Convert Smart 3D to CATPart in your application
3D InterOp is a CAD interoperability SDK that lets your software read Smart 3D files and write CATPart, writing the Smart 3D facets as faceted geometry, since Smart 3D stores triangles rather than solids.
Spatial does not offer an online converter or a desktop conversion app. 3D InterOp is a component that software vendors embed in their own products.
- Reads Smart 3D · Writes CATPart
- Triangle mesh → faceted B-Rep
- C++ / C# APIs
Smart 3D to CATPart at a glance
Smart 3D stores triangles; CATPart is an exact-geometry format. The mesh is written as faceted geometry: 3D InterOp doesn’t rebuild smooth surfaces from triangles.
| Smart 3D (source) | CATPart (target) | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Hexagon (Intergraph) Smart 3D review files | CATIA V5 Part |
| Standard / owner | Hexagon | Dassault Systèmes |
| File extensions | .xml with its .vue | .CATPart |
| Geometry | Tessellated geometry | Exact B-Rep |
| Assemblies / structure | Yes: plant hierarchy (.xml) | Part file (assemblies are CATProduct files) |
| PMI | None | Semantic and graphical |
| 3D InterOp support | Read only | Read and write |
What's preserved, what changes
Here is what your application can expect to carry across from Smart 3D to CATPart.
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Changes
Assembly structureCATPart has no native assembly hierarchy. Decide in your application how Smart 3D product structure is grouped or flattened before writing.
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Changes
Faceted geometrySmart 3D stores triangles, so the CATPart file holds faceted bodies, not solids. 3D InterOp doesn’t rebuild exact B-Rep from a mesh.
Why software vendors add Smart 3D to CATPart conversion
Deliver in your customer’s CAD format
Aerospace and automotive OEMs often require supplier data in CATPart. Writing it lets your users meet that requirement directly from your application.
Exact geometry, ready to edit
CATPart keeps exact B-Rep geometry, so the receiving engineer can measure, modify or machine the model in CATIA.
No neutral-format round trip
Writing CATPart directly avoids an extra STEP or IGES step, and the loss each extra translation can add.
Things to check before you ship
- Written CATPart versions: CATIA V5 R15 to V5-6 R2026.
- Supported Smart 3D input: the .xml file with its .vue file.
- Provide the .xml with its .vue file: a standalone .vue gives visualization data only.
- Validate a sample of translated files in the target system your users actually work with.
Working with Spatial was a real milestone for us: Thanks to the powerful 3DInterOp library, we were able to successfully bring our complex CAD-based solutions to the cloud while remaining flexible to meet individual customer requirements. For us, Spatial is not just a technology partner, but a true enabler of our product strategy.
Dr. Arno Michelis, Founder, Simus Systems
Read the Case StudyAbout the formats
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Source format
What is a Smart 3D file?
Hexagon Smart 3D is a plant and marine design system. Its models are shared as review files: a .vue file with the geometry and an .xml file with the plant hierarchy and properties.
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Target format
What is a CATPart (.CATPart) file?
A CATPart file is a CATIA V5 part: one component with its exact 3D geometry, features and, often, PMI. Assemblies of parts are stored in CATProduct files.
Frequently asked questions
No. Smart 3D stores triangles, and 3D InterOp writes them to CATPart as faceted geometry. It doesn’t rebuild exact B-Rep from a mesh.
CATPart has no assembly hierarchy, so your application decides how the Smart 3D structure is grouped or flattened before writing.
Provide the .xml file with its .vue file. A standalone .vue file gives visualization data only.
3D InterOp reads the .xml file with its .vue file, as visualization data.
3D InterOp writes CATIA V5 R15 to V5-6 R2026.
No. 3D InterOp reads Smart 3D but doesn’t write it. To send data back to Smart 3D users, write a neutral format they can import.
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Building software that needs to convert Smart 3D to CATPart?
3D InterOp is an SDK that lets your application read Smart 3D and write CATPart alongside 30+ CAD and BIM formats.