Convert SLDASM to SAT

A downstream ACIS-based CAD, CAM, inspection, or simulation system may require a .sat file instead of a SOLIDWORKS assembly. The conversion transfers model geometry for exchange or archiving, but it does not preserve the native SOLIDWORKS feature history.

What the SLDASM format is

.sldasm is the native assembly format used by Dassault Systèmes SOLIDWORKS. It stores the assembly structure, component references, mates, configurations, display states, and assembly-level features; the component geometry normally remains in referenced .sldprt files and subassemblies.

Before exporting, keep the .sldasm file, all referenced parts, and all subassemblies together. Missing references can produce an incomplete model. SLDASM files are used primarily in mechanical design, manufacturing, supplier exchange, and engineering-archive workflows.

What the SAT format is

.sat is the text-based ACIS Standard ACIS Text format. It represents boundary-representation solids and surfaces through geometry, topology, faces, edges, and related ACIS entities. ACIS-based CAD, CAM, manufacturing, analysis, and visualization applications use it for model exchange.

SAT transfers analytic CAD geometry rather than a polygon mesh, so the receiving application can usually work with solid and surface faces. It does not retain SOLIDWORKS sketches, feature trees, mates, equations, configurations, custom properties, or parametric relationships. Support for assembly hierarchy and multiple bodies varies by exporter and importer.

How to convert the assembly in SOLIDWORKS

1. Place the assembly and its referenced .sldprt and subassembly files in accessible locations. Open the assembly and resolve missing references. Fully resolve lightweight components and unsuppress any components required in the exported model.
2. Activate the required configuration and display state. Check hidden, suppressed, envelope, and excluded components because these states can affect the exported geometry.
3. Try File → Save As and select ACIS (*.sat). In the available export options, choose the required units, body or assembly handling, and ACIS compatibility settings, then save the file.
4. If the SOLIDWORKS version does not offer direct SAT export for the assembly, use File → Save As, select Part (*.sldprt), and choose the option to save all components or the required components in one part. Open that part and export it with File → Save As → ACIS (*.sat).
5. Open the SAT file in the destination application. Verify scale and units, body count, orientation, solid or surface status, and the presence of small or complex faces.

SOLIDWORKS is usually the safest choice because it resolves the native assembly references before export. The exact SAT options and whether direct assembly export is available depend on the SOLIDWORKS release and license.

Using another converter

CAD Exchanger Desktop can convert SOLIDWORKS assemblies to SAT when the installed version lists both SLDASM input and SAT output. Open or import the assembly with its complete reference set, select SAT as the output format, configure units and assembly or body handling, and export. CAD Exchanger’s web service may provide the same conversion, but a referenced assembly may need to be uploaded as a ZIP package rather than as a single SLDASM file.

Datakit CrossManager is another commercial desktop option that supports many CAD exchange workflows. Confirm current support for the specific SOLIDWORKS release and SAT export before purchasing or processing a batch.

Online conversion is appropriate only when the service explicitly supports SLDASM assemblies, referenced parts, and SAT output. Do not upload proprietary design data unless the provider’s retention, deletion, and access terms satisfy the project requirements; desktop conversion keeps the files local.

Quality and compatibility limitations

• Native design intelligence is lost. The SAT result contains exchanged geometry, not an editable SOLIDWORKS feature tree, sketches, mates, dimensions, equations, configurations, or custom properties.
• An assembly can be exported as separate bodies, a compound model, one SAT file, or multiple SAT files. The result depends on the exporter and the receiving application.
• Missing, suppressed, lightweight, hidden, envelope, or excluded components can be absent from the export. Resolve the intended assembly state before conversion.
• Check units explicitly. SAT records model units, but some importers apply a document default or require a manual scale choice.
• Kernel and tolerance differences can cause failed sewing, open shells, gaps, or altered small cylindrical, conical, and trimmed faces. Inspect critical geometry after import and repair it in the receiving CAD system if necessary.
• Retain the original .sldasm and referenced .sldprt files as the authoritative design. SAT is an interchange representation, not a replacement for the native assembly.