Introduction

Your team is three weeks from a design freeze when a Tier 1 supplier sends a batch of STEP files for a critical subassembly. An engineer pulls them straight into the active product structure, and the trouble starts. The units came in as inches instead of millimeters. Material properties are blank. A few curved surfaces show gaps that won't survive a tooling review. What should have been a 10-minute import turns into two engineers spending most of a day correcting data by hand.
This kind of friction shows up constantly in mid to large engineering teams. You work with suppliers, contract manufacturers and legacy systems that don't follow your standards. Each imported file carries risk: a unit mismatch, a missing attribute, a degraded surface or a metadata gap that confuses everyone downstream. The data itself isn't the issue. The issue is that no one controlled how it entered your environment.

The Value of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform

The 3DEXPERIENCE platform gives engineers and administrators direct control over imported CAD data the moment it arrives in your department. Instead of asking individuals to clean files after the fact, you define the rules once and the platform applies them every time the data needs to be imported. This matters most in multi-CAD environments, where native files from CAD systems such as CATIA, SOLIDWORKS, Creo and NX all need to coexist with neutral formats like STEP.

Standardize Data at the Point of Entry

Import rules of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform let you define exactly how external files map to your internal standards. You can set unit conversions, assign default materials, control how part names are handled and decide which attributes carry over from the source file.

Automate Naming Conventions and Revision Schemes

Manual file naming invites errors and version confusion. The platform applies naming conventions and revision schemes automatically as data enters the system. You can set a standard prefix and counter for every part and assembly in a product family, then define how revisions increment by object type.

Preserve Metadata and Validate Geometry

Translation errors rank among the costliest problems in multi-CAD work. A STEP file from a Creo-based supplier might arrive with surface gaps or missing faces that only appear during simulation or tooling prep. By then, other decisions already rest on flawed geometry.

Tie Governance to the Lifecycle

Sending the wrong file version to a vendor causes costly mistakes. The3DEXPERIENCE platform connects import rules directly to lifecycle management. You can configure the system in a way that  imported files only become visible to manufacturing or procurement at a specific maturity state, such as "Released" or "Approved for Production."

Role-based permissions let you restrict import and export so only authorized users handle supplier-facing files. This keeps incomplete or unvalidated data out of downstream hands until it's genuinely ready.

Work From a Single Source of Truth

When imported data in the platform is clean and governed, collaboration improves right away. Manufacturing engineers, procurement teams and quality analysts no longer inherit someone else's cleanup work. They start with data that already meets company standards.

Getting Data into the Platform | Two import Solutions

IP Import | Importing CAD from the Web Browser

The IP Import application on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform is a cloud-based tool designed to simplify the import of CAD and Industry Foundation Class (IFC) data into the platform from anywhere using a browser-based environment. 
 

This app is currently available in 88 roles on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform Specific to the ENOVIA brand the, the following  roles contain the IP Import application:

• 3D Product Architect (PAU)
• 3DEXPERIENCE Transition Assistant (3DXTA)
• All Physics Analyst (PXK)
• Collaborative Data Integrator for IFC (IFC)
• Collaborative Designer for AutoCAD (UDA)
• Collaborative Designer for CATIA V5 (UE5)
• Collaborative Designer for Creo Parametric (UDO)
• Collaborative Designer for NX (UDN)
• Collaborative Designer for Revit (UDV)
• PLM Engineering (V2G)
• PLM Enterprise (V3G)
   

Key features:

Support for Multiple Formats: Handles a wide range of CAD formats (e.g., CATIA V5, AutoCAD, Revit, NX, Inventor, SOLIDWORKS, Creo) and IFC files, which are standard in the AEC (Architecture, Engineering, and Construction) industry.
Bulk and Single-File Imports: Supports importing single files or bulk directories, including sub-directories and assembly child links, ensuring complete product structures are preserved.
Incremental Updates: Uses the concept of "Scope" to manage incremental updates. When re-importing the same structure, only new or modified components are processed, avoiding duplication. Different scopes treat data as new, ensuring flexibility for iterative design processes.
Non-Designer Workflow: Enables non-engineering staff (e.g., suppliers or business process managers) to handle imports without requiring CAD authoring tools or designer intervention.
Ownership and Collaborative Space Assignment: The user who imports the data becomes the owner of the resulting products. During import, users can assign the data to a specific Collaborative Space for organized access and management.
Job Monitoring: Integrates with CAD Data Processor Monitoring and Enterprise IP Integration Management apps to track the status and results of import jobs, ensuring transparency and control.
Access Control: Access to the IP Import app is restricted and managed by the Platform Manager, who can grant permissions based on roles and responsibilities.

Here is an example of IP Import being used to import an NX assembly:

Conversion Data Integrators | Importing CAD from the Web Browser

The family of Conversion Data Integrators are specialized native client applications that are designed to streamline the import and conversion of CAD data into the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.  It supports the conversion of CAD data into tessellated or exact formats while minimizing errors by repositioning geometry within the design space to ensure data integrity.

Key Features:

Enable Data Reuse and Migration: They facilitate the import, conversion, and reuse of CAD and engineering data from diverse formats (e.g., NX, Creo, AutoCAD, Solid Edge) into the 3DEXPERIENCE platform or other collaborative environments. This ensures compatibility and seamless integration of legacy or third-party data.
Support Collaborative Workflows: These tools integrate with ENOVIA and other 3DEXPERIENCE roles, enabling teams to work collaboratively across different design and engineering disciplines. They are often used alongside roles like Collaborative Designer or Engineering Data Exchange Manager to streamline data sharing and version control.
Monitor and Manage Conversion Jobs: Users can track the progress of conversion jobs, review their status, and download outputs (e.g., Derived Outputs) from a centralized interface, such as the Enterprise IP Integration Management app. This simplifies managing large-scale data conversions and ensures transparency in the process.
Enhance Compatibility: They support a wide range of industry-standard formats, including tessellated and exact data, ensuring that designs can be accurately represented and utilized across different platforms and tools.
Simplify Security and Context Management: Some solutions allow users to switch security contexts (e.g., credentials, roles, or collaborative spaces) without logging out, making it easier to work across multiple projects or environments.
 

Here is an example of the Conversion Data Integrator for NX being used to import an NX assembly:

Summary

Controlling how imported CAD data enters your engineering environment is one of the most practical ways to protect data quality and keep projects on schedule. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform gives designers and engineers a governed approach to data import: standardized import rules, automated naming and revision schemes, metadata preservation, geometry validation at the point of entry, lifecycle-tied governance and role-based access control.