USD Import & Export

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Bring engineering data into a shared scene

A CAD model can serve design, product review, and visual communication. USD Import & Export helps connect these uses by reading and writing scenes with geometry, materials, hierarchy, metadata, and animation data.

Build a bridge between engineering applications and tools that use Universal Scene Description.

How it works

Read a supported USD scene, or prepare scene geometry from CAD through a reader and meshing step. Keep required object names, placements, materials, and metadata with the scene. Your application can process this information and write a supported USD output for another tool.

Keep scene information together

Names and hierarchy help users find objects. Colors and materials help them understand appearance. Metadata adds context, while animation data can describe changes over time.

Read and write supported meshes and primitives in .usd, .usdz, and .usda files. Choose which scene information matters to your receiving application and use that as a clear exchange goal.

Create a path from CAD to visual review

Combine a CAD reader with surface meshing and USD output. A product team could prepare scenes for a review, build visual content from engineering data, or connect model objects with product information.

Start with STEP to USD for a common engineering source. Parasolid Import and Express Mesh can support other source and preparation needs.

Choose scene detail for its audience

CAD surfaces need meshing before they can become polygonal scene objects. Mesh detail affects conversion time, file size, and how smoothly a large model can be explored. A product overview can use less detail than a close design review.

Scale, orientation, placements, materials, and required metadata should remain clear in the receiving tool. When animation is included, the exported time range and moving objects also need to match the intended scene.

Reduce repeated scene preparation after a design change

A visualization team may prepare a product scene for review or presentation, then receive a revised engineering model. Replacing everything by hand can lose object organization and make it harder to reconnect materials or product information.

A CAD-to-USD process can generate scene geometry from the approved source and retain required names, hierarchy, placements, and metadata. Your application can use those identifiers to compare deliveries and reconnect scene objects with product records. Meshing settings control the level of geometric detail prepared for the receiving scene tool.

This gives engineering and visual-content teams a shared exchange plan for repeated updates. They can agree on identifiers, appearance data, and scene structure before a delivery. Matching revisions and preserving any edits made in the receiving tool remain application responsibilities; the USD component provides supported scene reading and writing within that process.

Reuse scene data across outputs

Bring USD mesh data into STEP, STEP XML, or DXF document workflows through suitable mesh-capable writers. Use glTF, OBJ, or STL for polygonal delivery. Choose each route by the geometry and attributes it carries.

Discuss your USD exchange needs with a source scene and an example of a successful result.