HartOMat/.claude/commands/usd-export.md

USD Export Agent

You are a specialist for the USD pipeline in the Schaeffler Automat project. You implement and debug everything related to export_step_to_usd.py, import_usd.py, and the pxr authoring API.

Architecture Decisions (all locked)

Decision	Value
USD library	usd-core pip → from pxr import Usd, UsdGeom, Sdf, Vt, Gf, UsdShade, UsdUtils
Seam/sharp encoding	Index-space primvars on mesh prim (not world-space coordinates)
Preview GLB	Co-authored from same tessellation pass (not USD→GLB round-trip)
Layer strategy	Canonical geometry layer + material override layer, flattened via UsdUtils.FlattenLayerStack() for delivery
Instancing	None in Phase 1 (co-author FlattenLayerStack is instancing-safe for later)

Full implementation checklist: docs/plans/0001-step-to-usd-implementation.md

Key pxr API Reference

Stage and Layer Setup

from pxr import Usd, UsdGeom, UsdShade, Sdf, Vt, Gf, UsdUtils

# Create a new stage (writes to disk)
stage = Usd.Stage.CreateNew("/path/to/output.usd")

# Set up coordinate system and units
UsdGeom.SetStageUpAxis(stage, UsdGeom.Tokens.y)  # glTF/Blender convention
UsdGeom.SetStageMetersPerUnit(stage, 0.001)       # STEP is in mm

# Define root prims
root = UsdGeom.Xform.Define(stage, "/Root")
assembly = UsdGeom.Xform.Define(stage, "/Root/Assembly")

stage.Save()

Part Hierarchy + Custom Metadata

# Define an Xform for a part
part_xform = UsdGeom.Xform.Define(stage, f"/Root/Assembly/{node_name}/{part_key}")

# Author custom metadata (schaeffler: namespace)
part_prim = part_xform.GetPrim()
part_prim.SetCustomDataByKey("schaeffler:partKey", part_key)
part_prim.SetCustomDataByKey("schaeffler:sourceName", source_name)
part_prim.SetCustomDataByKey("schaeffler:sourceColor", hex_color)
part_prim.SetCustomDataByKey("schaeffler:rawMaterialName", raw_material)
part_prim.SetCustomDataByKey("schaeffler:canonicalMaterialName", canonical_material)
part_prim.SetCustomDataByKey("schaeffler:cadFileId", str(cad_file_id))
part_prim.SetCustomDataByKey("schaeffler:tessellation:linearDeflectionMm", linear_deflection)
part_prim.SetCustomDataByKey("schaeffler:tessellation:angularDeflectionRad", angular_deflection)

Mesh Geometry

from pxr import Vt, Gf

mesh = UsdGeom.Mesh.Define(stage, f"{part_path}/Mesh")

# Points (vertices) — Gf.Vec3f array
points = Vt.Vec3fArray([Gf.Vec3f(x, y, z) for x, y, z in vertex_list])
mesh.CreatePointsAttr(points)

# Face topology
face_vertex_counts = Vt.IntArray([3] * len(triangles))  # all triangles
mesh.CreateFaceVertexCountsAttr(face_vertex_counts)

face_vertex_indices = Vt.IntArray([idx for tri in triangles for idx in tri])
mesh.CreateFaceVertexIndicesAttr(face_vertex_indices)

# Normals (per-vertex or per-face)
normals = Vt.Vec3fArray([Gf.Vec3f(nx, ny, nz) for nx, ny, nz in normal_list])
mesh.CreateNormalsAttr(normals)
mesh.SetNormalsInterpolation(UsdGeom.Tokens.vertex)

# Display color from OCC
color = Vt.Vec3fArray([Gf.Vec3f(r, g, b)])
mesh.CreateDisplayColorAttr(color)

Seam and Sharp Edge Primvars (index-space)

from pxr import UsdGeom, Vt, Sdf

primvars_api = UsdGeom.PrimvarsAPI(mesh)

# Sharp edges: list of (vertex_index_0, vertex_index_1) pairs
sharp_pairs = [(vi0, vi1), (vi2, vi3), ...]  # local mesh vertex indices
sharp_array = Vt.Vec2iArray([Gf.Vec2i(a, b) for a, b in sharp_pairs])
pv_sharp = primvars_api.CreatePrimvar(
    "schaeffler:sharpEdgeVertexPairs",
    Sdf.ValueTypeNames.Int2Array,
    UsdGeom.Tokens.constant,
)
pv_sharp.Set(sharp_array)

# Seam edges: same structure
seam_pairs = [(vi0, vi1), ...]
seam_array = Vt.Vec2iArray([Gf.Vec2i(a, b) for a, b in seam_pairs])
pv_seam = primvars_api.CreatePrimvar(
    "schaeffler:seamEdgeVertexPairs",
    Sdf.ValueTypeNames.Int2Array,
    UsdGeom.Tokens.constant,
)
pv_seam.Set(seam_array)

Material Binding

from pxr import UsdShade

# Define material prim
mat_path = f"/Root/Looks/{canonical_material_name}"
material = UsdShade.Material.Define(stage, mat_path)

# Bind material to part mesh
binding_api = UsdShade.MaterialBindingAPI(mesh.GetPrim())
binding_api.Bind(material)

Override Layer (for material replacements)

# Create canonical stage
canonical_stage = Usd.Stage.CreateNew("/path/to/canonical.usd")
# ... author geometry ...
canonical_stage.Save()

# Create override layer for material assignments
override_layer = Sdf.Layer.CreateNew("/path/to/overrides.usd")
override_stage = Usd.Stage.Open("/path/to/canonical.usd")
override_stage.GetRootLayer().subLayerPaths.append("/path/to/overrides.usd")

# Author override opinions
with Usd.EditContext(override_stage, override_stage.GetRootLayer()):
    prim = override_stage.GetPrimAtPath("/Root/Assembly/Node/ring_outer")
    prim.SetCustomDataByKey("schaeffler:canonicalMaterialName", "SCHAEFFLER_010102_Steel-Polished")

override_stage.Save()

# Flatten for delivery (preserves instanceable prims)
flat_stage = Usd.Stage.CreateNew("/path/to/delivery.usd")
UsdUtils.FlattenLayerStack(override_stage, flat_stage.GetRootLayer())
flat_stage.Save()

Reading Primvars in Blender (import_usd.py)

import bpy

# After USD import:
for obj in bpy.context.scene.objects:
    if obj.type != 'MESH':
        continue
    # Blender maps USD primvars to custom attributes
    seam_attr = obj.data.attributes.get("schaeffler:seamEdgeVertexPairs")
    sharp_attr = obj.data.attributes.get("schaeffler:sharpEdgeVertexPairs")
    if seam_attr:
        _mark_seams_from_index_pairs(obj, seam_attr.data)
    if sharp_attr:
        _mark_sharp_from_index_pairs(obj, sharp_attr.data)

XCAF Traversal Pattern for Part Keys

from OCP.XCAFDoc import XCAFDoc_ShapeTool, XCAFDoc_DocumentTool
from OCP.TDF import TDF_LabelSequence
from OCP.TDataStd import TDataStd_Name

def traverse_xcaf(label, shape_tool, depth=0, path=""):
    """Yield (label, part_key, source_name, xcaf_path) for each leaf shape."""
    name_attr = TDataStd_Name()
    source_name = ""
    if label.FindAttribute(TDataStd_Name.GetID_s(), name_attr):
        source_name = name_attr.Get().ToExtString()

    components = TDF_LabelSequence()
    XCAFDoc_ShapeTool.GetComponents_s(label, components)

    xcaf_path = f"{path}/{source_name}" if source_name else f"{path}/unnamed_{depth}"

    if components.Length() == 0:
        # Leaf node
        part_key = generate_part_key(xcaf_path, source_name)
        yield label, part_key, source_name, xcaf_path
    else:
        for i in range(1, components.Length() + 1):
            yield from traverse_xcaf(components.Value(i), shape_tool, depth+1, xcaf_path)

Part Key Generation

import re, hashlib

def generate_part_key(xcaf_path: str, source_name: str, seen: set) -> str:
    """Deterministic slug, max 64 chars, unique within assembly."""
    base = source_name or xcaf_path.split("/")[-1] or "part"
    # Normalize: lowercase, replace non-alphanumeric with underscore
    slug = re.sub(r'[^a-z0-9]+', '_', base.lower()).strip('_')
    slug = slug[:50] or f"part_{hashlib.sha256(xcaf_path.encode()).hexdigest()[:8]}"
    # Deduplicate
    key = slug
    n = 2
    while key in seen:
        key = f"{slug}_{n}"
        n += 1
    seen.add(key)
    return key

Coordinate System

OCC STEP files are in mm, Z-up. USD stage is set to mm, Y-up (matching Blender and glTF convention).

Transform when writing points:

# OCC (X, Y, Z) mm Z-up → USD (X, -Z, Y) mm Y-up
usd_x = occ_x
usd_y = -occ_z
usd_z = occ_y

The BRepBuilderAPI_Transform mm→m scaling done in export_step_to_gltf.py is not needed here — USD stage metadata carries metersPerUnit=0.001, so Blender handles the scale on import.

CLI Interface for export_step_to_usd.py

python3 export_step_to_usd.py \
  --step_path /path/to/file.stp \
  --output_path /path/to/output.usd \
  [--linear_deflection 0.03] \
  [--angular_deflection 0.05] \
  [--tessellation_engine occ|gmsh] \
  [--color_map '{"Ring": "#4C9BE8"}'] \
  [--cad_file_id uuid]

Test Commands

# Verify usd-core is installed
docker compose exec render-worker python3 -c "from pxr import Usd; print(Usd.GetVersion())"

# Run USD exporter
docker compose exec render-worker python3 /render-scripts/export_step_to_usd.py \
  --step_path /app/uploads/[cad_file_id]/[filename].stp \
  --output_path /tmp/test.usd

# Inspect output
docker compose exec render-worker python3 -c "
from pxr import Usd
stage = Usd.Stage.Open('/tmp/test.usd')
for prim in stage.Traverse():
    if prim.GetTypeName() == 'Mesh':
        print(prim.GetPath(), '| partKey:', prim.GetCustomDataByKey('schaeffler:partKey'))
"

# Count parts with partKey
docker compose exec render-worker python3 -c "
from pxr import Usd
stage = Usd.Stage.Open('/tmp/test.usd')
parts = [p for p in stage.Traverse() if p.GetCustomDataByKey('schaeffler:partKey')]
print(f'{len(parts)} parts with partKey')
"

Common Errors and Fixes

Error	Cause	Fix
ModuleNotFoundError: pxr	usd-core not installed	docker compose build render-worker after adding to Dockerfile
ValueError: Invalid SdfPath	Part name contains special chars	Use generate_part_key() — strips non-alphanumeric
RuntimeError: stage is invalid	File path doesn't exist	Ensure output directory exists before Stage.CreateNew()
Prim hierarchy too deep	Assembly has > 10 levels	Use relative paths from Assembly root, skip empty intermediate nodes
Blender doesn't read primvars	Attribute name mismatch	Check USD attribute name matches what Blender's USD importer maps
Seam pairs reference wrong vertices	Index computed before tessellation	Always compute index-space pairs AFTER BRepMesh, on the final triangulation

Failure Protocol

If a task fails, add [BLOCKED] to the task in plan.md with:

• exact pxr error message
• which XCAF label or mesh caused it
• what was attempted

Then invoke /plan for a refined task specification.

Completion

After implementation: "USD export complete. Test with: python3 export_step_to_usd.py --step_path [file]. Please verify with /review."