# Exporting to solidworks?

**URL:** <https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/exporting-to-solidworks/22529>\
**Category:** Modeling Questions\
**Created:** [November 18, 2022, 2:24pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/exporting-to-solidworks/22529 "2022-11-18T14:24:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Zecnarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Zecnarf](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Zecnarf)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 2:24pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/exporting-to-solidworks/22529/1 "2022-11-18T14:24:31Z")

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What is the best file type for solidworks 2022, and what settings work the best along with which of the 3 output formats?

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**Author:** ![Istvan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/istvan/32/23668_2.png) [@Istvan](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Istvan)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 2:28pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/exporting-to-solidworks/22529/2 "2022-11-18T14:28:44Z")

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It’s X\_T (Parasolid). Shapr3D is running on Parasolid just like SOLIDWORKS, thus the compatibility is guaranteed if you are using the Parasolid format.

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**Author:** ![Matt\_the-Rathje](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/49beb7/32.png) [@Matt\_the-Rathje](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Matt_the-Rathje)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 2:42pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/exporting-to-solidworks/22529/3 "2022-11-18T14:42:24Z")

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Hi Ed,  
I totally agree with Istvans answer: The best option is the Parasolid-format (I usually use .x\_t [but it should not make a huge difference to x\_b]).  
STEP is the second-best option, because it is a universal exchange-format.  
I would like to explain a little more…  
I use the metaphore of language to explain why parasolid is working best:  
Both SolidWorks and Shapr3D are running the parasolid-kernel, so the parasolid-format is their mother-tounge-language and both programs can handle that process very well.  
STEP (as every other export-format) is a foreign-language to both of the programs - so the first program may pronounce some words wrong, so the second program has a relatively large chance to misinterpret the meaning of the sentence (what will result in faulty geometry).  
Thats why it is always a good idea to stay as close to the mother-tounge as possible - in our case: Parasolid.  
That being said: If there is no parasolid-file available, choose STEP over IGES, please. The results will be better from my expierience.  
You should totally avoid non-solid-formats (like .STL) for exchanging data, because you will have trouble editing the files afterwards.  
I hope that helps,  
Cheers Matt

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**Author:** ![Zecnarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Zecnarf](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Zecnarf)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 2:57pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/exporting-to-solidworks/22529/4 "2022-11-18T14:57:50Z")

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Yes. That helps me understand the process in a different way.

Another question: on the drop down i would use ascii not bianary?  
Also, could you explain “include hidden items”, and “save each 1st\_level item separately”. When you save separately why is it sent as a zip?

I export to a manufacturer, and am trying to make sure that i can answer their questions.

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**Author:** ![Matt\_the-Rathje](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/49beb7/32.png) [@Matt\_the-Rathje](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Matt_the-Rathje)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 3:06pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/exporting-to-solidworks/22529/5 "2022-11-18T15:06:56Z")

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Lets say you have 3 Bodies in your design and one of them is hidden (the eye is dashed in the item-list).

- having “include hidden items” turned off will result in the 2 visible bodies exported (in one file).
- having “include hidden items” turned on will result in all 3 bodies exported (even the hidden one!) (in one file).

“save each 1st\_level item separately” means that you’ll have seperate files for every entry in your item-explorer window on the first level. That means: If there are 3 different Bodies on first level, you’ll receive 3 different files. If there are 2 bodies inside a folder and a single body on first level you will receive 2 files (one with the 2 Bodies from the folder being in 1st level, and one of the single body).

I guess the Zip -File is created to make sure you have all the files of this export-operation all together (think about saving into a folder with already existing files - it may result in a mess and you may have trouble to differenciate the files you want to pass on to your manufacturer and old files.

Cheers Matt

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**Author:** ![Zecnarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Zecnarf](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Zecnarf)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 3:13pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/exporting-to-solidworks/22529/6 "2022-11-18T15:13:45Z")

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Thanks for your help, your explanations are spot on for the way i think.