STEP files are the lingua franca for the CAD world. Virtually every solid modeling tool is capable of exporting STEP. Most can also import these files, but the experience can vary wildly in practice. Import may be possible but clunky. It may require the user to choose from many confusing options. Depending on how the file was exported, import may just fail.
Many people in the Ondsel/FreeCAD community started out as hobbyists and eventually turned their passion into a business. A common story we hear is the frustration they faced getting real-world parts made from their digital designs. It’s understandable. For many people, their first experience of fabrication is the 3D printer. You design the part, push a button, and get your part. It’s easy, right? Except that hole that you designed to fit a bolt is just a little too small or the tab that should fit into the slot is a little too tight and breaks the part when you force it.
Earlier this year, we shipped Ondsel ES 2024.2 with a small nifty feature: backing up your entire Ondsel ES preferences to Lens and then restoring them. Here is a quick guide on how to do that.
We launched Ondsel Lens in 2023 as a FreeCAD-first product data management system. But there is one thing we cannot deny: STEP is a hugely important standard in the industry. If you go from one 3D CAD program to another, more often than not it’s what you use for model exchange. Even if you go from KiCad to SolidWorks, STEP is how you store your PCB designs for use in assemblies.