topic Re: Exporting .STP with color? in Fusion Design, Validate & Document Forum

Exporting .STP with color?

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 18:24:45 GMT

Hi,

I have been using Fusion 360 and would like to export my models to my ECAD software, Altium..

There seems to be no options when doing a .stp export. I would like to the appearance colors of my parts so that when I import into my altium libraries, the parts won't all be grey...

My father uses solid works and when he sends me models in .stp, they keep the appearances and come in color.

I've read in the past that Altium doesn't keep colors with newer .step versions, but even when I re-import the .stp file back into fusion 360 the whole part comes out grey.

any solutions?

Thanks

Re: Exporting .STP with color?

HughesTooling — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 18:49:44 GMT

I just did a test with a stp file exported from Fusion with coloured faces and it opened in ZW3d with the same coloured faces.

Fusion

Zw3d

Mark

Re: Exporting .STP with color?

HughesTooling — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 18:53:23 GMT

One question are you adding the colour with Appearance not just Component Colour Cycle because I just opened the stp with Fusion and the colours were still there, here's a screen grab.

Mark

Re: Exporting .STP with color?

neljoshua — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 18:57:37 GMT

I am not aware of a way to accomplish this in Fusion.

Perhaps there is a way, but assigning materials or appearances does not carry over to stp files.

Re: Exporting .STP with color?

HughesTooling — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 19:10:52 GMT

Josh.nelson wrote:

I am not aware of a way to accomplish this in Fusion.

Perhaps there is a way, but assigning materials or appearances does not carry over to stp files.

It works for me.

Fusion on the left ZW3d on the right with the stp file imported.

Mark

Re: Exporting .STP with color?

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 20:12:10 GMT

I am applying the colors via the Appearance window... Could it be because I'm using the trial version? I am on day 7 of the trial

Here are some screen shots.

Then I re-import the .step file back into fusion and it comes out grey like this, it also comes out grey in altium

Re: Exporting .STP with color?

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 20:14:42 GMT

Check out my screenshots in my recent post, did you do anything different?

Re: Exporting .STP with color?

HughesTooling — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 20:45:45 GMT

The process I used might be a bit different. Right click the component in the browser and select Export then to open I used New Design from file on the file menu.

Mark

Re: Exporting .STP with color?

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 21:41:05 GMT

@HughesTooling wrote:
The process I used might be a bit different. Right click the component in the browser and select Export then to open I used New Design from file on the file menu.

Mark

Hmm.. I tried exporting as a step through the browser. Still came in grey. I do not have a "New Design from File" option in the file menu though, I just re-imported into the project.

The only thing I can think of is that I have a trial version? I am also on a Mac...

Re: Exporting .STP with color?

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 21:47:58 GMT

Now I have a new problem...

I tried re-uploading the .step file and my upload progress is stuck at half way. I don't know if I should start a new thread about this.

But everything I try and upload now doesn't upload more than half way... I've tried restarting Fusion 360 many times and I restarted my computer

and its stuck! How can I fix this one?

Re: Exporting .STP with color?

HughesTooling — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 21:49:31 GMT

You should have the New Design From File here. Can you attach the stp file to this thread, you might have to zip it to upload.

Mark

Re: Exporting .STP with color?

HughesTooling — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 21:51:43 GMT

There are problems with the cloud at the moment, see this link.

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/design-validate-document/notice-fusion-360-service-degradation/td-p/6014786

Re: Exporting .STP with color?

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 22:00:36 GMT

Ok I have made a discovery.

When I export a model from the browser, if I export a single component as an .STEP, it comes in color...

When I try and export the whole model (In this header example, it contains the pins in 1 component, and the black plastic part in another component) from the top of the browser (which has the name of the project), it comes out grey...

If that wasn't clear, if I do this (Only export one part of the model) like the header, it works with color

If I try and export the top of the brower that contains both Header and Pins Components

Any Ideas??

P.S. Thanks for the note on the server issue

Re: Exporting .STP with color?

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 22:02:22 GMT

Didn't finish my sentence there...

If I export from the top to try and export the whole design (like the second image), it comes in grey.

Re: Exporting .STP with color?

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 22:07:40 GMT

Ok, So I dragged the boddies from one component into the other so that I could export from just one component, and it all came out in color.

This is a workaround.. but if I had a design with a bunch of components, this would not be a nice way to do things...

Re: Exporting .STP with color?

HughesTooling — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 22:23:15 GMT

Well spotted on the assembly export, it's the same for me. One odd thing I'v found is if you select apply to faces it works, just takes a lot longer to add the colours.

Here's an import of 2 components with colour added to faces.

Re: Exporting .STP with color?

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 22:28:54 GMT

Odd, I have yet to try and apply appearances with "apply to faces" setting but maybe I'll try doing that from now on.

Thanks Mark for your help!

P.S. Do you know of a way to get Autodesk to notice this so they could maybe make an update? That would be nice...

Re: Exporting .STP with color?

HughesTooling — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 22:36:04 GMT

I think someone will notice this thread if you don't click on Accept as solution button. Also might be worth adding to the Ideastation as a request.

Mark

Re: Exporting .STP with color?

Phil.E — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 22:03:45 GMT

There must be some kind of limitation. I'll have to ask the translation team and won't have an immediate answer.

So, while we wait for an answer, here are some helpful tips to make this work for you:

1. For circuit board components, do they need to be STEP assemblies in Altium? Is it truly a requirement of Altium?

1.1 While making the component (presuming you are making it in Fusion), does it need to be an assembly?*

If the answer to both of these is no, then model the parts like headers and connectors as a single part with mulitple bodies. Your problem should be solved by this.

*Only make assemblies when you need one. Such as the following reasons: I need to make a drawing of a single part inside the assembly. I need to make motion within my assembly. I need to send a single part to CNC.

2. Or use faces. It's easy to select and apply appearances to faces.

Steps:

a) Set Selection filter to Body Faces.

b) Window select the faces you want to color.

c) RMB > Appearances

c) Drag an appearance to a selected face. All selected faces will take the color.

Thanks,

Re: Exporting .STP with color?

bronc3buster842001 — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 00:03:43 GMT

Step export worked fine for me until one of the 2 last updates..

Also its not remembering the selected units from the design.. The design was created in inches yet it exports out as mm.

This all worked fine untill the last 2 updates..