How to redefine/customize standard views and XYZ axes after importing STP from SolidWorks?

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Body:

Software & System:

  • Source: SolidWorks (on Windows) – my colleague exports the 3D model as a .stp (STEP) file.

  • Target: Shapr3D (on macOS / MacBook).

Problem Description:

Whenever I import an STP file originally created in SolidWorks into Shapr3D, the model’s standard views get completely remapped.

To give a concrete example: imagine a smartphone model. In SolidWorks, the screen side was defined as the Front view, and all other views (Top, Bottom, Left, Right, Back) were consistent with that definition. However, after importing the same STP file into Shapr3D, the screen surface now shows up as the Top view instead of Front. In other words, the entire model’s XYZ axis orientation seems to have been rotated 90 degrees relative to what was intended in SolidWorks.

This makes it quite confusing to navigate around the model using Shapr3D’s standard view buttons (or the view cube), because Front / Top / Right etc. no longer correspond to the actual faces of the product like they did in SolidWorks.

What I’ve Already Tried (without success):

  • I searched through Shapr3D’s menus, particularly under Views and Appearance, where I can see the Grid Position options (XY / YZ / ZX plane), but I couldn’t find a way to permanently redefine what my “Front” or “Top” view is.

  • I looked for something like “Update Standard Views” (a command that exists in SolidWorks), but couldn’t locate an equivalent function in Shapr3D.

  • I also checked the Move/Rotate tool and the Orientation Cube, but they only let me temporarily rotate the camera view; they don’t actually redefine the base coordinate system or standard view orientations of the imported model.

My Core Questions:

  1. Is there a way in Shapr3D to customize the standard view definitions for an imported model? In other words, can I tell Shapr3D “this face is the Front” and have it properly remap the view cube and shortcut keys?

  2. Alternatively, is it possible to re-orient or re-bind the XYZ coordinate axes for an imported model? I need a permanent solution so that the model sits in the scene with the correct orientation relative to Shapr3D’s world axes, and the standard views (Top, Front, Right) map naturally to the object.

  3. If neither of the above is directly supported, what is the recommended workflow? Should I always use the Move/Rotate tool to manually rotate the imported body so it aligns with Shapr3D’s default axes? Or is there a better practice, such as asking my SolidWorks colleague to adjust the export coordinate system before saving the STP file?

Any advice or step-by-step guidance would be greatly appreciated – I imagine this is a common pain point when collaborating between SolidWorks and Shapr3D.

Thanks in advance!