The MDT
translator imports part and assembly information from Mechanical Desktop® (MDT) files as SOLIDWORKS part or assembly
documents.
You must have MDT installed on your desktop, but it does not have to be
running, to use the MDT translator. The MDT translator is integrated into the DXF/DWG
Import Wizard.
If you import
large assemblies from MDT, SOLIDWORKS recommends you do the following:
- Start
Mechanical Desktop and open the MDT file inside the MDT application before you
import the file into the SOLIDWORKS
application.
- Set the MDT temporary files path to a drive where you have sufficient
space (1GB minimum).
- Increase the paging file size to appropriate limits. This is
relevant mainly for low configuration systems.
MDT files can contain a combination of part, assembly, and drawing files. The
MDT translator provides different conversion options, depending upon the contents of the
MDT file. The MDT
translator supports import of MDT assembly
relations.
The MDT
translator supports the following items during import:
- Large MDT assembly files, in excess of 130MB in size, depending on
the complexity of the data.
- All types of mates, including point-to-point and line-to-line mates.
- MDT combined features, which are sometimes referred to as
toolbodies.
- MDT tapped hole features (cosmetic thread annotation).
- MDT design tables (Design Variable Tables - Global Variable Sheets).
- MDT Work Features (Work Planes, Work Axes, and Work Points).
- MDT pattern features, which creates multiple disjoint bodies.
If you have been using AutoCAD on your computer, open Mechanical
Desktop before opening an MDT file in SOLIDWORKS so SOLIDWORKS recognizes the file as an
MDT file and not an AutoCAD file.