WF4 / WF5 export to solidworks

[pfishwick]

I'm currently using WF4 and trying to export a part file for use in solidworks 2010 but retain all features.

The feature recognition function in Solidworks doesn't seem to work very well so the only options seem to be to import the Pro/E part as a single solid imported feature or to use a STEP/IGES file.

I have read that solidwarks doesn't directly support WF5 native parts but does anyone know if there are any new 'save as' options in WF5 (such as save as solidworks .sldprt file) which could make the transfer easier?

 

[aafuni]

The way solid works and Pro/E manage and create features are different and as such what you are asking for is not possible. Few if any CAD programs let you import parts from other packages maintaining the original features (although some are good at recognizing geometries and let you modify them).

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

SolidWorks 2010 can import Pro/E-Wildfire

http://help.solidworks.com/2010/Eng...cyHelp/Sldworks/ImpExp/Pro_ENGINEER_files.htm

http://help.solidworks.com/2010/Eng...elp/Sldworks/ImpExp/HIDD_PROE_CONV_OPTION.htm

The likelihood of importing a perfectly matching feature tree is somewhere between slim and none. Even the big professional translation companies have trouble doing that.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Sorry that should have been;

SolidWorks 2010 can import Pro/E and Wildfire files, but has limited capabilities.
WF5 is not supported even in the soon to be released SW2011 version. Of all the generic formats, parasolid usually offers the best results for SW.

 

[mjcole]

I waited for Wildfire 4 support on SolidWorks which arrived at SP3.0 of the SolidWorks 2009 version. SolidWorks dramatically improved in its Pro/E import capabilities and will now import Sketch features. you might get a messy tree with Composite Curves and 3d sketches where there should be 2D ones.

The other problem is that when the sketches are improted you get a ton of extra datums 2 for each sketch the Pro/E sketch plane may have been the Front (XY) plane but for each sketch you'll get 2 planes an extra sketch plane and the orientation datum from ProE which can be deleted. You can easily edit Sketch plane and choose what it should be referenced to or just ignore the extra features.

I'm waiting for the day when the Child Features can be dangled when parents are deleted or for the Replace Feature to allow a new plane to replace several old references.

Michael

 

[pfishwick]

Thanks for all the replies so far, they have been a big help.

This is all part of a migration from Pro/E to Solidworks. Unfortunately the migration is partly being driven by someone else in our corporation who claimed that you could open Pro/E parts in SW and retain the feature tree and that it was even easier from WF5 (this was before we had even looked at SW in our department).

it's good to get a better picture of the overall size of the issue