Navisworks ships no IFC export in any edition. To get one you either install an add-in inside Navisworks — iConstruct Pro (Hexagon), Codemill IFC Exporter, or the free open-source BIMCamel — or convert the NWD/NWC directly with a standalone tool such as Veksle, which needs no Navisworks at all.
Which route is right depends on one question: do you own a Navisworks seat, or were you just handed the file?
What Navisworks itself does
Manage, Simulate and the free Freedom viewer all read IFC. None of them write it. The export list is NWD, NWC, DWF, FBX, KML and image or animation outputs — the full picture is here. Autodesk's own support note on the subject points users to third-party add-ins rather than promising a native export.
The add-ins that add an IFC export
| Product | Runs where | Needs | Price | Fits when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iConstruct Pro — Smart IFC Exporter (Hexagon) | Inside Navisworks, on your desktop | A licensed Navisworks seat plus an iConstruct Pro licence | Quote-based; not published | You own Navisworks, export regularly, and want property mapping templates and the rest of the iConstruct suite (federation, clash, data tools) |
| Codemill IFC Exporter (Codemill Oy, Finland) | Inside Navisworks, on your desktop | A licensed Navisworks seat plus the plugin licence | Listed at about €500 per seat perpetual, with maintenance from the second year, or about €750 floating — check Codemill's page for current figures | You own Navisworks and want a cheaper single-purpose exporter |
| BIMCamel Navisworks to IFC (open source, MIT) | Inside Navisworks Manage or Simulate 2024–2027, Windows | A licensed Navisworks seat; no plugin licence | Free, open source | You own Navisworks 2024 or newer, are comfortable with a solo-maintained community plugin, and want IFC 4 or 2x3 with class mapping and property sets |
| Veksle (this site) | In the browser, or on your own server | The .nwd or .nwc file. No Navisworks, no install, no account | Free while we are in launch | You were sent an NWD and do not own Navisworks, need one file today, or want conversions to run unattended in batch |
All three add-ins are real. iConstruct and Codemill are commercial products with support; BIMCamel is a free MIT-licensed plugin by a single BIM coordinator, and its own page is candid about what it does not reconstruct (material layers, openings, spaces). Their shared limit is structural: they run inside Navisworks, so they require a Windows machine with a licensed Navisworks seat — 2024 or newer for BIMCamel — and a person at the keyboard. That covers a BIM office that already federates models in Navisworks. It does not cover the more common case — someone who was handed an NWD and owns nothing that opens it.
The no-plugin route
Veksle reads the Navisworks file itself. The output is IFC4 Design Transfer with real classes: elements that carry an IFC class or a Revit category come out as that class — IfcBeam, IfcColumn, IfcSlab, IfcPlate, IfcMember, IfcCovering, and the MEP flow classes for ducts, pipes, fittings, terminals and equipment. Every element keeps its Navisworks property sets as IFC property sets, sits on its building storey, and MEP elements keep their Revit systems. Anything the source never classified becomes an IfcBuildingElementProxy rather than being dropped. Units are carried across and the model is rendered in the browser before you download it. Classes, storeys, property sets and systems are exactly the things the add-ins are bought for — here they come without the seat.
Because it is a standalone converter it also runs where the add-ins cannot: headless, on a server, on every model in a folder overnight. NWD to IFC and NWC to IFC describe the two input formats.
Which one should you use
- You own Navisworks and export IFC every week with custom property mapping — an add-in is a fair choice. Compare iConstruct Pro and Codemill on the mapping features you actually need.
- You own Navisworks and need IFC occasionally — try the browser converter first. It costs nothing to find out whether the output is what your recipient needs.
- You do not own Navisworks — the add-ins are not an option at any price. Convert the file directly.
- You need this to run without a person — nightly, in a pipeline, on a server — only the standalone route does that.
Get an IFC without a plugin
Convert your NWD or NWC to IFC in the browser — free while we are in launch, no Navisworks, nothing to install.
OPEN THE CONVERTER ▸Related
What iConstruct's exporter does in detail: iConstruct IFC export · Why the export is missing: does Navisworks export IFC? · The free viewer's limits: Navisworks Freedom and IFC.
FAQ
Is there a free Navisworks IFC exporter?
Yes, two kinds. BIMCamel is a free open-source plugin, but it runs inside Navisworks Manage or Simulate 2024 or newer, so you still need the seat. Veksle converts NWD and NWC to IFC in the browser with no Navisworks at all, free while we are in launch.
Does Autodesk make an IFC exporter for Navisworks?
No. Navisworks has never shipped an IFC export, and Autodesk's support guidance on the question points to third-party add-ins.
Can Navisworks Freedom use an IFC export plugin?
No. Freedom is a viewer and loads no add-ins. To get IFC out of a file you only have Freedom for, use a standalone converter.
How do I export an NWD to IFC without a plugin?
Upload the .nwd to Veksle, leave units on Auto-detect, convert, preview, download. No Navisworks is involved at any step.