How to export a STEP assembly from PTC Creo

Creo exports STEP with Save a Copy. The settings live in a window called STEP Export Profile Settings.

Steps

1. Open the assembly.
2. Choose File, Save As, then Save a Copy.
3. In the Type list, choose STEP (*.stp).
4. Enter a file name, or accept the default.
5. Click Options. The editor STEP Export Profile Settings opens.
6. Set Application protocol to ap214_is.
7. Check that Export assembly as is on Single File. That is the default.
8. Press OK in the editor, and OK in the Save a Copy window.

What the choices mean

Application protocol

Creo lists ap202_is, ap203_is (the default), ap203_is_ext, ap203_e2, ap209_dis, ap214_is, ap242 and ap242_e3. ap214_is is the AP214 protocol, the one that adds colours and layers in other CAD programs. Open the result in MeshOptimiser and check that the colours came through.

Export assembly as: Single File

Writes all the geometry of the assembly into one file. This is what MeshOptimiser needs.

Export assembly as: Separate Parts

Writes the structure to one file and every part as a file of its own. Do not use it for this.

Export assembly as: Separate All

Writes the assembly, every sub-assembly and every part as files of their own. Do not use it for this.

The Export assembly as choice appears when the application protocol is ap214_is, ap203_e2, ap242 or ap242_e3. PTC’s help says Separate Parts and Separate All are offered only for those protocols.

Other things in the export

• Tick Customize Export in the Save a Copy window if you want to choose which layers go in, or the coordinate system. The defaults are fine to begin with.
• The profile can be saved and loaded again with Load Profile, so you set it up once.

If the assembly is very large

Work on a copy, remove what you will not show, such as hardware inside housings, and export that. A smaller file converts faster. See also Troubleshooting for ways to speed up the conversion.

Next

Open the file in MeshOptimiser: see Open your first file.