All About the SLDPRT File Format for 3D Printing

The SolidWorks® part (.sldprt) file type is the native format of SolidWorks, one of the leading CAD-package providers. SLDPRT files are a complex, proprietary format that uses the Microsoft Structured Storage file format to store bitmaps, metadata subfiles, proprietary binary files, and more as compound files. It contains all of the features the designer created, in a format that allows SolidWorks software to open. It has a fully functioning design tree, with all properties—defined and editable—and with full control over all design aspects.

A single SLDPRT file can contain multiple bodies, as SolidWorks supports multi-body parts. Some designers use this feature to create subassemblies of individual components and retain them as a single-part file. It is not necessary to own a copy of SolidWorks to view, measure, and manage SLDPRT files. A range of viewers is available, including the wholly-owned tool from Dassault Systemes—eDrawings®. These viewers are not design tools, however, and only eDrawings® can equip the user with some powerful capabilities in manipulating the SolidWorks data. These capabilities include: directly viewing and manipulating a SolidWorks part, active cross-sectioning, and precise measurement tools. Other viewers will import SLDPRT files and convert them to a more universal CAD format such as IGS or STP. These files will lose some of the native capabilities of the original, but in design analysis terms they are still good options.

This article will further discuss SLDPRT files’ definition, history, importance, applications, and the tools to open, create, and convert them.