Opening Mechanical Desktop Files in Inventor 2018

The need to convert Autodesk Mechanical Desktop (MDT) models to Inventor has become less of a requirement since the last version of MDT was released in 2009 but there is still the occasional need that pops up from time to time.  Autodesk has written a version of MDT 2009 for use with Inventor 2018 to make the task easy and I would like to use this article to outline the process of getting set up to do so.  One of the great features of this MDT 2009 to Inventor 2o18 version is that not only will it convert part models it will also handle MDT assembly models converting all the parts as well as sub-assemblies in one operation.  So lets get started.

The first thing you need is a computer running Windows 7 SP1 x64 operating system.  Windows 7 SP1 is required since the MDT application will not run on Windows 10.  You may try and use the Windows 7 compatibility settings in Windows 10 and get it to install and running but Autodesk does not recommend it.  If you are already running Windows 7 SP1 x64, then you are set.  If you are running Windows 10 Professional, you can use the built in Hyper-V utility to create a virtual machine and install Windows 7 SP1 x64 on it.  Hyper-V is also found in Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Educational.  I found the process of creating a Hyper-V virtual machine easy and straight forward except for the process of creating a shared folder between the host and the virtual machine.  After a little research on the internet, I overcame this hurdle also.

Once your virtual machine has been created and you have installed a copy of Windows 7 SP1 X64, you are ready to download and install both Autodesk Inventor 2018 and the "MDT 2009 to Inventor 2018" application.  You can find the process for installation of both and the MDT 2009 to Inventor 2018 application on this website.  I encourage you to read the complete process before you install either Inventor 2018 or the MDT 2009 to Inventor 2018 application.

If you have your Autodesk Mechanical Desktop 2009 original serial number, you should use that during installation.  If you do not have it, use all zeros as the serial number, this will secure you a 30 day trail of MDT 2009.  If this is not enough time, you can contact Autodesk to secure more time.

There are no special Inventor project file requirements to do conversions, you can create one from your existing company Design Data and Templates or use the default Inventor project file.  The conversion process will allow you to configure the templates and folder location for the conversions as well as other settings.  I will walk through a conversion later in this article.  Before attempting to open any MDT file in Inventor 2018 and use the conversion process, you MUST run MDT 2009 at least one time after installation.

I will now step through the conversion process.  Open up Inventor 2018 and make sure your have your project file selected.  I am using my companies Design Data and Templates so I can make sure the conversions are ready for my company's Vault and other applications.  As you can see I have a very simple folder structure on my virtual machine setup.  One folder for the MDT files to be translated and one folder for the finished translations.

Next I will select a file from the MDT Files folder that I desire to convert.  The next step is to select the "Options.." icon on the bottom of the Open dialog box and make sure the "Import" option is selected.  If you do not want to do this every time, I suggest you set it as a default by stopping the open process and select "Tools" then the "Application Options" from the Options panel.  Select the Drawing tab and select "Import" as the default for opening Non-Inventor DWG files.

The first dialog that Inventor presents is the beginning of the configuration sequence.  One thing right off the bat is to remember to save your configuration setup so you can simply select it the next time you start the translation process.  This is done at the end of the configuration settings and selected the next time at the beginning of the process.

Inventor will already recognize that you are opening a Mechanical Desktop File so select "Next" to continue.  In the Mechanical Desktop Model/Layout Import Options dialog box you can select what you want to import.  You will probably select "Parts and Assemblies" in order to import the MDT model into an Inventor model but you can also select to have one or all the available MDT layout views imported and translated to Inventor 2D drawing files.  By the way, the "Model" and "Layout" tabs can be selected as well as either view can be zoomed and panned for inspection using your mouse.  Select "Next" to continue.

The next screen is full of selections so take your time and study them.  The "Drawings with View Options" and "Mechanical Symbols"  will be grayed out unless you selected to import Layouts from the previous screen.  The settings are up to your needs but a couple I would definitely take a look at.  Under "Import Files Units" make sure the correct units have been detected from the MDT file, if not select "Specify Units" and pick the correct units from the list.  If you want to use your company templates and you have configured the selected Inventor project file to use your Design Data and Templates, you can browse and select these under the "Templates" section.  Make sure you configure them all so your saved configuration will cover all future translations.  One of the most important setting is "Destination Folder" which will be where Inventor will "automatically" save the final translation(s) including all parts and sub-assemblies if the MDT file is an assembly.   Near the bottom right corner you will see the "Save Configuration" icon.   Select this and name and save your configuration to a folder of your choice.  Select "Finish" to begin the MDT translation.

During the translation process MDT 2009 will open briefly, you may notice it in the Windows taskbar.

The translation process will create models with semi-editable features.  I say semi-editable since some feature sketches may be a little weird because of their dimension placement and feature parameters use of lot of the "Isolate" function but you can easily type over these if needed.

One last note before I end.  Autodesk on their website pages describing this application warn that this will be the "final" MDT 2009 to Inventor application so if you need it in the future you will need to use Inventor 2018 and this MDT 2009 application and migrate forward.