Convert Navisworks to IFC (Free)

Drop a .nwd file, click Export, download the .ifc. The open BIM exchange format: the way to bring a model into Revit, ArchiCAD, Tekla or Navisworks.

Also converts STL, OBJ, GLB, PLY, USDZ, 3MF from the same file.

Runs in your browser. No upload, no signup, nothing to install.

Also from Innerscene: Circadian Lab, a free lighting calculator for room illuminance, melanopic EML, and glare.

Your Navisworks file is read and converted on your own machine. It is never uploaded.

How to convert Navisworks to IFC

  1. 1

    Open your .nwd file

    Drag it onto the viewer above, or click "Open a Navisworks File". Files up to 200 MB open directly; the parse runs in a worker so the page stays responsive.

  2. 2

    Pick IFC4 (BIM) in the Export menu

    Click Export in the toolbar, then IFC (.ifc).

  3. 3

    Download

    The .ifc is written in the browser and saved straight to your downloads folder. No queue, no email, no watermark.

What survives the conversion

A file conversion is a translation, and formats do not carry the same things. Here is exactly what moves from Navisworks into IFC, and what does not.

GeometryKeptBoth formats store triangle meshes, so the shape transfers directly.
Colors and materialsKeptIFC carries material colors, which is at least what Navisworks stores, so the colors come across.
Units and scaleKeptIFC stores an explicit unit, so the model opens at true size without rescaling.

What the IFC writer emits: IFC4 with a project, site, building and storey; each mesh becomes an IfcBuildingElementProxy whose body is an IfcTriangulatedFaceSet with welded vertices, colored from its material. Z up, in millimeters.

The source: Autodesk Navisworks (NWD / NWC) (.nwd, .nwc)

Every placed part of a Navisworks model or cache, drawn from the tessellated shapes Navisworks stores, at the position and in the material colour it saved, with grid and centre lines as lines. A shape used many times is decoded once and placed at every use. Models exported from Revit are in feet; the rest keep the file’s own units. A project file (.nwf) draws the linked models uploaded with it together and names the ones still missing.

Open Navisworks files in the Navisworks viewer

The target: IFC4 (BIM) (.ifc)

The open BIM exchange format: the way to bring a model into Revit, ArchiCAD, Tekla or Navisworks.

Opens in: Revit (open or link), ArchiCAD, Tekla, Navisworks, Solibri, BlenderBIM, BIMcollab Zoom.

Your file never leaves your computer

Both the Navisworks parser and the IFC writer are JavaScript and WebAssembly running in your own browser tab. There is no upload step, no server-side conversion queue, and no copy of your file anywhere but your machine. That matters for drawings under NDA, for client work, and for anything you would not email to a stranger.

Free to Use, No Signup

There are no accounts and no watermarks on this converter. If it saved you time, the one thing we ask is a mention: a post, a link from your blog or course page, or a reply to someone asking how to open a file.

Share it

Made something reusable? Add it to the Free Parts Library. Writing about it? Copy a link, badge or citation. Send us your post and we’ll feature it with a link to your site.

Hear about new formats

Occasional emails when the viewer learns a new format or gets a new tool.

Frequently asked questions

▶Is this Navisworks to IFC converter free?

Yes. No signup, no watermark, no per-file limit and no paid tier. Innerscene.

▶Is my Navisworks file uploaded anywhere?

No. The file is read with the browser file API and converted in the same tab. Nothing is sent to a server unless you explicitly click Share, which is a separate, opt-in feature.

▶Will my colors and materials survive the IFC export?

IFC carries material colors, which is at least what Navisworks stores, so the colors come across.

▶Will the IFC open at the right size?

IFC stores an explicit unit, so the model opens at true size without rescaling.

▶How large a Navisworks file can I convert?

Up to 200 MB, and the ceiling adapts to how much memory your device reports. The conversion runs on your own hardware, so a desktop with plenty of RAM will handle more than a phone.

▶Can I convert IFC back to Navisworks?

Not here. We read Navisworks and write IFC, but not the reverse. the universal 3D viewer

▶Which browsers does it work in?

Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari, on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android. No plugin and no extension.

Convert Navisworks to something else

Convert something else to IFC

Or start from the universal 3D viewer.

Need a wellness lighting solution?
Contact our experts today!