View and share automotive parts and assemblies without a CAD license. OmniView 3D opens STEP, IGES, CATIA and NX exports, shareable link in 60 seconds.
In automotive engineering, the fastest way to share a part or assembly with someone who has no CAD license is to turn a STEP export into a browser-based 3D viewer. CATIA, NX, Creo and SolidWorks generate millions of parts a year, yet procurement, quality, production, aftersales and most Tier 2 suppliers never hold the licenses to open them. OmniView 3D gives every one of those teams an interactive view from a single link, with no software to install.
An OEM works with thousands of Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, and every new part or revision means exchanging CAD data between teams that run different software. STEP (ISO 10303, the neutral CAD standard published in 1994) is the reference exchange format, but even STEP needs CAD software to open. That friction is costly: an RTI study for NIST estimated imperfect interoperability costs the U.S. automotive supply chain over $1 billion a year, most of it spent re-entering or repairing data that downstream tools can't use. OmniView 3D turns any STEP file into a shareable web viewer in about 60 seconds, with no software on either side.
OmniView 3D opens exports from every major automotive CAD tool: STEP (from CATIA V5/V6, NX, Creo, SolidWorks), IGES (legacy supply chain), STL (prototype 3D printing), plus FBX and GLB for design and client presentation. Native CATIA, NX or Creo files are not opened directly, the STEP export from those tools takes under a minute. For assemblies, prefer STEP AP242 (ISO 10303-242): it merges the older AP203 and AP214 protocols and carries semantic PMI, tolerances and assembly structure that downstream inspection and manufacturing tools can consume automatically.
| Tool | Runs in browser | Shareable link, no install | STEP / CATIA / NX | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OmniView 3D | Yes | Yes | STEP native (CATIA/NX via STEP export) | Cross-team and supplier sharing |
| Kisters 3DViewStation | Desktop | No | Many native CAD formats | Power users in engineering |
| JT2Go (Siemens) | Desktop / mobile | No | JT (NX ecosystem) | Viewing JT inside NX workflows |
| Native CAD (CATIA/NX/Creo) | No | No | Native | Authoring, not sharing |
From CATIA: File → Save As → STEP (pick AP242 when the recipient needs PMI, otherwise AP214). From NX: File → Export → STEP. From Creo: File → Save As → STEP. Check the units first (automotive CATIA models are usually in millimetres), and for a large assembly, consider converting the STEP to GLB to cut the file size before sharing. If a supplier only sends a native .CATPart, see our CATIA viewer guide; for an NX part, see the Siemens NX viewer guide.
Automotive designs are critical IP, and sending a native CAD file to a supplier risks an uncontrolled copy. With OmniView 3D the model stays private by default, the share link is revocable at any time, and project shares accept an expiry date, so a supplier sees the geometry they need for fabrication without ever downloading the source file. Hosting is in the EU (AWS eu-west-1, Ireland), isolated per account and GDPR-compliant. For the full workflow, see how to protect IP when sharing CAD files and the free STEP file viewer guide.
Engineers author in CATIA, NX or Creo. For cross-team and supplier sharing the common tools are OmniView 3D (web viewer, shareable link), Kisters 3DViewStation (desktop, widely used in automotive) and JT2Go by Siemens (JT format, free). OmniView is the one that generates a shareable link with no install on the recipient's side.
Export the part as STEP from CATIA or NX, upload it to OmniView 3D, and share the link by email or through a supplier portal. The supplier opens the part in interactive 3D in their browser with no CAD software. The link stays private until you send it and can be revoked at any time.
Yes. Export to STEP from CATIA first (File → Save As → STEP), then open that STEP in OmniView 3D, which renders it interactively in the browser. OmniView does not open a raw .CATPart directly; the STEP export takes under a minute.
STEP AP214 and AP242 are the standard exchange formats; AP242 (ISO 10303-242) preserves geometry, assembly structure, PMI and material data. JT is also common inside Siemens NX environments. OmniView 3D reads STEP natively.
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