After multiple hours and numerous attempts, I finally found a solution that allowed the successful import and assembly of the digital twin components

Initial Approach and Issues Encountered

Initially, I tried to open each station in SolidWorks, assemble them, and save the final assembly as a STEP file for import into Siemens NX. However, this approach led to severe issues:

• Siemens NX struggled to open the STEP file.

• In some cases, NX stopped creating log files mid-process.

• A few times, NX unpacked 17,500 files but never displayed a message confirming completion.

• Attempting to use those unpacked files resulted in an incomplete assembly – the assembly file opened, but no MPS station was displayed.

Researching the Problem and Finding a Solution

After extensive troubleshooting and research, I discovered that the issue was likely due to the complexity and number of components in the assembly, as well as name conflicts between parts. To resolve this, I took the following steps:

• Deleted unnecessary components in SolidWorks before exporting the assembly.

• Saved the assembly as a Parasolid (.X_T) file, which is Siemens NX’s native format.

• Imported the Parasolid file into Siemens NX, allowing it to correctly process and unpack individual components.

Successful Import and Assembly

Upon importing the Parasolid file, NX began unpacking files for each individual component and successfully created a fully assembled NX file. The unpacking process took around 30 minutes, but after completion, the assembly appeared functional.

Next Steps

With this partial success, my next step is to attempt importing the full assembly without removing any parts and observe how NX handles the process. If it works smoothly, this method will prove to be a reliable approach for dealing with large, complex assemblies in Siemens NX.

Final Outcome

The full assembly was successfully imported into Siemens NX, with all stations intact and no missing components. This process highlighted the critical role of file format selection, pre-assembly preparation, and NX’s handling of complex models. While STEP files may seem like a universal solution, the Parasolid format proved to be the most effective for large-scale NX assemblies. This method should help anyone facing similar issues with complex digital twin imports in Siemens NX.