Is there any way to import solidworks files into unity as assets?

Question

I'm attempting to program a simple chess game using the unity game engine. However, I can't work out how to import the assets that I've created in Solidworks into Unity.

Is it possible to do?

Solution 1

Just for reference, since Solidworks 2019 it is not necessary to use any AddIn/3rd Party Plugin. It is supported out of the box: https://help.solidworks.com/2019/english/whatsnew/t_export_using_extended_reality.htm

Solution 2

SolidWorks files tend to describe parametric geometry, such as NURBs, but most game engines prefer to work with raw polygons.

Unity has direct support for the following model formats: FBX, OBJ, DAE, 3DS.

SolidWorks can export to STL format, which other programs should be able to convert to OBJ, DAE, and/or FBX. Recommending a specific tool is beyond the scope of Stack Overflow, but I know that such tools exist. I recommend searching terms such as "stl to obj conversion".

These sorts of headaches are fairly common with 3D assets, since so many programs use customized file formats.

Solution 3

Also with 3DS studio max, you can directly open Solidwork files and then export as them as .fbx (you need to have Solidworks installed in the same machine as 3DS Max).

about SolidWorks (SLDPRT, SLDASM) Files: http://help.autodesk.com/cloudhelp/2015/ENU/3DSMax/files/GUID-861F1B25-0F1B-4E79-A660-821F4CD2175B.htm

Other free tool for converting 3D files: (can save as .obj, which unity reads)

MeshLab http://meshlab.sourceforge.net/

*Update for 2018: Unity has partnered with this CAD importer company, and its available to purchase from: https://unity3d.com/pixyz

They support pretty much all the available CAD formats, including SolidWorks full importer list at https://www.pixyz-software.com/plugin/

Solution 4

the "XR exporter" in SOLIDWORKS will allow you to export the model with some additional content (animation, appearances, metadata) to the GLTF / GLB fileformat and using the GLTF importer for unity (should be free) you're done.

Solution 5

Yes you could use PixYZ.

We have as a simpler and much cheaper solution an asset in the Unity Asset store which allows to import files from all CAD Systems which are able to export 3MF file format (Solidworks, Solidedge, NX...).

Please check the Unity Asset store here: https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/modeling/cadlink-150559

In Youtube we have a tutorial: https://youtu.be/yXwn6m8ilHE

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Comments

[Eddy Alleman]

I installed the XR exporter for SolidWorks 2019 last week and only simple assemblies could be exported as gltf. It is still in beta stage. Do you have better results?

[Ohad Cohen]

Did you manage to import them into unity? My unity 3d (2019.3) doesn't recognize them