Convert SLDASM to SLDPRT

Manufacturing, simulation, or CAD software may accept only one part document, while the source design is an assembly. Converting it creates an .sldprt representation that is easier to edit, share, export, or archive, but it does not preserve the assembly as an editable assembly.

What the SLDASM format is

.sldasm is the native assembly format used by SOLIDWORKS. It stores component placement, mates, configurations, display states, and references to the assembly's .sldprt parts and subassemblies.

An assembly file commonly contains references rather than all component geometry. Keep the referenced files available, including nested subassemblies, before opening or converting it. Use File → Pack and Go when the references need to be collected into one folder.

What the SLDPRT format is

.sldprt is the native SOLIDWORKS part format. A part document can contain sketches, features, surfaces, and one or more solid or surface bodies. An assembly saved as a part normally becomes a multibody part, not a single fused solid.

This format is useful when a recipient needs one native SOLIDWORKS document for editing, design review, collision checking, mass-property calculation, or later export to STEP or STL. It is not a substitute for the original assembly when mates, a bill of materials, component hierarchy, motion studies, or exploded views are required.

How to convert an assembly in SOLIDWORKS

1. Place the .sldasm file and all referenced part and subassembly files in accessible locations. Resolve missing references, and resolve lightweight components if their geometry is needed.
2. Open the assembly and activate the required configuration. Check suppression, visibility, and display-state settings so the intended components and geometry are available.
3. Select File → Save As.
4. Set the file type to Part (*.sldprt), choose a new filename, and select Save.
5. Choose the required save scope. All Components includes the component geometry; Exterior Faces creates an outside-envelope representation; and Include specified components, where available, lets you select only particular components.
6. Open the resulting .sldprt and check the body and surface counts, missing faces, component coverage, orientation, and mass properties before exporting or delivering it.

The exact option names can vary by SOLIDWORKS release. Exterior-face output may be a simplified surface or envelope and should not be assumed to contain all internal solids. Saving the assembly does not necessarily merge touching or overlapping bodies into one watertight solid; use the part tools to combine or repair bodies only when that result is required.

Converting only one component

If the required output is an individual component, select it in the assembly and open its source .sldprt, or open the component in its own window. Saving the parent assembly as a part is unnecessary and can include unwanted neighboring components. If the component is virtual or derived, use Save As or Make Independent as appropriate before editing it separately.

Compatibility and online options

The generated file may contain derived or imported bodies instead of the original feature history. Assembly mates, BOM data, component hierarchy, motion data, exploded views, and assembly-level behavior are not retained as editable assembly information. Suppressed, hidden, envelope, unresolved, or externally referenced components can also produce incomplete output.

Native .sldprt output is best produced with licensed SOLIDWORKS Desktop because it can resolve the assembly and save a native part document. SOLIDWORKS version compatibility also matters: a file saved by a newer release may not open in an older release.

Online services such as CAD Exchanger Cloud can be considered when the actual requirement is a neutral file such as STEP or STL, subject to their current input and output support. They generally should not be expected to create an editable native .sldprt feature tree. Uploading an assembly may also require every referenced file, and confidential designs should remain on a controlled desktop or enterprise workflow.

If the recipient needs the assembly structure, provide the original assembly with its referenced files or export a neutral assembly format such as STEP instead of converting it into one part.