Issues with converting to .STL

[MGR Hooper!]

Hey,

Does anyone else have any issues with converting a .dae file into .stl? I know in the usual procedure after conversion the .stl file is much smaller but I use netfabb to scale it up. However when I upload .stl files to any places they become severely distorted and only faintly resemble the part I actually designed.

 

I'm trying to look elsewhere for places that do 3D printing in resin and not trying to rely upon shapeways due to their extremely high costs for shipping. But other than shapeways, no one else seems to accept .dae files.

[sem34090]

I use Meshlab (it's free) to convert, simply importing the .dae then exporting it as a .stl.

 

Hopefully that helps a bit.

[MGR Hooper!]

I use Meshlab (it's free) to convert, simply importing the .dae then exporting it as a .stl.

 

Hopefully that helps a bit.

That's what I use too. I use Meshlab to convert the .dae file to a .stl file. Once that's done the file ends up losing it's dimensions. So I then use Netfabb to bring it back to it's original size.

 

I'm not sure at what stage the files get distorted though.

[Lazy]

If the file becomes distorted between export from Netfabb and appearance on the website it may be that the website's own repair system is causing the distortion as it attempts to repair the file (some systems can be quite aggressive in their corrections, lopping chunks off or plating over large parts of the model), even if Netfabb reported that the file was error-free. If the corrected file can be downloaded it may be possible to re-import it into one's design program and manually restore it there.

I can't comment on Meshlab as I find it incomprehensible 

[Quarryscapes]

Lets start at the start, what software are you designing in? 

[MGR Hooper!]

Lets start at the start, what software are you designing in? 

The problematic SketchUp.

Figured a way around it. The chosen supplier for 3D printed parts has sent a very supportive email saying he accepts other files. So rather than go via 3DHUBS, I'll be sorting things out directly with him.

[Quarryscapes]

I thought it might be - there are a few plugins for sketchup that can be used to export STL files - I use SU2STL which works pretty well but will require a repair in NEtfabb before uploading to anywhere. You do have to make sure that your geometry in Sketchup is near perfect as it does screw with a lot of 3D print services. i.Materialise in particular does not like models made with sketchup, and usually means requesting a manual quotation. 

[MGR Hooper!]

I thought it might be - there are a few plugins for sketchup that can be used to export STL files - I use SU2STL which works pretty well but will require a repair in NEtfabb before uploading to anywhere. You do have to make sure that your geometry in Sketchup is near perfect as it does screw with a lot of 3D print services. i.Materialise in particular does not like models made with sketchup, and usually means requesting a manual quotation. 

Over the years that I have used SketchUp I have never used a plugin. So plugins are fairly alien to me. Can you please send me a link to the SU2STL plugin and maybe a quick tutorial on how to install the plugin?

 

And would making simpler models help? i.e. if I was to use less faces to created a curved face would that help or would that have no effect?

[Quarryscapes]

Here you go

 

http://rhin.crai.archi.fr/rld/plugin_details.php?id=429

 

I can't remember the exact path of the plugin folder, it will be different for you anyway as I have an unusual hard disk setup, but simply pop the downloaded file in there and restart sketchup, under the extensions menu you now have an export STL option, choose your uits and voila. 

 

Simple geometry will keep the file size down and make errors less likely. The main thing is to keep everything neat and tidy - no extraneous lines sticking out of corners beyond intersections etc, no surfaces hidden behind other etc. It will also help to work scaled up (especially in versions newer than 2015 as they can't do curves with less than 0.5mm radius) and scale afterwards, or duirng STL export (for example work at 10x size and export in centimetres to get back to correct size at STL level). 

[MGR Hooper!]

Here you go

 

http://rhin.crai.archi.fr/rld/plugin_details.php?id=429

 

I can't remember the exact path of the plugin folder, it will be different for you anyway as I have an unusual hard disk setup, but simply pop the downloaded file in there and restart sketchup, under the extensions menu you now have an export STL option, choose your uits and voila.

 

Simple geometry will keep the file size down and make errors less likely. The main thing is to keep everything neat and tidy - no extraneous lines sticking out of corners beyond intersections etc, no surfaces hidden behind other etc. It will also help to work scaled up (especially in versions newer than 2015 as they can't do curves with less than 0.5mm radius) and scale afterwards, or duirng STL export (for example work at 10x size and export in centimetres to get back to correct size at STL level).

I shall give it a go. I only work in 1:1 scale and then scale down.

 

Anyway, lets see. Should give it a try otherwise it's off to another software.

[Trackster]

Like said, export directly from Sketchup as a stl.
Fix it with 3d Builder that is part of Windows10,
recheck in Netfabb if all holes are closed and
scale it in Meshlab >Filters>NormalsCurvatures Orientation>Transform Scale

Been doing it this way for a long time and maybe cumbersome, but it works for me. There are also beautiful plugins for Sketchup such as rounded corners and draw and extrude on curved surfaces. I still use the 2014 version and you get prompted to install a new version all the time, but then you need to reinstall all the plugins.