Michael,
Was looking for some input on the stl mesher and possible parameter that I may change. I have a simple solid object with some fillets on edges.

I'm testing sending it to shapeways 3d printers. If I set the count way down, it accepts. If I crank the count way up, it tells me it is non-manifold. Not sure of the aspect ratio setting or how really to anylize changes and what may help or hurt. THey have methods of taking it to blender for fixing, but was hoping I just did something kooky with regard to my export that causes this.

Any input you have is appreciated.

Burr

Hi Burr, thanks I received the file in e-mail.

It looks like your model all checks out - what parameters were you using with the file that triggered the non-manifold warning?

It's possible that they may not like getting super teeny-tiny microscopic polygons.

I would suggest using the following 3 settings indicated by the arrows:




Probably don't go too overboard with the angle setting, the spheres there are getting pretty dense with an angle of 6.

Then the other thing that can be good is to put in a distance in "Divide larger than" to break up any longer polygons into some smaller bits, if you have larger sized triangles that span a distance across the model sometimes those will kind of show up more in the result. So breaking them down by length can also be good to add in there.

You want a to put in a distance in "Divide larger than" that is about roughly 1/20 the overall size of your object.


I gave the above parameters a test with shapeways and it seems to check out.

It looks like a fun thing to fire off a few different things for printing...

- Michael

Hi Michael,
Thanks for the info. I'll try it out in a bit. I think I was just cranking it all the way up to try and acheive "smooth". It's a "Reel part" for setting drag. Wanted to try a test with them to see if the new stainless steel was drillable/machinable.

My brother also suggested scaling up by the "faceted value" then just running a finish pass on the resulting part to smooth it! This could save a bunch of time in "roughing".

Worst case is we can just make some cool "trinket stuff".

I suppose there's a bit to learn with the trial and error. I had seen philbo do his rocketeer I think with shapeways. I just need to go through the process to learn how to get the best results. This will be good for me to learn a bit more about meshing my data.

Thanks again for the advice.

I see you have "Weld" set to on also. Is this good with STL?

Hi Burr,

> I see you have "Weld" set to on also. Is this good with STL?

Actually that doesn't do anything for STL - STL files only have individual triangles in them and so there isn't any kind of welding available for them.

That option should probably get hidden for STL export since it does not do anything.

- Michael

Hi Burr,

> I think I was just cranking it all the way up to try and acheive "smooth".

It looks like there is some kind of problem with bunched together points in a couple of areas at that highest density setting.

But also cranking it so high generates stuff that is more dense than the resolution of the model generation process.

It looks like there is also a limit to the density that shapeways will accept, so you probably would go over that on somewhat more complex models if you just crank it up to the max.

- Michael

Hi Michael,
I thought I'd post some of my findings for you and the other users.

After I succesfully uploaded and ordered the model with the specs we discussed, I was researching the Shapeways site a bit more.

Reviewing a tutorial for preparing solidworks model data for stl, the guy spilled the beans that the shapeway servers are interpreting all units as "METERS", and that it is imperative to select "Millimeters" for your upload.

I reset my model to mm with scaling "on" in MoI and remeshed the stl with an angle of 4-divide larger than 3 and got a poly count of 92,600 as opposed to the previous 46,000, and the server accepted my model. I ordered 2 more test pieces to compare any differences.

In the tutorial, the guy had mentioned that he has been unable to get anything over the 100,000 poly count to upload and that anything coming close to that figure, took hours for their server to verify. Mine was ready instantly!

I then thought I would try a test, so I re-meshed the model (in mm) with an angle of 3-divide larger than 2, with a result of 184,000 polys and the model was accepted immediately!!! :)

I didnt re-order another sample with this newer resolution as I wanted to wait to see the results of the first 2 comparisons.

I just wanted to point out again that MoI's mesher is INCREDIBLE!

Thanks for the help there. (If I get any dramatic results on this further, I'll post back for anybody interested)

Hi Burr, that's great!

It would be cool to hear how things go when you receive the models, I'm pretty interested to see what the physical models look like and how much they cost.

- Michael

Hi Michael,
Just got my models today from shapeways. There are some cool results. Some of these pics appear a bit "rougher" than they do in person to be fair to shapeways. The camera is about 2 inches away from the piece, and they have a "wax coating" that is leftover from the printing process that I havnt removed yet. We will lab these up a bit. If I produce anything that looks much better, I'll post it when I'm done.

The piece is roughly 2.4 x 2.3 x .3 inches in size. The pricing varies slightly with the materials we selected. $9.24, $12.90, $14.29 and $14.96. I am interested in their new "Stainless steel" print, but wanted to lab things up first as the price for that material is about 6 1/2 times more than the rest. This piece would be about $60.00 in that material.



















I ordered one material that isnt shown here that is speced as "High Strength, less detail" and a neat byproduct of printing this small piece in that material is that the surface has a "texture" that also follows the surfacing of the model. It even prints the "Seam Edges" of the model! So you can see all the filets and everything. It really "Looks" like the MoI model. The texture is like feeling a "Screen" on a window.

Hi Burr, that is really cool, thanks for sharing the photos!

Those results are really impressive especially considering the prices are so amazingly low.

It does not seem like it was that long ago that you would probably expect to pay in the 100s of dollars for getting stuff like this done.

For under $20 (and even under $10!?) that makes it possible to do things just for fun if you want.

I'd be really interested to see any further pieces that you get, especially if you decide to use their new steel process.

- Michael

Will do. Roger Wilco!

They look great Burr, I'd like to see the acrylic one polished up.

Cheers

OK Danny I'll see how that one comes out. Hopfully I dont ruin it trying different things!

Your alien would look pretty cool with that material :O

Depending on the size, you would want to "Hollow him Out" for the print as they charge by "the Amount of material used" not the size of the piece. So I dont know if you can Shell him or just Boolean a sphere out of his belly. I think I just read here that MoI handles that "boolean a small sphere out of a larger one and having an enclosed hole inside of another closed surface action. This will be handy with this type of RPT.

Actually Burr, you've probably come up with the first 'Safety Ninja Star' for those times something or someone is annoying you :)
I could do the alien, but I'm afraid that the arms and fingers are a bit flimsy.

Cheers

After doing the prototype in shapeways, Cut it in Titanium:




Still would need to pencil mill the filet's and such, but we are happy with our MoI output!

Extra shiny and awesome Burr!

- Michael

If you look in the 10 oclock sphere, you can see my brother and I standing there! :O

I saw that and got a fright! :O

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