Importing a part from a STEP-format file

Select FileImportPart from the main menu bar to import a part from a STEP-format file. You can export sketches and parts from Abaqus/CAE into a STEP-format file, but you cannot export the assembly to a STEP-format file.

Related Topics
Editing techniques
Using file selection dialog boxes
What is an Abaqus/CAE model?
Using the File menu

  1. From the main menu bar, select FileImportPart.

    The Import Part dialog box appears.

  2. From the File Filter menu at the bottom of the Import Part dialog box, select STEP (*.stp, *.step).

    Abaqus/CAE lists all the files in the selected directory with a .stp or .step file extension.

  3. Select the STEP file containing the part to import, and click OK.

    Abaqus/CAE displays the Create Part from STEP File dialog box.

  4. Click the Name-Repair tab to set the following:

    Name

    When you import a part or parts into Abaqus/CAE, you can use the part names specified in the STEP-format file or you can provide a name for the imported part or parts. If you import multiple parts and provide a part name, Abaqus/CAE uses your name and appends a number to it; for example, if you specify the part name ImportedPart and create three individual parts, the newly imported Abaqus/CAE parts will be named ImportedPart-1, ImportedPart-2, and ImportedPart-3.

    Part Filter

    A STEP file can contain more than one part, and Abaqus/CAE imports all of the parts in the file by default. If you import all the parts in the STEP file, you can create individual Abaqus parts for each of them or you can combine them together into a single Abaqus part; in addition, if you combine these parts, Abaqus/CAE enables you to stitch these imported parts together using a user-specified stitching tolerance value.

    If you want to import an individual part from the STEP file, you can toggle on Import part number and enter the number of a single part to import from the file.

  5. Click the Part Attributes tab to set the following:

    • The modeling space of the part being imported. When you import a part, Abaqus/CAE scans the file and tries to determine the modeling space.

    • The type of the part being imported. Abaqus/CAE always assumes that the part type is deformable. Alternatively, you can select Discrete rigid to import a discrete rigid part or select Eulerian to import an Eulerian part. For more information, see Part types.

    Again, in most cases you should accept the default settings; for more information, see What are the part attributes?.

  6. Click the Scale tab to scale the part during the import process.

    • Choose No scale to maintain the dimensions stored in the file.

    • Choose Use transform from file, including scale to read the scale factor, the rotation matrix, and the translation matrix from the STEP file.

    • Choose Multiply all lengths by, and enter a scale factor. Abaqus/CAE applies the scale factor to all of the coordinates in the file. As a consequence, any offset from the origin will be scaled accordingly.

  7. Click OK to import the STEP part and to close the Create Part from STEP File dialog box.

    Abaqus/CAE scans the STEP file and starts the repair process, depending on the options selected. If you wish to cancel the import process, click Stop in the prompt area.

    When you import a single part, Abaqus/CAE displays a message indicating if the part contains any validity or precision problems. If you import multiple parts from a single STEP file, you can use the Part Manager to check if any of the parts are invalid or imprecise. If necessary, use the Query toolset to locate areas of invalid and imprecise geometry. For more information, see Using the Query toolset in the Part module.