Solidworks - New Connector Request - Solidworks

Features & Ideas
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I would like to suggest a Solidworks connector

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Welcome to the community and thanks for the suggestion @Noam_Burg , could you tell us a bit more about the workflows on which you’d need a Solidworks connector?
This will help us prioritize it better on our end.

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@teocomi Thank you very much for writing back.
I am working in VEEV, a construction company that manufactures homes. Our technology is based on prefabricated floor and wall panels which are being assembled on site. We are working on a new design flow which includes modeling the house in a LOD300 in Revit and then using only raw data from Revit we automatically model each panel in LOD400 in Solidworks.
I am looking mainly for API capabilities so we can run this process automatically.
I can imagine several use cases for this connector:

  1. Send the data from one software to another. Revit to Solidworks to detail the model. Solidworks to Revit to have a representation of the detailed building back in Revit.

  2. 3D viewer on the web. One of the main customers of our models is our factory. We want to have a web platform that can show the model dynamically including highlighting some attributes, adding annotations etc… At the moment some of the model is in Revit and some of it in Solid. I would like to have a software-agnostic viewer that can display everything regardless of which software made it.

Hope this is clear.
I’d be happy to elaborate more if there’s a need.

Thanks again,
Noam

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@teocomi I am a developer who specializes SolidWorks and Revit add-ins. I have a Speckle-solidworks-repos repository here, but it’s just a demo. I want to complete it when I have free time. It’s a good idea to build a solid model in SolidWorks and export it to Speckle, then stream it directly to Revit.

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+1 on this request.

I would assume though that you’d need to have the Revit data or into Solidworks as BREPs or Solids for it to be useful? Graphic meshes in Solidworks is not great.

I need a Solidworks connector mainly to go

  • Solidworks ↔ Revit
  • Solidworks ↔ Rhino
  • Solidworks ↔ Maya
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Yes, BREP (Boundary Representation) is indeed better than a mesh as it contains more information that can be utilized in various areas. A mesh is primarily used for visualization purposes, whereas BREP provides detailed geometric and topological information about the model, making it more versatile.
While Speckle is currently more focused on the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, expanding its capabilities to include the mechanical industry or industrial design would certainly attract a larger user base. This expansion would allow professionals in these fields to benefit from the collaborative features and data exchange capabilities offered by Speckle.

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:star_struck: this is fantastic @weianweigan - great work!

I think we came across your repo some time ago :slight_smile: let us know if and how we can help - happy to schedule a chat too if it makes things easier.

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Thanks! @teocomi I created this repository a long time ago. I want to release an alpha version within the next two months. I am writing Objects and Converter for SolidWorks.I haven’t encountered too many difficulties for now. If needed, I will contact the Speckle team.
In the mechanical industry, there are other powerful 3D software such as UG NX, Creo, CATIA, SolidEdge, and Autodesk Inventor. It is exciting to integrate Speckle with these design software programs. Thanks again.

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