Data Exchange > Interface > Working with Data Exchange Formats > SolidWorks > About Data Exchange between SolidWorks and Creo
About Data Exchange between SolidWorks and Creo
You can import SolidWorks part and assembly models and export Creo parts and assemblies to SolidWorks. You require the Creo Solidworks Collaboration license to export models to SolidWorks.
The File Open dialog box provides the Open and the Import options with Open as the default option for SolidWorks part and assembly models. You can, therefore, open SolidWorks parts and assemblies as non-Creo models by default. You must explicitly select the Import option on the File Open dialog box to import SolidWorks parts and assemblies just as you import models of other non-native file formats.
The data exchange with SolidWorks includes assembly structures, b-rep geometry, and non-geometric data. You can import and export the following geometric data of parts and assemblies:
Curves
Solids
Quilts
Besides geometry, you can also export and import the following meta data content of parts and assemblies:
The visibility states of the components, datum features, quilts, and solid bodies
Colors and their transparency attributes
Attribute-value pairs
You can only import meta data content of material assigned at the part and body level.
You can import the datum features of SolidWorks models such as planes, points, point sets, axes, coordinate systems, and curves with the datum tags. The visibility states of the model-level entities such as components, solid bodies, quilts, datum planes, points, curves, coordinate systems, and datum axes are preserved during the data exchange. Construction quilts and composite curves imported from SolidWorks can have a hidden status.
You can import the colors of quilts, surfaces, solid bodies, parts, components, features, and faces. Feature colors map to face colors. Explicitly assigned component colors and the transparency attributes of parts, components, solid bodies, and faces are exported to SolidWorks.
Model-level parameters import as attribute-value pairs. You can export the following parameters of part and assembly models to SolidWorks:
Real
Integer
String
Boolean (yes/no)
Real number parameters of parts and assemblies, such as volume, mass, thickness, and density, are exported with their appropriate units and their values. Integer parameters also export as numbers while string parameters are exported as text to SolidWorks. Material properties such as material name and definition, model volume, surface area, model mass, inertia, and density are imported with their units.
SolidWorks parts with import bodies open as assemblies. SolidWorks supports Associative Topology Bus (ATB). You can import SolidWorks parts and assemblies as ATB-enabled Translated Image Models (TIMs).
The part-level material of Creo models with the Master Material attribute is exported to SolidWorks and the material assigned to SolidWorks models is imported as master material to Creo. At the body-level, the explicitly assigned material is imported and exported as the material of bodies. The material assignments of the SolidWorks part models, whether explicit or not, are imported to Creo with the Follow Master attribute.
ATB updates the parts and bodies when materials are added, removed, or changed. You can update the part models when new bodies are added with explicit or inherited material assignments.
If you set the Representation option as Structure on the Import New Model dialog box, you can selectively import the product structures and meta data of the SolidWorks assemblies. You can use the Read Graphics and the Read Master ATB commands to change the representation of the SolidWorks TIM assemblies from product structure to their graphic and master representations at the assembly or component level. You can vary the level of detail of the TIM components to have a selective mix of product structure and graphic representations of components within the assemblies.
If you set Representation as Graphic on the Import New Model dialog box during the initial import of the assemblies, you can directly import the visualization data of the assemblies.
You can use import and export profiles for the exchange of data between Creo and SolidWorks. Import and export log files are automatically generated in the working directory when the import and export tasks are complete.