Hi,
I’m trying to import an IFC format file that’s extracted from Revit, and whenever I use the CAD converter extension to import the IFC file, this following error pops up.
I tried to import other files as well but all outputs an error like this. I know that I can use the Revit converter to convert the RVT files directly and that works, but I’m trying to find out a way to do that with an IFC format as well. Any help would be much appreciated. Failed to Import STEP File This topic has the same problem with me but I see they just converted the file into a URDF to import it. I’m looking for a way to do this directly within Isaac SIM.
FYI, my CAD converter is auto-loaded and is fully up to date.
Steps to Reproduce
get IFC file
import using Isaac SIM
error pops up and the process bar is at 0%, not updating
Could you please share a full log and a simple IFC file that reproduces this issue? Having a sample file will help us investigate the problem more effectively and provide targeted assistance.
I was able to import an IFC file successfully using the Workstation setup environment. As noted in the documentation, the Python pip installation method is still experimental and may have unresolved issues with extensions like the CAD Converter.
To unblock your development, could you try importing the IFC file in the Workstation environment? We will also have an internal ticket to track this issue.
Thank you for your patience as we looked into this.
After a review by the development team, we can confirm that the error you are seeing is expected behavior when using the Python-only SimulationApp.
This environment is intentionally lightweight with some dependencies disabled to ensure better performance. For more complex workflows that require extensions like the CAD Converter, the correct approach is to use the full Isaac Sim application. As confirmed earlier in this thread, importing IFC files works correctly in the Isaac Sim app.
To make this clearer for users going forward, starting in Isaac Sim 5.0, the application will display a warning message and prevent the CAD Converter extension from loading if you attempt to enable it in the Python environment.
We appreciate you bringing this to our attention, and we hope this clarifies the intended workflow.
