Can native CAD files be viewed?

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Can native CAD files be viewed?

In a word. No.

You may view 2D and 3D geometry from various CAD systems in export format only.

Every major CAD system supports the export of a specific type of viewable file. These file formats are as follows:

Unigraphics NX3 and NX4 = JT2Go and VRML
Dassault Catia V4/5 = 3DXML and VRML
I-DEAS = JT2Go
AutoCAD = DWF and TrueView
SolidWorks = eDrawings

PerfectShare supports all of them. You may spin, pan, and zoom in all of the above formats. Depending on your specific CAD system, you may even dynamically section and create exploded views.

However, Catia CATPart or CATProduct files, Unigraphics and Pro Engineer prt files, SolidWorks sldprt files, are all native storage formats and may not be directly viewed within the PerfectShare service.

So, while the 3D export formats are viewable, the native file storage format is not.

The ability to view files within the service is important because our viewer also supports a threaded messaging system. The messaging is captured online and recorded to the database. This provides our customers the ability to track and record discussions related to the part data. These discussions may later prove to be important when disputes arise regarding change levels or "build to" data.

Therefore, viewing 3D data combined with a text messaging system provides a valuable tool in managing your designs.

Authored by: mroberts This question has been viewed 1819 times so far.

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