DriveWorks Pro 22

DriveWorks 3D Export Add-In

DriveWorks 3D Export Add-In

DriveWorks Pro comes with an additional Add-In for SOLIDWORKS known as the DriveWorks 3D Export Add-In. This Add-In adds an additional file format the to the SOLIDWORKS Save As dialog.

This file format (.drive3d) will save a SOLIDWORKS file to a 3D format that is compatible with DriveWorks. This file can then be shown in a 3D Preview Box on a DriveWorks Form.

Enable the DriveWorks 3D Export Add-In

1. Open SOLIDWORKS.
2. Go to Tools and select Add-Ins.
3. Check DriveWorks 3D Export to be an Active Add-In and check the Start Up option. This ensures the Add-In will always be available in SOLIDWORKS.

Saving SOLIDWORKS Models with the DriveWorks 3D Export Add-In

1. Open a SOLIDWORKS Model.
2. Go to File > Save-As, change the "Save as type" to be DriveWorks 3D File.
3. Enter a name for the DriveWorks 3D File.
   This is the name of the DriveWorks 3D File, not the name of the Part or Assembly you are saving from. This name has no effect on the Geometry names saved in the DriveWorks 3D File.
4. Press Save.

DriveWorks 3D File - Naming

It is important to uniquely name SOLIDWORKS files when working with DriveWorks 3D Files. When a DriveWorks 3D File is saved from SOLIDWORKS, the name of each Part is stored in the DriveWorks 3D File against the Models Geometry.

If two Parts have the same name in SOLIDWORKS and both DriveWorks 3D Files are brought into DriveWorks then DriveWorks will use the first geometry imported and not show the second one even if the model is different in SOLIDWORKS. DriveWorks does this for performance purposes to reduce loading times.

If you are creating multiple models from the same SOLIDWORKS Model then each SOLIDWORKS Model must be saved with a unique name. This prevents DriveWorks from reusing Geometry because each one is uniquely named.

For Example:

The Assemblies below are being imported into a DriveWorks 3D Document and Part 1 and Part 2 are different in both Assemblies.

For all 4 Parts to show in a DriveWorks 3D Document, each one will have to have a unique name. This is so the geometry data in the files doesn't match and so that DriveWorks can import both DriveWorks 3D Files.

Include configuration names in 3D exports

To overcome file naming issues, you can enable a setting that will include configuration names in 3D exports.

With this setting enabled DriveWorks will include the activate configuration name inside the DriveWorks 3D file that is exported. Each geometry that is saved will have a unique name making each DriveWorks 3D file unique.

If you have a single Part with 4 configurations, you could switch the Configuration and save out each Configuration as a new DriveWorks 3D file. Each file would have unique geometry names allowing them to be used at the same time in the same scene.

This setting can be enabled in one of two places. It can be enabled from inside the DriveWorks 3D Viewer or from inside DriveWorks Administrator SOLIDWORKS Settings.