STEP-TAS  Part 21 Interface

STEP-TAS  Part 21 reader module

Activation of the Part21 reader module

TASverter also offers the possibility of reading and writing files in the so-called  STEP Part 21 format, formally defined in ISO 10303-21:2002. This is used as an "internal" format for TASverter.

The STEP Part 21 reader module can be activated from the command line using the option:

--from_TAS=STEPFile.stp 

When the TASverter GUI is used the "Model Type" of the "From" file must be set to "STEP-TAS  stp" (see figure below):

Figure 11: Activation of STEP-TAS  Part 21 reader module through the TASverter GUI

STEP Part 21 files contain a HEADER section. This section contains information about how the STEP file was generated and which schema was used to generate it. If the schema or version used is not compatible with the tas_arm EXPRESS schema used by TASverter, then TASverter will be unable to read the file and will give a fatal error. If the schema and version are compatible and the contents of the file adhere to the schema, then TASverter will attempt to read the entire file into memory.

While reading the STEP file, TASverter checks the validity of the entities that it encounters. It is able to detect, report and correct some types of errors, and will continue to read the file. However, processing will stop as soon as TASverter encounters a fatal error while reading the STEP file.

STEP-TAS  Part 21 writer module

Activation of the Part21 writer module

The STEP Part 21 writer module can be activated from the command line using the option:

--to_TAS=STEPFile.stp 

When the TASverter GUI is used the "Model Type" of the "To" file must be set to "STEP-TAS  stp" (see figure below)

Figure 12: Activation of STEP-TAS  Part 21 writer module using the TASverter GUI

The STEP Part 21 writer module generates a text file formatted as defined in ISO 10303:21-2002. Its contents can then be read by TASverter or by any other tool able to read STEP files based on the tas_arm EXPRESS schema.