actify's 3D View is very good, but it's got an annoying registration method which means you can use it with one computer and one computer only. If you upgrade your machine, as I should imagine most of use do at least once a year, then it's a total hassle to get it working again.
Another very useful demo for 'emergencies' like this is Rhino 3D, which is an excellent NURBS modeller. I've not got it installed at the mo, so I can't give you the url, but a search engine will find it.