Today i searched the forum for information about importing STP files into blender and found some quite old posts (over one year ago) with no resolutuion to the problem.
Given the lapsed time since those posts, i was hoping that there is now some way to import .STP files into blender?
Is there a way to import STP files into blender?
The design guys here use INVENTOR and can only supply me with STEP files.
Thanks
No, there is no importer for STEP files into Blender.
Tell the “design guys” to export as STL (ask nicely, us design types are temperamental).
HTH
Thanks for your reply. Is a STL format something that Inventor exports too, becasue i don’t remember them having a format type that i saw in the Blender import list?
Regards Don
Hello Ardee,
I have been given a STL file and it seems to work.
Thanks for your help.
Don
I have the same Problem since i know Blender.
The thing is this:
CAD-Programs are (more or less) Parasolid oriented, means that they have geometric primitives.
SAT and STEP are Parasolid-based description-languages for those primitives.
Blender can only handle objects formed by FACES. So you always have to triangulate your completely smooth solids into a bunch of triangles.
Every CAD-program has at least one triangulated format to export.
In my case, i export geometry from Microstation via VRML 1.0 or (better if the amount is small) STL.
STL is my weapon of choice. Even if i have to do 30 exports of one file, but the results are good. HINT: after importing to blender ALWAYS remove doubles.
That’s my workaround until the DXF-Importer-script from migiusz can tesselate solids
To: Little Monkey
Here is a solution that worked perfectly for me using the exact same file type you’ve mentioned in your post.
Here is my setup:
OS: Ubuntu (version 10.04)
3D Software: (Blender version 2.49b)
CAD Software: FreeCAD (version 0.9 available in Ubuntu 10.04’s software repositories)
Ok, so here are the steps that I used to convert a file from *.STP to *.STL for an import into Blender.
Step 1: Start up FreeCAD
Step 2: Open the *.stp file. (No need for an importer it will open STEP files).
Step 3: Select Export from the file menu or press CTRL+E.
Step 4: (This step might not be necessary) In the Export window, make sure that the drop-down list (located in the lower right hand corner just above the save button) says “Supported Formats”.
Step 5: In the file name text area, choose your file name and give it an “.STL” extension. Example filename: “partnumber4286.stl”
Step 6: Click the save button.
Step 7: Exit FreeCAD
Step 8: Open Blender
Step 9: Import the STL file that you named in Step 5 above into blender and your done. Enjoy. 
Note: Blender units are way smaller (uhm larger???) than CAD software standards, and as such when you import a file from a cad program it will typically be MUCH larger than you might like it to be. Simply scale it down to about 0.025 and you should be able to see it more clearly. Or you could just zoom way out to see the whole part.
Hi
Im trying to get a STEP ( .stp ) file into Blender… or at least into some format that is renderable for more visual purposes.
I got .stp file opened into FreeCad… then out as .stl and even tried it out as .obj…
but the mesh is horrendous! It really looks bad… could this be the source file as a problem? do cad modelers usually not pay attention to the mesh output?
or are there settings I should look to tweak to get the mesh smoother?
it looks like someone crumpled the mesh like a piece of paper and then reused as a model skin…aieeee!
Hi,
it is kinda sad that Blender developer are overlooking step or igs which are industry standard exchange formats for CAD models (mainly step, igs is IMHO obsolete).
On the other hand considering no real NURBS implementation in Blender it is no wonder you cant find any direct way for conversion.
FreeCAD is just fine to import step and convert it to STL. In fact guys from FreeCAD dont neglect Blender - in fact, they implemented Blender style preset to their app so it is quite intuitive to work with.
This is on my todo list since longer, but haven’t got time for this complex task.
There are two main issues to solve:
- STEP is a large and complex format. There are a lot of APs (link), and the question which one do we need which not.
- Blender can represent natively only small part of geometric types supported by STEP. It will be necessary to code missing parts in Blender.
I don’t think I will be able to start with it any soon, and if, the development will take quite long. If I success I will try to carry the costs via CADtools license model - it means no GPL at first.
Hi BlenderFans,
the divide between the CAD world and the Blender world is keeping me busy since a while (and drives me crazy). I tried many things and documented possible ways to convert in a blog post. I typically work with CAD models consisting of many ten-thousand objects and millions of vertices. To summarize:
- STL export is problematic (at least direct export from Inventor and CATIA), because it bakes all individual objects into one single mesh object.
- Freecad is possible but waving the white flag for large models
- I tested three commercial programs which did a good job: 3D-Max (can import native CATIA and inventor, but what is the point using Blender if you work with it?), Glovius & 3D-Tool can digest almost everything to a reasonable price for professional users.
All the best WolfiG
Hallo guys, still struggling with STP import here 
it’s 2019 and 2.8 is almost here, is anybody of you aware of some achievements regarding STP import into Blender? I’m currently relying on FreeCAD, but models exported from there are more than often a mess… “Mechanical Blender” could have been a solution to this limitation but looks like its development has been abandoned.