Drop any file to identify it
No upload. No signup. No sending your file halfway across the internet.
We tell you what it is, right here in your browser.
Drop it!
Let go to identify this file.
Couldn't identify this file
Need to convert it? fwip it →
IGES (Initial Graphics Exchange Specification) is a vendor-neutral CAD data format published in 1980 — before STEP existed, before most engineers had PCs on their desks. It was the first serious attempt to let different CAD systems talk to each other, and for two decades it was the only game in town.
The format stores geometry as a sequence of entity records: lines, arcs, NURBS surfaces, annotations, even colour and line weight. Each entity gets a directory entry and a parameter section, all encoded in fixed-width 80-column lines that look like they were designed for punch cards — because they were. The spec supports 2D drawings and 3D surfaces but not solid models, which is where STEP eventually overtook it.
IGES is technically superseded by STEP (AP203/AP214), but it refuses to die. Legacy aerospace and automotive suppliers still exchange IGES files because their toolchains expect it, and some surface modelling workflows prefer it because IGES handles trimmed NURBS with fewer translation errors. If you receive an .iges file in 2024, someone's supply chain has deep roots.