Geometry

Create or use STEP boundary-rep geometry. The most common use of STEP is to describe the CAD mathematical shape as a series of surfaces trimmed and connected by shared edges. STEP always describes products, so the shape information appears as a property of a product, often the only property. Tolerances attach to geometry to annotate the design with PMI information.

• Make Geometry: Make a simple brep solid box with product structure. Shows the basic elements of STEP geometry.
• Make Plate: Create a solid model of a polygonal plate with some circular or polygonal cutouts.
• Make Tolerance: Read an existing data file with geometry for a block and hole, then apply dimensions, datums, and tolerances to the faces.
• Mesh an Assembly: Create and print meshes
• STEP to STL: Mesh and print as STL

Assembly and Product

Create or use STEP assemblies. Assemblies have a product side and a shape side. The product side describes the structure from a bill-of-materials point of view, while the shape side describes the geometric positioning of all components.

• Make Assembly: Create a STEP assembly with geometry and the assembly relations between the product structure and geometry.
• Walk Assembly: Traverse the products, shapes, and relations in a file to print the assembly structure and key objects.
• Add PDM props: Read a STEP file and add some sample PDM attributes like a release date, owner, and an approval.

Features and Other Data

While shape and assembly structure are the most common use, the STEP models can describe many different aspects of product design, and STEP-NC goes beyond that to describe manufacturing process that makes a design.

• Make Hole Feature: Create a round hole feature with the parametric description (circular profile swept along a linear path) and a flat bottom condition.
• Make Property: Create a product with the common STEP structure needed to add descriptive and measure properties.
• Make Toolpath: Construct a STEP-NC toolpath, speed, and feed data.