Not able to create a solid object with KiCadStepUp

[albin]

Maybe @maui can help me with this, if no one else knows?

Some step files that I get from component manufacturers are hard to make into solid objects.

Please see this example:
HM-MSTBV-2,5-2-G-5,08.FCStd (843.1 KB)

When I select the 3D model in the Combo View → Model, and press “Check Solid property” I get this information:

08:18:12 HM-MSTBV-2,5-2-G-5,08 Solid object(s) NBR : 3
08:18:12 HM-MSTBV-2,5-2-G-5,08.[solid] Shell object(s) NBR : 3
08:18:12 HM-MSTBV-2,5-2-G-5,08.[solid] Compound object(s) NBR : 1
08:18:12 HM-MSTBV-2,5-2-G-5,08.[solid] Faces object(s) NBR : 441

If I export the 3D model as a step, and then import it again, I’m not getting a solid object:

But I’m not able to solve this in KiCadStepUp. If I press “Make Union” or “Make Compound” I get this error:

And “Fuse objects” gives me this error:

The only solution that I know of is to export the model as a step, import it again, use “Make Union” on the imported model parts, and then export it again.

Is there a better way?

The original step file that I downloaded from the manufacturer was this one:
143863100-19-1758018.zip (180.9 KB)

[der.ule]

A little trick that I learned a while back is to move the model using the KSU Panel

In this case I moved it 0.1mm up and again 0.1mm down, what it does is that KSU internally creates a copy of your model and it is already fused, I am sure @maui takes some steps internally to make sure it is done properly, if I only use Union or Compound, it is normally more complicated and mostly doesn’t work correctly.

Here are the models exported using the “export to kicad” button as one solid.

_023_03_01_13_01_17_0184_cp001.step (918.7 KB)
_023_03_01_13_01_17_0184_cp001.wrl (346.5 KB)

[albin]

I tried your solution, but it doesn’t work for me.

The last thing I did before saving was to move the model into place, so I’ve already played with the move buttons quite a lot.

When I open the step-file that you attached, the model still consists of several parts.

To clarify, I’m only having this problem with a few models. Maybe 1 in 20 or so.

[der.ule]

I am not that knowledgeable on FreeCAD but for me it looks like this, the first model is what I posted here and the second one is the original one that you posted.

This are my STEP settings

[maui]

hi,
some models are distributed as a collection of sub-objects.
In that case the model in FC will be represented with a container (‘Part’) and some sub-objects.
If you simply select the top ‘Part’ container, and then click on the kSU Make Union button, you should have a ‘unioned’ model.

To check if the model will be kept as a single object you can click on this button to check it.

Moving the objects with the kSU panel will generate a ‘compound’ which is a single object with the shape of all the objects, but not unioned; once reloaded in FC it will be again a multi-object model.
HM-MSTBV-2,5-2-G-5,08-unioned.FCStd (1.0 MB)

[albin]

Thank you for the explanation @maui!

It seems like the problem was that I first moved the model into place, and then checked to see if it contained several parts. Since moving it into place created a single compound, I was then unable to make a union.

I’ll change my workflow and always begin with “Make Union” when the model has sub-objects.

Thank you for your help @der.ule!

When I change the Import settings to “Enable STEP Compound merge”, I get the same result as you when opening the step file that you exported. So, actually the step file you exported does still contain sub-parts, but this is automatically resolved when importing it into FreeCad.