.Sldprt to .prt using Creo Elements/Pro

[ptc-5278583]

Dear People

I work in an HVAC industry, and recently my company has request to shift all our drawing into .prt format for parts, and .asm format for assembly, further more in near future we will be using Creo Elements/Pro 5.0. on all our drawings, currently our drawings are in .sldprt and .sldasm.

Now to redraw all the parts is kind of an impractical thaought, what I need to know is there a method to shift all my drawings and assembly, and if so how can I do it, bearing in mind that I can edit these models using Pro e in the futur after chaning there format.

I would really appreciate if any of you guys can offer some information.

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[BrianMartin]

Hi Waqas...

Kind of a pricey solution but you may want to call Core Technologies. http://www.coretechnologie.de

They have a product which will translate native Solidworks (and other models) into native Creo models. This product can take a full Solidworks assembly, break it down into it's component parts, pull all of the pertinent dimensions, and then recreate the exact same models, and assemblies in Creo using the same dimensions. It's pretty amazing and it sounds like you could simply run your entire data set through this tool and convert all of your data to native Creo.

I don't think there's a better solution unless you want a whole bunch of imported models (yuck). Even if you threw 3 people at the task of remodeling everything for a year, the Core Technologies product is cheaper in the long run. It's not a low-cost option but it just might be the cheapest.

You're asking for a method that does not involve remodeling everything... but converting everything is probably a much worse option. I don't know how you'd plan to edit the models in Creo after the conversion. If you're going to use the FMX (flexible modeling extension), you're in for an unhappy surprise. While that tool is nice, you don't want to try to use it for modifying and entire legacy library of Solidworks parts and assemblies. It's too... "fiddly", in my opinion, for that. In other words, it's nice for touch ups... but I wouldn't bet the farm on using it for modifying all of your Solidworks models.

Check out the Core Technologies people... they might be able to give you a better solution.

Thanks...

-BRian

[Patriot_1776]

Hmmm, now that's interesting, I'll have to check the link out. Thanks Brian! Hope all's well with ya!

[TomD.inPDX]

Brian, you didn't say and I don't see on the site that it will do drawing conversion. This has been the bane of any huge CAD direction decision industry can make, and I'm sure is one major factor in not making this life changing decision. I went through this when two companies merged where one used CAD-x and the other CAD-y. To even out the CAD-battle, they opted for CAD-z so both side "lost".

The ultimate decision was to capture all drawings in high quality PDF and stored them in the PDM. All the CAD-x and CAD-y data was captured in step format and imported in CAD-z using automated tools. CAD-x and CAD-y were sustained for 1 year to manage change orders and other sustaining activities. Management decided which project would get conversion support on the fly so continued development would begin in CAD-z. Nothing new would get developed in CAD-x or CAD-y. You can imagine the whining going on.

The eventual conversion decision was to take a look at active product lines and convert the active products through contract designers. A 6 month project (read: 1 year) converted many current drawings, models, and assemblies into native CAD-z files managed in the PDM to current company standards. And yes, the conversion effort alone was a 6, near 7-figure endeavor.

Mind you; people in the know at the upper levels had huge discussions over this. The decision alone was nearly a year long process. The end result was a good solution for growth and a huge step upward. Never again did anyone in the bean counter department underestimate the overhead cost of CAD and PDM.

[Patriot_1776]

Excellent point Antonius! I think that will be come moot eventually when dwgs are almost completely phased out. We ddon't completely dimension dwgs, we reference the CAD part as th emaster, and only do certain key ones with tight tolerances or GD&T. But it's still a huge issue, expecially for old-school businesses that DO fully dimensioned prints.

[dgschaefer]

There's no easy and cheap way to convert from native Solidworks to native Creo.

The best thing for your organization may be to maintain your use of Solidworks for old components that need minor drawing edits or simply need accessed ad read. Use Creo for new items and remodeling items that need significant change. You'd also need to remodel others as you need to use them in assemblies with other new components.

Creo will read in Solidworks parts but they come in as a dumb solid. They are tied together, so if the SW model changes the geometry in Creo will change too. This may be an option for you in some circumstances too.

BTW - Why are you going to Creo Elements/Pro and not to the latest of Creo proper, Creo 2 Parametric?

[rohit_rajan]

dear friend you would have to wait for Creo Parametric 3.0, it will open native solidworks files.

PTC it seems is doing something very nice in this direction...yes would be able to edit them as native Creo files after you open them in Creo.

[dgschaefer]

Not so, I just opened a SW 2012 assembly with Creo Elements Pro 5.0 (WF5). Wasn't necessarily the cleanest import, but it opened.

[Patriot_1776]

Doug, is it fully parametric with separate features?

[dgschaefer]

No, it's a dumb solid but it is tied to the original SW model so it can be updated as the SW model changes. your downstream features may or may not fail depending on the geometry changes, as normal.

To be fair, the assy I opened was itself a fairly crude design study model built on a STEP import into SW, so not the best trial for the functionality. Still, it worked.