step-parts

The step-parts skill provides an interface for discovering, evaluating, and downloading common purchasable CAD components directly from the step.parts catalog. It solves the problem of integrating off-the-shelf parts into CAD assemblies by allowing users to locate named actuators, servos, motors, electronics boards, connectors, fasteners, bearings, and other standard components before resorting to simplified placeholder geometry. By querying the canonical API endpoints, it ensures that assemblies are built using verified parts with proper dimensions, aliases, and standards, minimizing guesswork and errors in CAD design workflows.

The skill's main features include fuzzy search for part names and aliases, handling of exact and near-exact model numbers, facet-based filtering for categories, families, and standards, and verification of downloaded STEP files via SHA-256 checksums. It can retrieve canonical .step files from the API and present relevant part metadata, including unique identifiers, standards, and attributes. Additionally, it supports a deterministic local downloader script for command-line usage, enabling consistent search, download, and checksum validation. The skill also integrates with a CAD viewer, automatically handing off newly downloaded or updated files for visualization and inspection.

This skill is particularly useful for engineers, CAD designers, and developers working on automated CAD generation or robotics projects, who need reliable access to real-world component models. Target users include teams building assemblies that incorporate standard hardware or electronic modules and who require verified STEP files for simulation, prototyping, or production planning. By combining automated discovery with checksum validation and CAD viewer handoff, it streamlines the process of creating accurate, production-ready assemblies while maintaining traceability and provenance of parts.