Convert Navisworks NWD to IFC online: no Navisworks needed

Convert a Navisworks .nwd file to IFC online. Upload the file, pick what to keep, and download the IFC. Nothing to install and no Navisworks licence needed. Properties, materials and the model hierarchy carry across.

Upload a Navisworks .nwd file, choose what to keep, and download an IFC. The conversion runs on our servers, in your browser session, so you don't need Navisworks installed, a Navisworks licence, or a Windows machine. If someone sent you a federated model as an NWD and your tool only reads IFC, this is the whole job.

The IFC keeps the parts of the model people actually use: the geometry, the properties attached to each item, the materials and colours, and the hierarchy the model was organised in. When the conversion finishes the result opens straight in the viewer next to the upload area, so you can check it before you download anything.

When to reach for it: When you have an NWD but not Navisworks, or you need an IFC for a tool that cannot read NWD. For a live Navisworks model where you want to choose the selection and mapping yourself, use the free Navisworks plug-in instead.

What you get: An IFC4 file with the properties, materials and hierarchy of the NWD, opened in the viewer when the conversion finishes and available to download or save to your workspace.

Example: Open a coordinator's federated NWD in an IFC-only tool without asking them to re-export it.

Why convert an NWD online

An NWD is Navisworks' own published format. It is how coordinators hand over a federation, and it is built to be read in Navisworks and nowhere else. The usual ways out of it all assume you own the software: open it in Navisworks and export, run a plug-in inside Navisworks, or ask the author to publish an IFC for you. Each of those needs a licence, a Windows install, or someone else's time.

This tool takes the file itself. Nothing is installed on your side and nothing needs to be open on anyone's desktop. You upload the NWD, the server reads it and writes an IFC, and you download the result or keep it in your workspace. It works from a Mac, a Linux laptop, a locked-down office PC or a phone, anywhere a browser does.

What carries across into the IFC

The point of converting is to keep the information, not just the shapes. The converter is built to preserve three things, and the configuration panel lets you switch each one on or off:

Properties: the data attached to each Navisworks item is written as IFC property sets on the matching element, so you can still filter, schedule and check the model.
Materials: the colour, transparency and material of each item are written as IFC styles and materials, so the model looks like the NWD when you open it.
Hierarchy: the selection tree (files, levels, groups and items) is rebuilt as the IFC spatial structure and element grouping, so the model is not one flat list of anonymous shapes.

The settings, and what each one does

The panel on the left of the tool holds the settings. They are the same every time you open it, and they are remembered for your next conversion.

Keep properties: on by default. Turn it off for a lighter file when you only need the shapes.
Keep materials and colours: on by default. Turn it off if the next tool applies its own look.
Keep the hierarchy: on by default. Off writes every element directly under one storey.
Include hidden items: off by default. Hidden items and helper geometry are skipped unless you ask for them.
Units: keep the unit stored in the NWD, or write the IFC in millimetres, centimetres, metres, feet or inches.

See the result before you download it

The large area beside the settings does two jobs. Before a conversion it is the drop zone: drag an NWD onto it or click to choose one. After a conversion it is the viewer, and if "view result on completion" is on, the new IFC loads there on its own. Orbit it, open the model browser, click an element and read its properties to confirm the conversion kept what you needed.

From there you can download the IFC, or, when you are signed in, save it to your BIMCamel workspace as a model so you can run the other tools on it: merge it with an architectural IFC, check it against an IDS, run clash detection, or export it to Excel. Saving is optional, and a result you do not save expires with the retention window of your plan.

Online converter or the Navisworks plug-in?

BIMCamel also offers a free, open-source Navisworks plug-in that exports IFC from inside Navisworks. The two suit different situations. The plug-in is the right choice when you already work in Navisworks and want to choose what to export from a live model, using your own search sets and mapping rules. The online converter is the right choice when you only have the file, don't have Navisworks, or just want a quick IFC without installing anything.

Honest limits

An NWD is a published snapshot, and some of the original authoring data was already lost when it was published. The IFC is built from what the NWD holds: geometry is written as meshes, not as the parametric extrusions and profiles of the original Revit or IFC model, so it will not be editable the way the source was. Element classes are inferred from the information in the file, and an item with nothing to identify it is written as a generic building element proxy. Very large federations take longer, and uploads are limited by your plan's file-size cap.

How to convert a Navisworks NWD to IFC online

Open the converter and drop your .nwd on the large area, or click it to choose the file
Choose what to keep in the panel on the left: properties, materials, hierarchy, hidden items and units
Click Convert. Nothing is installed, and Navisworks is not needed
Check the IFC in the viewer, then download it or save it to your workspace

Under the hood

BIMCamel parses IFC files in the browser using the open-source web-ifc engine and renders models with @thatopen/components + three.js. Heavy operations (clean / optimise / validate / convert) run on disposable server-side workers using the same web-ifc stack plus our own .NET pipeline; results stream back to your browser as soon as they're ready. Uploads sit on our servers only as long as your tier's retention window allows and are never used to train AI.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need Navisworks installed to convert an NWD to IFC?

No. The conversion runs online, on BIMCamel's servers. You upload the .nwd in your browser and download the IFC. You don't need Navisworks, a Navisworks licence or a Windows computer.

Does the IFC keep properties, materials and the model hierarchy?

Yes, that is what the converter is built to preserve, and each is a switch in the settings panel. Properties become IFC property sets, materials and colours become IFC styles and materials, and the Navisworks selection tree becomes the IFC spatial structure and element grouping.

Which Navisworks files can I convert?

The tool takes .nwd files. If you have an .nwf or .nwc, publish or save it as an NWD in Navisworks first, or use the free Navisworks plug-in, which exports all three formats from inside Navisworks.

Is the NWD to IFC converter free?

Converting counts as one run against your daily allowance, the same as the other BIMCamel tools: 3 a day as a guest and 10 a day with a free account. Uploads are limited by the file-size cap of your plan. A paid plan raises both limits.

What IFC version does it write?

IFC4. It is the schema most current tools read and the one that carries materials and property sets cleanly. If a platform needs IFC2x3, convert the result with the Downgrade IFC tool.

What happens to my file after the conversion?

The upload and the result are kept only for the retention window of your plan so you can download or save them, then removed. Guests get the shortest window. Save the result to your workspace if you want to keep it.

Can I use the result in the other BIMCamel tools?

Yes. Once the IFC is saved to your workspace it is an ordinary model: view it, merge it with other disciplines, validate it against an IDS, run clash detection, or export it to Excel.