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Migrating a 2D AutoCAD library to SolidWorks

Printed From: CAD Forum
Category: EN
Forum Name: CAD - general
Forum Description: General discussion about CAD, formats, standards, management, licensing, networking, harware, other CAD applications
URL: https://www.cadforum.cz/forum_en/forum_posts.asp?TID=14804
Printed Date: 04.Sep.2026 at 09:52


Topic: Migrating a 2D AutoCAD library to SolidWorks
Posted By: newdesigner
Subject: Migrating a 2D AutoCAD library to SolidWorks
Date Posted: 03.Sep.2026 at 05:14
Joining the engineering team at a steel fab shop, generator enclosures, base tanks, and fuel systems. Weldments and sheet metal, mostly "same design, different size." They've been on AutoCAD for years and I was brought in for the SolidWorks side. The assignment is to move the drawing library over.

Being straight: I don't know much yet. No file count, don't know how much is 2D vs 3D, don't know how much of it is still live. This is my first migration.

So instead of asking how to do it, what should I be finding out in the first couple of weeks, before I commit to a plan or a timeline?

Two I'm already chewing on:

How hard do you push parametric families? Nearly everything we build is a known design at a new size.

How did you bring the existing AutoCAD users along? I'm the new hire replacing a system they built.

What did you not see coming?


Replies:
Posted By: philippe JOSEPH
Date Posted: 03.Sep.2026 at 08:27
Hello newdesigner, I know about migrating 3D AutoCAD to Solidworks or NX, etc but the 2D would only come as sketch I think.
I personnally very rarely use parametric constrain on AutoCAD, geometrical and dimensional.
Maybe because of my age and experience I will go "directly" to the wright solution after a good study needless to say because nothing is standard.
Maybe you should ask Cfytr that is doing an amazing job on 2D and 3D crane files with dynamic blocks that are using I think a lot of parametric constrains to achieve all the booms configurations for example.


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