STP file colors

[skimmerman]

I have an Inventor 2014 assembly file that the individual parts that make up that assembly have colors assigned to that part.

I export that assembly as an STP file.

When I go to check on the file by opening the STP file back up in Inventor, all the colors are the same (gray). The individual parts no longer have their color.

Is there a setting I am missing so the colors remain in the STP as they did in the assembly?

Thanks

[JDMather]

---

@skimmerman wrote:

.... colors remain in the STP as they did in the assembly?

Thanks

---

Did you apply the colors only at the assembly level, or did you apply the colors at the part level?

Which STEP format are you using?

[skimmerman]

Colors were applied at the part level.

Not sure if this is what you are asking in regards to what STEP format, but of the two, 203/214, I picked the 214.

Hope this helps.

Thanks

[liang_chen]

Checking it in Inventor 2017, the color of STEP file is supported. The case of snapshot below is an assembly with one component set with part color, export it as STEP and open the STEP back, Color is kept. 

Can you please attach a sample? Then we can do further investigation to check whether it is fixed.

[skimmerman]

I just realized that I was not exporting my assembly directly to a STEP file.

I created a Derived Component of my assembly first. Then, with that Derived part, I exported to a STEP file.

Doing it this way the colors would not stay the same. If I made the STEP file directly from my original assembly (and not from a derived part), the colors would stay the same.

I wanted to create a STEP file that I could give a customer to input the whole assembly as one part into their file. I was told by someone one time that the best way to do that was to make a derived component of the assembly first, then to make the STEP file. Is that wrong?

Thanks for the help.

[liang_chen · Accepted solution]

Derive the assembly into part and export it as STEP is a way to convert the assembly to part, and there is another way to Place STEP (assembly file )as part into assembly, which is to set the import option as 'Multi-body' when place STEP file into assembly. By your comment, the color is right when export STEP from TOP assembly. Hope the workaround above works for you. And the STP color case of derived could be an open issue in 2013. 

BTW, testing the workflow Derive the assembly into part and export it as STEP, the color works well in Inventor 2017 too.