ecto/vcad/step-import

vcad STEP Import

Import geometry from STEP files (AP203/AP214) using the vcad MCP tools. STEP files are the standard interchange format exported by Fusion 360, SolidWorks, Onshape, CATIA, and other CAD software.

Available Tools

import_step

{
  "filename": "part.step",
  "name": "imported_part",
  "material": "steel"
}

Parameters:

• filename — path to the STEP file (.step or .stp)
• name — part name (default: filename without extension)
• material — material key: "steel" (default, density 7850 kg/m3), "aluminum" (2700), or "default"

Returns an IR document with ImportedMesh nodes containing triangulated geometry, plus a summary:

{
  "document": { ... },
  "summary": {
    "bodies": 3,
    "total_triangles": 15420,
    "total_vertices": 8210
  }
}

Workflow

Import → Inspect → Export

1. import_step(filename: "bracket.step")
   → Get IR document + body count
 
2. inspect_cad(ir: <document>)
   → Volume, surface area, bounding box, mass
 
3. export_cad(ir: <document>, filename: "bracket.stl")
   → STL file for 3D printing

Import → View in Browser

1. import_step(filename: "housing.step")
   → Get IR document
 
2. open_in_browser(document: <VCode>)
   → Shareable vcad.io URL

Note: open_in_browser works best with smaller models. Very large imports may exceed URL length limits — use export_cad instead.

Supported Formats

Common sources: Fusion 360, SolidWorks, Onshape, CATIA, Creo, Inventor, FreeCAD, Rhino.

What Gets Imported

STEP import produces triangulated meshes (ImportedMesh nodes), not parametric BRep. This means:

• Geometry is viewable and exportable
• Volume and area measurements work
• Boolean operations with imported meshes are not supported
• The parametric history from the source CAD is not preserved

For parametric editing, recreate the geometry using create_cad_document.

Tips

• Use absolute paths if the file is not in the current working directory
• Multi-body STEP files produce multiple ImportedMesh nodes (one per body)
• Assign "material": "steel" or "aluminum" to get mass calculations from inspect_cad
• Large STEP files (>50MB) may take several seconds to process