I see that kicad now uses freecad instead of wings 3D. but I also see that kicad/freecad cannot open my step models. Freecad is notoriously unstable as a program and still in it’s infancy. what are the requirements of step models for them to work?
Kicad uses wrl models, so haw is the step model positioned? does this rely purely on the origin and axisi being matched from the model to kicad?
Kicad supports both .wrl and step models. We can say .wrl models are focused on artwork and step models focused on mechanical info.
I have not had problems with step AP214 files.
There is a powerful tool kicad_stepup to link KiCad and Freecad.
If only you had provided the link? 
Examples?
Source of models?
Yes, pretty much.
Z-axis is away from board, Y-axis up and X-axis to the right.
0,0,0 relates to the surface of the board.
Scale is 1mm = 1unit.
That is really strange… could you post a STEP model not handled?
I have to disagree…
Have you recently tried it?
I would not use freecad to design a large system (like a car) as it is missing a well made assembly toolchain and also the part design is not quite there yet for very complex highly parametric design. (a true skeleton design flow is not yet possible.)
But it is definitely enough for working on small products and definitely enough to be used as a powerful interface between commercial MCAD tools and KiCad. And also more than good enough to draw up the model for any electronic component.
Maybe not a car but an airplane…
Depends on how you define try, if by try you mean opening it and trying one action only to have it crash then yes. I use solid edge on a daily basis.
0805 resistor.stp (352.2 KB)
This does have a texed based extrusion (my name) which may be what is what cannot be handled by the primitive freecad, this is why i ask, what can freecad/kicad handle? You don’t just open step files. where I work we have seen some “interesting” interpretations of step files that came out completely wrong. We always attach an image of the model or these days a 3D PDF so that non CAD users can still see what is on the email and so that the person opening the step file can see what it is supposed to look like.
I still have difficulties to believe that…
Which FC version did you tried?
here are some examples of “simple” jobs done with FreeCAD:
Listen, I downloaded the latest version with Kicad and opened it and tried a couple of commands, it crashed, I’m sorry, I can’t work with a program that will crash so easily at random. If you know what not to do in order to not crash it I am sure you can do anything. I don’t need to use FC, I can design parts in Solid edge that I already know, but if freecad cannot interpret the step file that SE outputs I can’t help that. So I am asking, are there any types of features that freecad cannot interpret that i need to avoid?
The simple reply is that the attached file is not a STEP file… 
Step files are text readable files, your is NOT.
Well I selected *.step as the output for mat in solidedge, unfortunately the primitive FC does not give any error or waring messages.
1206 resistor.x_t (213.0 KB)
What about the attached, this seems to be a readable text file but they call it parasolid.
I’m quoting a nice phrase that a FreeCAD forum member posted:
At home, it is said that a bad worker incriminates his tools and that a good worker always finds something to achieve his result with the tools at his disposal.
Yes and to to make the most of the tools at my disposal I have to understand the tools very well, that is what I am trying to do. It was said that step files are accepted. So I have outputted step files according to my tool. Now it seems that others say that my step file is not a step file according to their tool. I am at the mercy of these tools and their maers, i can but only try and follow the instructions.
I cannot help it if freecad crashes constantly. I am sorry for that, i am obviously a terrible person because when i open a program that someone else wrote, running on an operating system that someone else wrote that runs on hardware made by really claver people it crashes. Yes you are right, despite me having no hand t all in this it is all my fault!
Oh and if we are done with blaming me for a tool that is not mine not working would it be possible to look at the seemingly text file that solid edge calls “parasolid” and tell me if that is what you would call a step file?
From your (not) STEP file it is clear that you don’t know enough your 3D cad to be able to export a file to the right format.
STEP if just an ISO standard format and it is not FreeCAD that is not able to read it, but it is you that are not able to output this format from your cad…
Saving Solid Edge documents to other formats
You can try to open your 0805 resistor.stp (352.2 KB) with whatever CAD you want to check it …
You can use DesignSparkMechanical, which is an ANSYS free CAD of RS, to import your ‘fake’ STEP file to realize again that your saved file is NOT a STEP format file…
I’m not calling anything a STEP file, as I already linked before, I’m talking about an international standard ISO format… and what Solidedge calls “parasolid” is a parasolid format file
BTW … enjoy your MCAD trip…
i don’t write software, I use software. I use Solid Edge. Solid edge allows mo to save in various formats. As a CAD user I don’t need to care and i really don’t care about the step standard. That is for people that write the import/export plugins to worry about. All i can do is select the output format in my tool. I exchange these step files freely in my day to day work and people never have problems opening them.
Now it could be that one of the tools is calling a format that is not a step file a step file. I have no contral over this. All i can say is that this is what solid edge puts out when I select step format, so please drop the insults! If what solid edge calls a step file is not one how am I to be the wiser.
So as I am trying to understand what is going on I have found a format that is indeed a text format. solid edge calls this parasolid and gives it the x_t format.
It appears that there may be a misunderstanding in what formats are called. All i can do is output in the format I am told to, if that is not indeed a step file where do i go from here?
i have used this file and countless others in this step but is not step format in several other electronic CAD programs that ask for step files: diptrace, proteus and circuit studio, so if all of these ask for step files and acept this file as a step file why is it that it is only kicad/freecad and this forum that refuse to accept this?
It could be there is some industry misconception about what the formats are with people using unapropriate formate names but so far it is 3 to 1 not in favour of kicad and that is just in the electronic cad arena. In several years of working in 3D CAD no one at any customer or supplier has told me that they cannot open my step file or that it is not a step file.
Yes you do. If you ever want to share files with others that is. This is one of the most important skills of any engineer. Providing files in a way such that other engineers can use them. (or your manufacturer. If your CNC guy asks for step and you send something else they will bill you for the time they lost all without you ever receiving a part.)
In your case it might even simply be that solid edge is unintuitive when it comes to exporting step files. (Like any software it can have things that are not like one expects at first sight. Being a tool you pay for does not mean it is without problems! Ever heard of the much “loved” Click ok to terminate error message of Catia?)
So please stop blaming others for problems and start to accept the help we offer. Read the link posted by maui that shows how to properly save a step file from solid edge. If that does not result in a proper step file ask the solid edge support. After all you pay for that tool. (If you have a cracked version, well then buy it.)
