Export an Inventor Part or Assembly to DWG for Revit

So, you want to take your Inventor .ipt file and bring it into Revit, but you’re not sure how.  There are probably several ways, including the new BIM Exchange, but after much trial and error, and hours at the helm trying to get Inventor to Recognize Revit Features, I’ve decided I like the Export to DWG the best.  I know there is no “intelligence” in this method, but for the amount of time I save, I can live with it.

To export an Inventor part file (.ipt) to DWG for use in Revit, simply follow the steps below.

1.    In Inventor, click on the Application Icon, select Export > Export to DWG

2.    In the Save As dialog box, give the file a name and place it in the directory you wish, click Save.

3.    In Revit, you can insert the DWG file directly into a family file(rfa), which can then be inserted into the project.  Create a New Revit Family file from a Template.

4.    Once the family file is created, then select the Insert tab > Import CAD.  Select the DWG file you created from Inventor.  You may need to do some view manipulation to rotate the component to the correct orientation.  Finally, you can select Load into Project to bring it over to your Revit project.

5.    The alternative to inserting into the Family file, is to insert it directly into your project.  Again you may need to use multiple views to manipulate it to the correct position and orientation, but you will get the result similar to the image below.

(Note: Upon importing your DWG file, you may get the following message.  You can choose to ignore it if it doesn’t really affect your design, or you can follow the instructions.)