Engineering · 02Model viewer

NWD Studio

Open Autodesk Navisworks models on a Mac — no Autodesk account, no cloud, no upload.

macOS Windows iOS · Android Open core (MIT) Free during launch

Request the build The open core lives here

Version

0.6.0 Released

Native format

.nwd · .nwc

Also reads

STEP · IGES · BREP · STL · OBJ · glTF · VRML

Licence

Open core (MIT) Public repository

01What it is

An offline viewer, and nothing else

NWD Studio opens Autodesk Navisworks .nwd and .nwc files on a Mac without an Autodesk account, without uploading the model anywhere, and without any Autodesk product installed. It also opens STEP, IGES, BREP, STL, OBJ, glTF and VRML.

The target is the review experience: orbit and walk, a selection tree, element properties, hide and isolate, section planes, measurement, saved viewpoints and selection sets. All of it local, all of it from the file you opened.

Models are large and often belong to someone else. That is exactly why nothing is uploaded, sampled, or sent anywhere for conversion.

An isometric wireframe drawing of a generic process skid: two horizontal vessels on a structural deck, a vertical column, a pipe run with right-angle bends, railings, and a selection tree panel on the right. — A generic process skid as an isometric wireframe study, drawn for this page. It is not a screenshot: every real model we could show belongs to a client, and those are not ours to publish.

02The viewer

What you can do with a model you did not create

Review, not authoring. The point is to answer questions about a model on a machine that has no Navisworks licence.

Walkthrough

Orbit, pan and walk through the model at architectural scale.

Selection tree

The file's own hierarchy, with search, so a 20-minute model stays navigable.

Properties

Element properties as stored in the file — category, type, and the fields the exporter kept.

Hide and isolate

Reduce the model to the one area or system under review.

Section planes

Cut the model on an axis to see what is behind the wall or the deck.

Measure

Point-to-point distances in the model's own units.

Viewpoints

Save the camera position that answers the question, and return to it.

Selection sets

Save a group of elements so a review can go back to exactly the same group.

03Formats

One viewer, two kinds of file

Navisworks files are opened natively. CAD interchange formats are read on import, in the same session.

Trademarks

Navisworks is a trademark of Autodesk. NWD Studio reads .nwd and .nwc files locally; it is not an Autodesk product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Autodesk.

Accepted formats
Format	Kind	Opened as
.nwd · .nwc	Navisworks	Native, with tree and properties
STEP	CAD interchange	Geometry, assembly structure
IGES	CAD interchange	Geometry, assembly structure
BREP	CAD interchange	Geometry, assembly structure
STL	Mesh	Triangulated geometry
OBJ	Mesh	Triangulated geometry
glTF	Mesh	Triangulated geometry
VRML	Mesh	Triangulated geometry

04Mobile

The same review, on a phone or a tablet

The viewer also ships for iOS and Android. On iOS it is distributed as Cadmira 1.0.0, a CAD-only branch of the same engine; Android follows the desktop version.

This is a review tool for a site visit, not a desktop replacement: the tree, properties and section planes are there, on a device that fits in a pocket.

Mobile builds
Platform	Build	Size
iOS	Cadmira 1.0.0	9.7 MB
Android	NWD Studio 0.5.7	6.6 MB

05Status

What is not in the build

In development

Cable-tray and instrument-cable design exists in the repository, but it is not part of the current macOS or Windows builds. It is not offered here as a shipping feature, because it is not in the build you would download. When it ships, this page will say so.

06Specification

Builds and licence

The core engine is open source (MIT) and lives in a public repository. Current builds and later add-on features are commercial — but everything is free during the launch period, and nothing needs an account or a key.

Request the build The open core lives here

Free during launch Download · coming soonDownload Download · coming soonDownload Coming to the App StoreView on the App Store Coming to the iOS App StoreView on the iOS App Store

The iOS build is installable now by sideloading: it needs a computer and a free Apple ID, and it has to be re-signed roughly weekly. Installation notes come with the build; ask if anything is unclear.

A Pro edition of the macOS apps is sold directly from this site. The Pro note explains what is decided so far.

Desktop and mobile builds · 0.6.0
Build	File	Size
macOS	NWD-Studio-0.6.0-macos.zip	18 MB
Windows	Available on request	—
iOS	Cadmira-1.0.0-ios-unsigned.ipa	9.7 MB
Android	NWD-Studio-0.5.7-android.apk	6.6 MB