CAD file transfer

How it works

Assemblies point at part files by relative or absolute path. A single-file export (STEP, IGES) flattens that and loses features. Native folders must move together. Binary transfer. A manifest of part filenames is the completion test. Viewers that open the top assembly with missing parts show a partial model and no error a non-specialist will notice.

A shop sends a 2 GB native assembly, 140 parts. The portal stores them flat and breaks relative paths. The buyer opens an empty assembly. A ZIP that preserved folders opens. They resend as a ZIP with a text manifest. A STEP export would have been one file and fewer features, which the buyer did not want.

How it differs

CAD transfer is not a PDF drawing transfer. The drawing is a view. The model is the geometry. Say which the ticket demands.

Absolute paths from the author's machine survive in some formats and fail on arrival. Use relative paths before you pack.

Large assemblies trip upload caps partway through the set. Resume or pack so a partial set cannot look complete.

On the ticket

• The practical close is a log line: time, actor, byte count, result.
• Without that line the transfer is a story.
• With it, the next person can see whether this door did what the ticket claimed.
• If the path is shared, say so in the partner profile so a later change does not silently pick a different limit, key, or region.