FIELD MANUAL / STEP / STP

How to open a STEP file on iPhone or iPad

STEP is an engineering exchange format, not a single kind of 3D mesh. Some files include faceted geometry that a mobile viewer can draw directly; others contain curved B-Rep surfaces that require a full CAD tessellation engine.

PROCEDURE / 03

Open. Verify. Inspect.

A short workflow that preserves the original engineering file and makes the format limits visible before you rely on the result.

  1. 01

    Save the STEP or STP file

    Put the original file in Files, iCloud Drive or another location available through Apple’s document picker. Avoid converting or editing it first.

  2. 02

    Import it into CadRoam

    Choose the file from CadRoam. Parsing happens locally; the model is not uploaded to a developer-operated conversion service.

  3. 03

    Inspect what the file provides

    Orbit, pan and zoom visible faceted geometry, browse available objects and review bounds or mesh statistics. If no mesh is present, review the detected metadata and the format limitation shown by the app.

FORMAT CHECK / HONEST SCOPE
Best caseSTEP/STP with compatible faceted geometry
Possible resultStructure or metadata without a visible mesh
FallbackRequest STL or indexed OBJ from the sender
PlatformsiPhone, iPad and Mac

Why one STEP file renders and another does not

STEP can describe precise analytic and NURBS surfaces, assembly structure, product metadata or pre-generated faceted representations. Mobile mesh viewers work best when a compatible faceted representation is present.

A file exported from the same CAD package can behave differently depending on its STEP application protocol and export options. Asking the sender for a tessellated STL or OBJ is often the fastest fallback when the original contains only curved B-Rep geometry.

What you can inspect on the device

For supported visible geometry, CadRoam provides orbit, pan and zoom controls, multi-object browsing, hide and isolate actions, orthographic viewing, axes, grid, wireframe, transparency and a bounding box.

Available statistics can include overall bounds, triangle count, surface area and enclosed volume. These are inspection aids, not certified metrology results.

Private field review

Engineering models may reveal customer geometry, prototypes or production details. CadRoam processes model contents locally and has no account, advertising SDK or developer-operated cloud conversion workflow.

Files you save to the local model library remain under app storage and device controls until you remove them or the app.

QUESTIONS / SCOPE

Before you rely on the view.

Why is my STEP file blank?

It may contain curved B-Rep geometry without a compatible faceted representation. CadRoam can expose available structure or metadata but may not have renderable triangles.

Does CadRoam upload STEP files?

No. Model parsing and viewing run locally on the device.

Can I measure a STEP model?

The app reports available bounds and mesh statistics for inspection, but it is not a certified metrology system.