The Ultimate Guide to Turn Navisworks Files into Omniverse SimReady USD Content
General Information
| Format Name | Navisworks |
|---|---|
| Long Name | Autodesk Navisworks |
| Extensions | .nwd, .nwc, .nwf |
| Internet Media Type (previously MIME) | application/navisworks, application/x-navisworks, application/vnd.autodesk-navisworks |
| Common Use Cases | BIM Review, Project Coordination, Clash Detection, Model Visualization, Construction Planning, Quality Control, 4D Simulation, 5D Cost Analysis, Design Review, Multi-disciplinary Coordination |
What is the Navisworks format, and what is it used for?
Autodesk Navisworks is a 3D design review package for architecture, engineering, and construction industries. It allows users to open and combine multiple 3D models from different CAD systems, navigate around them in real-time, perform clash detection, create 4D simulations, and coordinate multidisciplinary projects within a single federated model environment. It is a file format mostly used for 3D design review and project coordination software for BIM model visualization, clash detection, and construction planning.
Omniverse supports various file formats. However, the native file format is USD, which is the officially recommended file format for best performance.
USD (Universal Scene Description) is the primary format for Omniverse SimReady data, it enables 3D assets to be used in simulation environments such as NVIDIA Omniverse, PhysX, and more. For this to work properly, USD assets must adhere to the USD standard, and ideally bring metadata that helps to inform downstream simulation use cases about various simulation-relevant properties of the 3D asset.
There are various ways to generate USD files, but especially when starting from non-simulation formats like Navisworks, it is not easy to perform a good conversion. Additional required steps might include material assignment (in case realistic materials are desired) and related steps like UV generation, but also metadata transfer from the original file to the final Omniverse SimReady USD asset.
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Generating Omniverse SimReady USD content from Navisworks files in 3 easy steps with RapidPipeline
With RapidPipeline, the process of generating NVIDIA Omniverse SimReady USD content from Navisworks files is easy:
- Download RapidPipeline Twin Studio (free trial available), or one of the RapidPipeline 3D tool plugins.
- Perform the conversion from Navisworks to USD. Store the resulting USD file, it's ready to use!
- If you'd like to scale up the process, get in touch to acquire a license for the RapidPipeline 3D Processor CLI, a batch processing tool that turns your entire library of Navisworks files (or other files) into Omniverse SimReady USD content.
Convert Navisworks to Omniverse SimReady USD with RapidPipeline Twin Studio - Free Trial
Download RapidPipeline Twin Studio, open your Navisworks file and export it as Omniverse SimReady USD - optimized and ready to use in a few clicks. No credit card required.
⬇ Download Twin Studio & convert Navisworks to Omniverse SimReady USD
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Turn your raw 3D or CAD into realistic digital twins.
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