FIELD MANUAL / STEP / STP

How to open a STEP file on iPhone or iPad

STEP can store precise surfaces, assembly structure and tessellated geometry. CadRoam uses its on-device CAD engine to turn supported curved B-Rep surfaces into a viewable mesh; a pre-exported STL is not required.

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 the rendered model, browse available objects and review bounds or mesh statistics. Check import warnings before relying on a partial model.

FORMAT CHECK / HONEST SCOPE
Best caseSupported STEP/STP B-Rep, curves and tessellated geometry
Possible resultPartial geometry when some entities cannot be imported
FallbackRequest STL or indexed OBJ from the sender
PlatformsiPhone, iPad and Mac

Why one STEP file renders and another does not

CadRoam supports curved B-Rep and tessellated STEP representations. Compatibility still depends on the schema, geometric entities and exporter records used in the file.

If an import is incomplete, review the reported warning and check the original in the source CAD system. A fresh STEP export or an STL/OBJ review copy can help when particular entities are unsupported or the file is malformed.

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 did my STEP file render only partially?

A partial import can involve unsupported entities, exporter-specific records or malformed geometry. Review the import warning and compare with the source model. Curved B-Rep alone is not a reason to convert the file first.

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.

NEXT / FIELD MANUALS

More CAD workflows.

Choose the guide that matches the format or review environment you actually have.

IGES / IGS

How to open an IGES file on iPhone, iPad or Mac

Open supported IGES and IGS curved surfaces on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Tessellation runs on device, with no upload or online converter required.

Open field manual →STL / MESH

A private STL viewer for iPhone and iPad

Open binary or ASCII STL files locally, inspect mesh geometry and check dimensions, triangle count, area and enclosed volume on iPhone or iPad.

Open field manual →MAC / DESKTOP

How to view STEP, STL and OBJ files on Mac

Use a lightweight local CAD viewer on Mac to inspect supported STEP, STL and OBJ geometry, isolate parts and create a compact PDF report.

Open field manual →