Importing an IGES File

You can import files to the SOLIDWORKS software from other applications. The geometry and structure of the resulting SOLIDWORKS model matches that of the model in the source application.

In this lesson, you import surfaces from an IGES file. Because the surfaces form a closed volume, you can use them to create a base feature.

  1. Click Options to set the import options.
  2. In the Systems Options dialog box, click Import.
  3. Verify that General is selected for File Format and clear Enable 3D Interconnect.
  4. Select Solid and Surface and Try forming solid(s).
    The SOLIDWORKS software attempts to form solids from the surface or solid entities in the imported file.
  5. Click OK to accept the other default settings.
  6. Download and extract the sample files for this tutorial:
    1. Click here to download importexport.zip to your Downloads folder.
      For more information on downloading and managing sample files, see Sample Files.
    2. Browse to the Downloads folder and extract importexport.zip to a convenient location.
      For example, to organize your tutorial sample files, create a folder in your Documents folder named tutorial_files. Then extract into that folder to create a subfolder named importexport that contains the files you need.
  7. Click Open .
  8. Browse to to the location where you placed the importexport folder and open gasket.igs.
  9. If prompted to run Import Diagnostics, click No.
    The SOLIDWORKS software forms a base feature from the imported surfaces. The imported body appears in the graphics area.
  10. If prompted to proceed with feature recognition, click No.
    You can use FeatureWorks to recognize imported features as editable SOLIDWORKS features. See Overview of FeatureWorks. For example, using FeatureWorks, you could recognize the gasket as an extrude feature with hole features.