How to Open STEP and STP Files Online for Free (STEP Viewer + STEP to STL)
Open and view STEP and STP files for free, right in your browser, with no CAD software.
This tutorial opens a real STEP assembly, a seven-cylinder radial aero engine with 163 parts from our free parts library, and walks through everything the free STEP viewer does: orbit and zoom, the parts list (hide parts to see inside), exploded views, section cuts, X-ray, ray tracing, sharing a link, and converting STEP to more than 30 formats. STEP and STP files from SolidWorks, Fusion, Inventor, CATIA, Creo and other CAD programs open. It works on phones and tablets, and there are free apps for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android. No software to install and no account needed.
Convert STEP files to more than 30 formats STEP to STL, STEP to OBJ, STEP to GLB, STEP to glTF, STEP to FBX, STEP to DAE (COLLADA), STEP to 3DS, STEP to USDZ, STEP to 3MF, STEP to AMF, STEP to PLY, STEP to OFF, STEP to VRML (WRL), STEP to X3D, STEP to SAT (ACIS), STEP to IFC, STEP to DXF, STEP to DWG, STEP to 3DM (Rhino 4 to 8), STEP to PDF, STEP to SVG, STEP to EPS, STEP to HTML, STEP to PNG, STEP to JPG, STEP to GIF, STEP to SPZ (Gaussian splats). DXF and DWG come as a 2D drawing of the current view, a three-view drawing sheet, or 3D faces.
Transcript
Intro
Here is how to open STEP and STP files for free, in your web browser, with no CAD software to install.
Open the STEP viewer
Go to innerscene.com/tools/step-viewer. There is no account to create, and the file is read right here in your browser. Nothing is uploaded unless you share it.
Open a STEP file
Click Open a STEP File, or drop the file on the page. STEP and STP files from SolidWorks, Fusion, Inventor, CATIA, Creo and other CAD programs all open. This is a seven-cylinder radial aero engine with 163 parts, from our free parts library.
Orbit, zoom and pan
Drag to orbit around the model, scroll to zoom, and right-drag to pan. Double-click a spot to fly straight to it.
Parts
Tools, then Parts, lists every part in the assembly by name. Untick parts to hide them. Here the crankcase goes, and the crankshaft and connecting rods inside come into view.
Exploded view
Explode parts pulls the assembly apart to show how it goes together, and can play it as an animation.
Section cut
Edit, then Plane cut, slices the model like a section view. It keeps the lower half, so here you look straight into the crankcase, at the pistons and rods inside. The Edit menu also scales, rotates and mirrors, and gets a part ready for 3D printing.
X-ray and ray tracing
X-ray sees through every part at once. Ray traced renders the engine with real soft shadows and reflections, right in the browser. Here it is sped up.
Share a link
Share uploads the model and gives you a link that opens it just as you left it, and you can also embed this viewer on your own website.
Convert STEP to STL, OBJ, GLB and more
Export converts the model: S T L and 3MF for 3D printing, O B J, G L B, FBX and USDZ for Blender, games, the web and augmented reality. For CAD there is STEP again, SAT, I F C, Rhino, and D X F or D W G drawings. And PDF, S V G, H T M L, P N G and animated GIF. Here it saves as an S T L for 3D printing.
Phones and tablets
On a phone or tablet the same page works by touch: drag to orbit and pinch to zoom.
Free apps
There are free apps too: for Windows and Mac, which open STEP files with a double-click, for iPhone and iPad on the App Store, and for Android phones and tablets on Google Play.
Summary
That is the free STEP viewer and converter at innerscene.com. Links are in the description.
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