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Home > Supported File Formats > SOLIDWORKS to Maya


How to convert SOLIDWORKS (.sldasm,.sldprt) to Maya (.ma,.mb)?


PolyTrans|CAD+DCC performs mathematically precise CAD, DCC/Animation, GIS and BIM 3D file conversions into all key downstream 3D packages and file formats. Okino software is used and trusted throughout the world by many tens of thousands of 3D professionals in mission & production critical environments, backed by respectable personal support directly from our core development team.

     

SOLIDWORKS

Since the mid-1990s SOLIDWORKS has dominated the mid-tier MCAD solids modelling market amongst its closest rivals of ProE/Creo, Unigraphics NX, Autodesk Inventor and Solid Edge.

SOLIDWORKS has been Okino's #1 most requested and used MCAD importer (outside of STEP and IGES) for well over 25 years. We do not use reverse engineered technology, as commonly used by other companies, but rather license the real and actual runtime system from SOLIDWORKS Corporation on a yearly basis. This has allowed our SOLIDWORKS importer to remain entirely error free for over 25 years and is incredible fast to import and convert the most massive of assemblies.

Conversion from SOLIDWORKS is best handled via native .sldasm and .sldasm files, or equally well via STEP AP204 or "IGES BREP solids".

     

Maya

Maya is a well known and respected DCC/Animation system which had originally been developed by Alias Research in Canada then purchased by Autodesk in 2006 after Alias went bankrupt.

As is very little understood, no program on this planet can read or write Maya ".ma" (ASCII) or ".mb" (binary) files because the full geometry modifier stack of the Maya software, and its various plugin modules, are needed in order to properly evaluate the file before it can be rendered. This is what forced Okino to write its well known PolyTrans-for-Maya system, which allows for all Okino 3D converters to run within Maya itself. For example, if you want to convert to/from CINEMA 4D (.c4d files) then you would do so entirely inside of Maya.

Due to multi-decades history, Maya users are notorious for using the OBJ file format to convert files to/from other software packages just as 3ds Max users wrongly use the 1985-era .3ds file format. OBJ is an "okay" file format but there are much better or more preferred methods to convert the data.