# Importing SolidWorks Assemblies

**URL:** <https://tech-community.robotics.abb.com/t/importing-solidworks-assemblies/8780>\
**Category:** RobotStudio\
**Created:** [April 10, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://tech-community.robotics.abb.com/t/importing-solidworks-assemblies/8780 "2019-04-10T16:48:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Shawndietrich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@Shawndietrich](https://tech-community.robotics.abb.com/u/Shawndietrich)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://tech-community.robotics.abb.com/t/importing-solidworks-assemblies/8780/1 "2019-04-10T16:48:47Z")

</div>

I’m trying to import a SolidWorks assembly but it keeps failing. I’ve made sure the file is not read only and that the file type is SLDASM

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![graemepaulin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/258eb7/32.png) [@graemepaulin](https://tech-community.robotics.abb.com/u/graemepaulin)\
**Post date:** [April 10, 2019, 8:27pm UTC](https://tech-community.robotics.abb.com/t/importing-solidworks-assemblies/8780/2 "2019-04-10T20:27:59Z")

</div>

I think \*.sat is the only CAD type that can be imported without a CAD converter license.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Shawndietrich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@Shawndietrich](https://tech-community.robotics.abb.com/u/Shawndietrich)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2019, 2:22pm UTC](https://tech-community.robotics.abb.com/t/importing-solidworks-assemblies/8780/3 "2019-04-12T14:22:02Z")

</div>

I have the CAD converter license, and I can import smaller CAD assemblies but not big assemblies.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Shawndietrich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@Shawndietrich](https://tech-community.robotics.abb.com/u/Shawndietrich)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2019, 3:01pm UTC](https://tech-community.robotics.abb.com/t/importing-solidworks-assemblies/8780/4 "2019-04-12T15:01:18Z")

</div>

This is the error I get

 ![image.png](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/uploads/robotics1/original/2X/f/f5bc8a2661cce491ff5edae118e120b2db6bec5d.png)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Johannes\_Weiman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e47c2d/32.png) [@Johannes\_Weiman](https://tech-community.robotics.abb.com/u/Johannes_Weiman)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2019, 6:54am UTC](https://tech-community.robotics.abb.com/t/importing-solidworks-assemblies/8780/5 "2019-04-15T06:54:34Z")

</div>

Hi,  
Could you share/send me the file? In that case I can ask the vendor (Spatial) what is going wrong.

Regards,  
Johannes

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![spg666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@spg666](https://tech-community.robotics.abb.com/u/spg666)\
**Post date:** [May 10, 2019, 10:22am UTC](https://tech-community.robotics.abb.com/t/importing-solidworks-assemblies/8780/6 "2019-05-10T10:22:03Z")

</div>

I had a very similar problem importing a Solidworks assembly, the solution (for me) was to check “convert CAD geometry to single part”

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Shawndietrich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@Shawndietrich](https://tech-community.robotics.abb.com/u/Shawndietrich)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 12:39pm UTC](https://tech-community.robotics.abb.com/t/importing-solidworks-assemblies/8780/7 "2019-11-01T12:39:11Z")

</div>

There was an error in the assembly which was preventing me from loading the CAD file.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![eKoh](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex005/user_avatar/tech-community.robotics.abb.com/ekoh/32/2649_2.png) [@eKoh](https://tech-community.robotics.abb.com/u/eKoh)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2019, 11:15pm UTC](https://tech-community.robotics.abb.com/t/importing-solidworks-assemblies/8780/8 "2019-11-02T23:15:21Z")

</div>

Oh boy, you are doing it totally wrong.

You need to save your whole assembly as .SAT file and then try to import.

Also, your assembly in Solidworks may not import correctly in terms of orientation, because it has to have the same World origin orientation as Robotstudio (Z upwards, X forwards).

By default Solidworks has Y upwards instead of Z, so be sure to change that in Solidworks.

I have been working quite a lot with SW and RS, and I recommend you to separate your Assembly by Subassemblies that correspond to the different stations from your cell. So it’s easier to make changes from Robotstudio to Solidworks and viceversa.