Parasolid is a geometric modeling kernel originally developed by Shape Data Limited, now owned and developed by Siemens Digital Industries Software. It can be licensed by other companies for use in their

3D computer graphics 3D computer graphics, sometimes called Computer-generated imagery, CGI, 3D-CGI or three-dimensional Computer-generated imagery, computer graphics, are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian coor ...

software products. Parasolid's abilities include model creation and editing utilities such as Boolean modeling operators, feature modeling support, advanced surfacing, thickening and hollowing, blending and filleting, and sheet modeling. It also incorporates modeling with mesh surfaces and lattices. Parasolid also includes tools for direct model editing, including tapering, offsetting, geometry replacement and removing feature details with automated regeneration of surrounding data. Parasolid also provides wide-ranging graphical and rendering support, including hidden-line, wireframe and drafting, tessellation, and model data inquiries.

Parasolid XT format

Parasolid parts are normally saved in XT format, which usually has the file extension .X_T. The format is documented and

open Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gerd Dudek, Buschi Niebergall, and Edward Vesala album), 1979 * ''Open'' (Go ...

. There is also a binary version of the format, usually with an .X_B extension, which is somewhat more compact. Both .X_T and .X_B are used for parts files. To use Parasolid effectively, software developers need knowledge of CAD in general, computational geometry, and

topology Topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is the branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of a Mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformat ...

. Parasolid is available for

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

(

32-bit In computer architecture, 32-bit computing refers to computer systems with a processor, memory, and other major system components that operate on data in a maximum of 32- bit units. Compared to smaller bit widths, 32-bit computers can perform la ...

, 64-bit and

AArch64 AArch64, also known as ARM64, is a 64-bit version of the ARM architecture family, a widely used set of computer processor designs. It was introduced in 2011 with the ARMv8 architecture and later became part of the ARMv9 series. AArch64 allows ...

Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...

(64-bit and AArch64),

macOS macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...

(Intel and

Apple silicon Apple silicon is a series of system on a chip (SoC) and system in a package (SiP) processors designed by Apple Inc., mainly using the ARM architecture family, ARM architecture. They are used in nearly all of the company's devices including Mac ...

), iOS, and Android.

Applications

It is used in many

computer-aided design Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...

(CAD),

computer-aided manufacturing Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) also known as computer-aided modeling or computer-aided machining is the use of software to control machine tools in the manufacturing of work pieces. This is not the only definition for CAM, but it is the most ...

(CAM), computer-aided engineering (CAE), product visualization, and

CAD data exchange CAD data exchange is a method of Engineering drawing, drawing data exchange used to translate between different computer-aided design (Computer-aided design, CAD) authoring systems or between CAD and other downstream CAx systems. Many companies us ...

packages. Notable uses include: * Abaqus * ADINA * Alibre Design * Altair HyperWorks * Ansys * Cimatron E * Delcam * COMSOL Multiphysics * Femap * HyperMesh * IRONCAD * Mastercam * MEDUSA4 * MicroStation * Moldflow * Siemens NX * Onshape * Qinetiq Paramarine * Plasticity * PowerSHAPE * Shapr3D * Simcenter STAR-CCM+ * SimScale * Solid Edge * SolidWorks * T-FLEX CAD * TopSolid *

Vectorworks Vectorworks, Inc. is a U.S.-based software development company that focuses on CAD and BIM software for the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC), landscape, and entertainment industries. Vectorworks is owned by the Nemetschek Grou ...

* WorkXPlore 3D

References

External links

* Graphics software Computer-aided design software CAD file formats Siemens software products {{Graphics-software-stub