[popspipes]

I have been doing some reading about .step files and how they are compatible with different Cad software.

Does anyone have experience importing them into Sprutcam, pros cons etc?

[pickled]

Oh man if you want headaches try to work with step files in version 7! I've had to suffer through step and stl's and let me tell you those were painful projects. Now having said this I have never saved anything in Rhino as a step personally and tried to use it in Sprut...the files that I was using came from a client. Now I have saved STL's and found them to not play well. Basically you can have floating faces where top and bottom machining levels are completely ignored and models that will not sew up. This has been my experience, but others out there may have had better luck.

[popspipes]

Oh man if you want headaches try to work with step files in version 7! I've had to suffer through step and stl's and let me tell you those were painful projects. Now having said this I have never saved anything in Rhino as a step personally and tried to use it in Sprut...the files that I was using came from a client. Now I have saved STL's and found them to not play well. Basically you can have floating faces where top and bottom machining levels are completely ignored and models that will not sew up. This has been my experience, but others out there may have had better luck.

Thanks for the info, I was just looking for a file type that would be compatible between different cad programs.
.igs has worked well but they arent always compatible with different cad packages.

so much for that idea .......

[pickled]

You can try it YMMV, but just be sure to try something with a number of 3D surfaces to prove it out before you totally leap. I found that there were a lot of naked edges in the models that I was given even though the customer verified that the object was without errors in his "high end" CAD system while I was on conference with him. I was very gun shy after that experience. Sprut sure was not happy with those naked edges that were somehow present after translation. Hopefully the new versions of SPRUT will play well with STEP because the file format is viewed widely as the preferable way to go due to the retention of the solid geometry after translation and the smaller size files.

[pickled]

Oh yeah and the fact that the STEP standard is actually living and updated per it's respective ISO committee :-). I don't know the last time that IGES committee from ANSI got together for a few beers to dust it off.

[popspipes]

I had a part that I exported from Rhino as a .step file, imported it into sprut 7 and set up a waterline op, the same as what I had run for an .igs file of the same part, there were anomalies in the tool path (different spacing) in two different areas, these werent there with the .igs file. I only had an interest in it because of the compatibility issue.

There are several types of .igs files also, I use the default one but maybe one of the others is a better choice??

I just know enough to be dangerous ha!

[pickled]

Well everything looks good on paper and these "standards" sometimes just don't play well when passed between and among programs. There are companies that market software that is targeted on detecting and fixing the flaws in models that are made by some of the largest players in the business. The only thing guys like us can do is keep trying different approaches and asking around. Sometimes the large square peg fits into that little round hole pretty good if hydraulics are involved...yeah there might be some "yield loss", but we can get it to fit!

[mountaindew]

I have no luck working with any file type in sprut other then igs. No way to select features and sprut does not generate accurate levels from what I see anyway. As mentioned above every program and software package be it cad or cam has different code routines and abilities to read file formats and standards correctly. I have no experience with other cam systems so I cant say what file types they work with.