This research compares STEP, STL, and other 3D printing formats.

The viewer can also be used convert STL files, that are used for additive manufacturing and 3D printing, into STEP AP242 tessellated part geometry. Cloud of points for geometric validation and Point clouds.Bracket assembly with Bill of Materials.Part with graphical annotations for geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T), including saved view viewpoints, datum targets and annotation placeholders.

The STEP File Viewer displays many features of a STEP file in a web browser. Compare the differences between STEP AP203 vs AP214 vs AP242. STEP AP242, AP203, AP214 and others are supported. NIST has been involved with the development of STEP since the 1980's. PMI consists of annotations and attributes that define product geometry and product specifications including annotations to specify Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T). STEP files are used to represent parts, assemblies, and Product and Manufacturing Information (PMI) that is used for data exchange and interoperability between Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Manufacturing (CAM), Analysis (CAE), and Inspection (CMM) software. STEP ( ISO 10303 –STandard for Exchange of Product model data) files are also known as Part 21 files with a file extension of. The Analyzer generates a spreadsheet of all entity and attribute information reports and analyzes any semantic PMI, graphical PMI, and validation properties for conformance to recommended practices and checks for basic STEP file format errors. The free STEP File Viewer supports parts and assemblies, dimensions and tolerances, supplemental geometry, datum targets, and point clouds.

Freecad viewer