2026-09-14
STEP Tools v21 Released!
Version 21 of our STEP and IFC SDK is now available! Meshing and viewing is 40% faster, particularly for splines and files that share large amounts of geometry. The small number of Boolean calculation failures in IFC files have been cut by 75%. Our viewing tools now display much larger files than ever before.
We now support Windows on ARM64 and Visual Studio 2026. And of course, this release covers the latest versions of the STEP and IFC standards.
Our STEP libraries cover the fourth edition of AP242, published in August 2025 with enhancements for datum sets and tolerance modifiers as well as other new definitions. They also cover the fourth edition of AP238, at DIS stage in May 2026, which maintains compatibility with AP242e4 designs and expands STEP-NC into powder-bed fusion processes and drilling and fastening large structures.
The STEP meshing library is now 40% faster on average, with new algorithms for spline surface faceting and handling shared data. In addition, special attention has been paid to making sure that the meshes are watertight, for more effective slicing operations for additive manufacturing.
Our IFC libraries cover the latest IFC 4x3 schema, plus all earlier versions back to IFC 2x3. We have built in extensive data migration capabilities to accommodate places where the different versions have changed the names of definitions, added fields, or removed fields.
The IFC meshing library has been greatly expanded with support for many new kinds of geometry, like revolved area solids, swept disk solids, surface curve swept area solids, and more CSG constructs. Extensive testing and refinement against a set of 380 real-world customer files has eliminated 75% of the small number of boolean calculation failures and issues with other problematic faces.
The STEP Tools® libraries power commercial and private CAD systems for data exchange, analysis, and visualization. View the full release notes and contact us to discuss how we can apply our software solutions to your specific needs!