Jay,
It seems almost impossible to find any decent converter that isn't licensed with ridiculous restrictions. I managed to stumble onto a site that seems legit and has an API for converting lots of formats, including STEP, ACIS, and IGES formats to STL, which is what we are trying to handle. Let me know if this is something we could pursue further, but it seems promising. The down side is that I don't know if we want a 3rd party website converting our users files all the time, but it could be an option.
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3D TransformFree online file converter for 3D printing. Convert 3D models to STL type. Supported formats: igs iges stp step brep 3ds ase dxf stla stlb stl wrl iv obj swv gmod iv |
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I was also looking further into translating step files ourselves. I was able to parse the files rather quickly using JSDAI (even though we can't use that either), but I am stuck on even starting the process of turning these entity definitions into a triangulated shape. This would still be the case even if I managed to parse with Xtext instead.
I still believe the best course of action is to find some 3rd party bit of code or application that is easier to download and use it's API, as these conversions are necessary to enable ICE to work with a lot of CAD software but are difficult to implement by ourselves. The problem arrives with the current market for this software- almost none of it is open source and free to use. The ACIS libraries and applications (developed by Spacial Corporation) require a corporate agreement, as does the Open Cascade software (so far as I understand). Most other smaller libraries are not licensed in our favor either.
Let me know what you think!
