FreeCAD 0.17 and 3D STEP export

[maui]

EDIT:
Everything is back to normality!
Please update:

• FreeCAD stable to a release >= to FreeCAD-0.17.13515

and

• FreeCAD daily to a release >= FreeCAD_0.18.13548

---

OLD report:

Hi,
recently FreeCAD has released a new STABLE version which adds a lot of features to this powerful mechanical software.
Just a week before the STABLE came out, FreeCAD has also switched to OCC 7.2.
OCC (Open Cascade) is the mechanical kernel of FreeCAD.
OCC7.2 has many improvements, but changed some internal functions slightly… this switch has unfortunately broken the hierarchy exporter routines.
The result is that, ATM, FreeCAD is not able to export a hierarchy (structured) STEP model.
Only ‘flat’ models can now exported, like it was in FreeCAD 0.16.
Till this will be patched, it is no more possible to export hierarchical models.
Before exporting a 3D structured model from FreeCAD to STEP format, the user needs to flatten the hierarchy.

Luckily, at least for windows users, ATM there is the option to use a STABLE release of FreeCAD based on OCC7.1 (used until a week before the stable came out).
Thanks a lot to Chris (@sgrogan) of FreeCAD community which is providing all FC builds.
just go to:
FreeCAD/releases
and get the portable release with ‘-occt7.1-’ suffix
today is the:
FreeCAD-0.17.13513-occt7.1-x64.7z
or for 32b
FreeCAD-0.17-13513-occt7.1-x32.7z
which is already few patches ahead of the FreeCAD-0.17.13509

This is solving also the StepUp issue found here:

Not able to create STEP models with StepUp and Fcad 0.17

I recently learned to create STEP models of my designs using FCAD 0.16 and kicadStepUp and that worked great and placed the STEP file in the project folder. Today I upgraded to FCAD 0.17 and installed kicadStepUp workbench through the the included addon manager. I can still do all the things that are need to create the 3D models but I don’t seem to be able to get a STEP model. I loaded the PCB through the workbench and it does look like it is working since I see the final board in 3D with all th…

I’m still working for a temporary solution for the OCC7.2 build, but this is taking a bit longer

[davidsrsb]

Is this a regression, which will lead to OCC 7.2.1/7.3 quickly or intended behaviour?

[maui]

@davidsrsb

Is this a regression, which will lead to OCC 7.2.1/7.3 quickly or intended behaviour?

It is a regression between the FC exporting code and the new OCC functions.
CAD Assistance 1.0 of OCC doesn’t have this issue (it is based on OCC7.2.1)

Hopefully it will be patched soon.