Step Parts

Provenance: adapted from earthtojake/text-to-cad under the bundled text-to-cad-LICENSE.

Use the native cad.step_parts tool and the hosted step.parts API for purchasable components before representing them in CAD. This is especially important for named actuators, motors, servos, bearings, fasteners, connectors, electronics boards, rails, and mechanical standards.

Electronics boards, PCB assemblies, carrier boards, development boards, modules, connectors, displays, motors, servos, bearings, and rails must not be replaced with placeholder boxes or simplified stand-ins when a CAD component is needed. Use a real STEP/STP file as a Workbench asset and preserve provenance for the selected source. If no credible STEP/STP source exists, mark the CAD role unresolved or ask for the real 3D file instead of inventing geometry.

Replicator Boundary

• Downloaded STEP files must stay inside the Replicator project and enter the CAD Workbench by their project path.
• Prefer project cache/artifact locations, not global temp directories, when the part will become part of a CAD document.
• Record provenance with the step.parts id, API URL, source URL, checksum when available, and the reason it matches the artifact contract.

Workflow

1. Convert the requested part into search terms and optional facets such as category, family, standard, or tag.
2. Search https://api.step.parts/v1/parts.
3. Retry likely aliases for model-numbered parts before treating an empty result as a miss.
4. When a clear match exists, use its STEP file as a Workbench source asset. Do not generate placeholder geometry for the selected purchasable part.
5. Verify sha256 when the API record provides it.
6. Record the result in the CAD brief or a project artifact report.

Native Tool

Prefer the built-in tool from the Replicator agent runtime:

cad.step_parts({
  "query": "M3 socket head 12",
  "download": true,
  "limit": 5
})

Downloaded files are written under cache/step-parts in the active Replicator project directory.

Downloader

Use the bundled downloader only for local maintenance or CLI workflows outside the native Replicator agent runtime:

python skills/me/step-parts/scripts/download_step_part.py "M3 socket head 12" --download
python skills/me/step-parts/scripts/download_step_part.py --id iso4762_socket_head_cap_screw_m3x12 --download
python skills/me/step-parts/scripts/download_step_part.py "bearing 608zz" --limit 5

Useful options:

• --origin: override https://api.step.parts only when the user provides another hosted API origin.
• --tag, --category, --family, --standard: repeatable facet filters.
• --out-dir: set a Replicator project cache/artifact directory for downloads.
• --all: with --download, download every result on the returned page.
• --overwrite: replace an existing output file.

Read references/step-parts-api.md for endpoint and field details.