Models Supported by Assemble Add-ins
Assemble add-ins allow users to publish a wide variety of model formats. This article describes supported, partially supported, and unsupported model formats and their publishing sources for Assemble.
We recommend using supported model formats in Assemble.
Note:
Not all model formats that can be published by Assemble add-ins are recommended for use in Assemble. Using unsupported or partially supported model formats may not produce the desired results. Limitations or issues caused by these models may not be prioritized for improvement by Assemble.
Guidelines for All Model Formats
- Elements with >250,000 polygons will be omitted completely. If needed, these elements should be broken into smaller elements or published as bounding box representations.
- Imported models with high levels of detail (such as Inventor and SOLIDWORKS) frequently lead to performance issues in the Assemble viewer.
- Installing 3rd party object enablers (AutoCAD and Navisworks) in lieu of proxy entities may provide a better overall experience with model data.
- Any model format or authoring tool not mentioned in the matrix is not supported.
Supported Models in Assemble
| Publish Source / Add-in | Authoring Tool | Model Format | Fully Supported | Partially Supported | Not Supported | Notes / Known Issues |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AutoCAD Architecture | AutoCAD Architecture | .dwg | X | 2D geometry will not appear in the viewer. Some geometry created in 3rd party applications may not be supported. | ||
| AutoCAD MEP | AutoCAD MEP | .dwg | X | 2D geometry will not appear in the viewer. Some geometry created in 3rd party applications may not be supported. | ||
| BIM 360 / ACC Docs | Revit | .rvt | X | |||
| Civil 3D | Civil 3D | .dwg | X | 2D geometry will not appear in the viewer. Some geometry created in 3rd party applications may not be supported. | ||
| Navisworks | Revit | .rvt | X | |||
| Navisworks | Plant 3D | .dwg | X | DWG files from Plant 3D are known to cause performance issues (see Plant 3D note below). Publishing DWG files as separate Assemble models often leads to alignment issues, so try publishing them as a merged model. Some geometry created in 3rd party applications may not be supported. | ||
| Navisworks | Archicad | .ifc | X | |||
| Navisworks | Tekla | .ifc | X | |||
| Navisworks | (Generic) | .ifc | X | IFC models from sources not listed here (Tekla and Archicad) may not behave as expected. | ||
| Navisworks | Plant 3D | .nwc (Plant 3D Export) | X | A NWC file generated from Plant 3D when published in Assemble may miss few geometry elements (such as Pipe design). Recreating a NWC model by appending .dwg from Plant 3D in Navisworks and republishing helps bring in all the missing geometries. | ||
| Navisworks | Inventor | .iam / ipt | X | Large numbers (>500) of detailed, complex Inventor-based elements may result in poor performance for the Assemble viewer. Reducing the visual complexity of these elements or using proxy objects (like bounding boxes) may help performance. IPT models should be merged in Navisworks to keep the number of models in a single Assemble view at a minimum. The more models in a view, the longer the loading time. | ||
| Navisworks | Revit (via BIM Coordinate Add-in) | .svf (Model Coordination) | X | SVF models are generated when appending a model using the Model Coordination add-in. SVF files that contain .rvt, .dwg, or .ifc file types are fully supported. Other file types are not supported and will likely not work well in Assemble. | ||
| Navisworks | SmartPlant 3D | .ifc / .rvt | X | SmartPlant files can be exported in a number of ways, but may look like RVT files in Navisworks if they've been imported into Revit first as IFC files. | ||
| Plant 3D | Plant 3D | .dwg | X | Because Plant 3D is an AutoCAD product, the Assemble add-in will install, but we do not support it officially. Use at your own risk. Native Plant 3D elements, such as equipment, supports, and machinery will not publish to Assemble. | ||
| Revit | Revit | .rvt | X | Only geometry that has been natively authored by Revit (system families and loadable families) is fully supported. As of Revit 2023, geometry for Rebar elements is not supported within Assemble and may not be visible as well. | ||
| Revit | Fabrication CADmep | .dwg | X | Elements from Fabrication CADmep have been known to cause issues. Ensure the Revit Extension for Fabrication is installed. |