Hi I made a little snow man in solidworks and as a assembly, i could
render it as a .stl file or actualy 6 or 7 files. i intended it to be
a solid piece but every geometry figure became a separate file. What
am i doing wrong? Parts in the assemblu was'nt mated to each other....
I don't use solidworks, but I have used many different 3d programs, so
I might be able to help you troubleshoot.
It's an odd thing that the default export for an stl file renders out
the elements of your design into separate files. I have not
experienced that in any other program I've used.
As a result, it's very possible that solidworks has a preference that
you can set to stop this from happening. This is what I would look
for.
The first thing I would look for: I know that in some programs, a
popup window will appear when exporting that gives you some options
with regards to that file format (ie. include material, scale the
file, Zup/Yup?, etc...). Does this happen when you export an STL in
Solidworks? If so, look for appropriate checkboxes that will ensure
your file gets exported as one thing.
The second thing I would look for: I would peruse the menus in
solidworks to look for a "preferences" or "customize" option, or
something worded similarly. This will allow you to set certain
parameters in your program, like units, the way your viewport looks,
and that sort of thing. It's possible that you can change the export
settings in customized preferences.
The third thing I would look for: If there is a way in solidworks for
you to merge your pieces of geometry. This could be termed a
"boolean" function. Basically, you would select one of your pieces of
geometry, choose a particular boolean function (in this case add/
additive/addition/+, would be the kind of words you are looking for),
and then click on another piece of geometry. This should merge them
together. Some program don't call it boolean .. they may actually use
the term merge, or add, or something similar. Then you would have
only one piece of geometry in your file.
The next thing I might try is, letting the program export everything
separately. Grab yourself a free program like blender, or accutrans,
and see if you can import each of those pieces of geometry into the
new free program. Once you've gotten everything there in the right
place, then you can export as STL. It will be unlikely that the new
program will export the object as separate pieces. I have not
encountered this in other programs before.
Or ... you could wait until someone answers who actually *knows* how
to use solidworks, and get a more specific answer :)
> Hi I made a little snow man in solidworks and as a assembly, i could
> render it as a .stl file or actualy 6 or 7 files. i intended it to be
> a solid piece but every geometry figure became a separate file. What
> am i doing wrong? Parts in the assemblu was'nt mated to each other....
Accutrans is no longer free. I forgot about this. It has a $20
license, which is very affordable. If you decide to buy accutrans, I
will tell you that it has been very useful to me. If you use it to
fix your problem, here is how I would go about it...
*Go into the file menu and choose "Multi Open", which will present you
with a window.
*Using this window, add all of the files that you want to import
together, by clicking on "add new file" and choosing each file from
your harddrive.
*Once the files have loaded, go into the file menu again and choose
"Save As"
*In the save window, now give your file a name, and make sure that you
have chosen the STL file type.
*click on Save, and you will have one file with everything together.
> Hi I made a little snow man in solidworks and as a assembly, i could
> render it as a .stl file or actualy 6 or 7 files. i intended it to be
> a solid piece but every geometry figure became a separate file. What
> am i doing wrong? Parts in the assemblu was'nt mated to each other....
In solidworks, when you go to save as there is a button called options in the bottom of the menu after you select stl as the format. You can select to save in one file there.
On Mar 4, 2012, at 1:35 PM, Whystler <shawn...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> I don't use solidworks, but I have used many different 3d programs, so > I might be able to help you troubleshoot.
> It's an odd thing that the default export for an stl file renders out > the elements of your design into separate files. I have not > experienced that in any other program I've used.
> As a result, it's very possible that solidworks has a preference that > you can set to stop this from happening. This is what I would look > for.
> The first thing I would look for: I know that in some programs, a > popup window will appear when exporting that gives you some options > with regards to that file format (ie. include material, scale the > file, Zup/Yup?, etc...). Does this happen when you export an STL in > Solidworks? If so, look for appropriate checkboxes that will ensure > your file gets exported as one thing.
> The second thing I would look for: I would peruse the menus in > solidworks to look for a "preferences" or "customize" option, or > something worded similarly. This will allow you to set certain > parameters in your program, like units, the way your viewport looks, > and that sort of thing. It's possible that you can change the export > settings in customized preferences.
> The third thing I would look for: If there is a way in solidworks for > you to merge your pieces of geometry. This could be termed a > "boolean" function. Basically, you would select one of your pieces of > geometry, choose a particular boolean function (in this case add/ > additive/addition/+, would be the kind of words you are looking for), > and then click on another piece of geometry. This should merge them > together. Some program don't call it boolean .. they may actually use > the term merge, or add, or something similar. Then you would have > only one piece of geometry in your file.
> The next thing I might try is, letting the program export everything > separately. Grab yourself a free program like blender, or accutrans, > and see if you can import each of those pieces of geometry into the > new free program. Once you've gotten everything there in the right > place, then you can export as STL. It will be unlikely that the new > program will export the object as separate pieces. I have not > encountered this in other programs before.
> Or ... you could wait until someone answers who actually *knows* how > to use solidworks, and get a more specific answer :)
> In any case, good luck to you!
> -Whystler
> On Mar 3, 10:04 pm, esn <e...@hn.lrf.se> wrote: >> Hi I made a little snow man in solidworks and as a assembly, i could >> render it as a .stl file or actualy 6 or 7 files. i intended it to be >> a solid piece but every geometry figure became a separate file. What >> am i doing wrong? Parts in the assemblu was'nt mated to each other....
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "thingiverse" group. > To post to this group, send email to thingiverse@googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > thingiverse+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/thingiverse?hl=en
Thanks for good help! How simple isn't everyting with some knowledge.
I didn't notice the option box ( maybe cose it was 4am here when i
tried this)
Here is my snow man in one pice : http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:18558 Thanks again for good help!
On 4 mar, 19:46, Aaron Double <aad...@gmail.com> wrote:
> In solidworks, when you go to save as there is a button called options in the bottom of the menu after you select stl as the format. You can select to save in one file there.
> On Mar 4, 2012, at 1:35 PM, Whystler <shawn...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > Hi Esn,
> > I don't use solidworks, but I have used many different 3d programs, so
> > I might be able to help you troubleshoot.
> > It's an odd thing that the default export for an stl file renders out
> > the elements of your design into separate files. I have not
> > experienced that in any other program I've used.
> > As a result, it's very possible that solidworks has a preference that
> > you can set to stop this from happening. This is what I would look
> > for.
> > The first thing I would look for: I know that in some programs, a
> > popup window will appear when exporting that gives you some options
> > with regards to that file format (ie. include material, scale the
> > file, Zup/Yup?, etc...). Does this happen when you export an STL in
> > Solidworks? If so, look for appropriate checkboxes that will ensure
> > your file gets exported as one thing.
> > The second thing I would look for: I would peruse the menus in
> > solidworks to look for a "preferences" or "customize" option, or
> > something worded similarly. This will allow you to set certain
> > parameters in your program, like units, the way your viewport looks,
> > and that sort of thing. It's possible that you can change the export
> > settings in customized preferences.
> > The third thing I would look for: If there is a way in solidworks for
> > you to merge your pieces of geometry. This could be termed a
> > "boolean" function. Basically, you would select one of your pieces of
> > geometry, choose a particular boolean function (in this case add/
> > additive/addition/+, would be the kind of words you are looking for),
> > and then click on another piece of geometry. This should merge them
> > together. Some program don't call it boolean .. they may actually use
> > the term merge, or add, or something similar. Then you would have
> > only one piece of geometry in your file.
> > The next thing I might try is, letting the program export everything
> > separately. Grab yourself a free program like blender, or accutrans,
> > and see if you can import each of those pieces of geometry into the
> > new free program. Once you've gotten everything there in the right
> > place, then you can export as STL. It will be unlikely that the new
> > program will export the object as separate pieces. I have not
> > encountered this in other programs before.
> > Or ... you could wait until someone answers who actually *knows* how
> > to use solidworks, and get a more specific answer :)
> > In any case, good luck to you!
> > -Whystler
> > On Mar 3, 10:04 pm, esn <e...@hn.lrf.se> wrote:
> >> Hi I made a little snow man in solidworks and as a assembly, i could
> >> render it as a .stl file or actualy 6 or 7 files. i intended it to be
> >> a solid piece but every geometry figure became a separate file. What
> >> am i doing wrong? Parts in the assemblu was'nt mated to each other....
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> > Groups "thingiverse" group.
> > To post to this group, send email to thingiverse@googlegroups.com
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> > thingiverse+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
> > For more options, visit this group at
> >http://groups.google.com/group/thingiverse?hl=en
Also, please consider uploading your Solidworks files, as well. This makes it easy for someone to give you pointers, like build it in a part file instead of an assembly. You can search Thingiverse for Solidworks and see many examples. You can also download Solidworks models from: http://www.3dcontentcentral.com http://grabcad.com/
It can be useful to see how others have done a certain thing.
> Thanks for good help! How simple isn't everyting with some knowledge. > I didn't notice the option box ( maybe cose it was 4am here when i > tried this) > Here is my snow man in one pice : http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:18558 > Thanks again for good help!
> On 4 mar, 19:46, Aaron Double<aad...@gmail.com> wrote: >> In solidworks, when you go to save as there is a button called options in the bottom of the menu after you select stl as the format. You can select to save in one file there.
>> On Mar 4, 2012, at 1:35 PM, Whystler<shawn...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>> Hi Esn, >>> I don't use solidworks, but I have used many different 3d programs, so >>> I might be able to help you troubleshoot. >>> It's an odd thing that the default export for an stl file renders out >>> the elements of your design into separate files. I have not >>> experienced that in any other program I've used. >>> As a result, it's very possible that solidworks has a preference that >>> you can set to stop this from happening. This is what I would look >>> for. >>> The first thing I would look for: I know that in some programs, a >>> popup window will appear when exporting that gives you some options >>> with regards to that file format (ie. include material, scale the >>> file, Zup/Yup?, etc...). Does this happen when you export an STL in >>> Solidworks? If so, look for appropriate checkboxes that will ensure >>> your file gets exported as one thing. >>> The second thing I would look for: I would peruse the menus in >>> solidworks to look for a "preferences" or "customize" option, or >>> something worded similarly. This will allow you to set certain >>> parameters in your program, like units, the way your viewport looks, >>> and that sort of thing. It's possible that you can change the export >>> settings in customized preferences. >>> The third thing I would look for: If there is a way in solidworks for >>> you to merge your pieces of geometry. This could be termed a >>> "boolean" function. Basically, you would select one of your pieces of >>> geometry, choose a particular boolean function (in this case add/ >>> additive/addition/+, would be the kind of words you are looking for), >>> and then click on another piece of geometry. This should merge them >>> together. Some program don't call it boolean .. they may actually use >>> the term merge, or add, or something similar. Then you would have >>> only one piece of geometry in your file. >>> The next thing I might try is, letting the program export everything >>> separately. Grab yourself a free program like blender, or accutrans, >>> and see if you can import each of those pieces of geometry into the >>> new free program. Once you've gotten everything there in the right >>> place, then you can export as STL. It will be unlikely that the new >>> program will export the object as separate pieces. I have not >>> encountered this in other programs before. >>> Or ... you could wait until someone answers who actually *knows* how >>> to use solidworks, and get a more specific answer :) >>> In any case, good luck to you! >>> -Whystler >>> On Mar 3, 10:04 pm, esn<e...@hn.lrf.se> wrote: >>>> Hi I made a little snow man in solidworks and as a assembly, i could >>>> render it as a .stl file or actualy 6 or 7 files. i intended it to be >>>> a solid piece but every geometry figure became a separate file. What >>>> am i doing wrong? Parts in the assemblu was'nt mated to each other.... >>> -- >>> Go visit thingiverse athttp://thingiverse.comand stay tuned to the blog athttp://blog.thingiverse.com. >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "thingiverse" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to thingiverse@googlegroups.com >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> thingiverse+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/thingiverse?hl=en
--
Ron Thompson On the Beautiful Florida Space Coast, right beside the Kennedy Space Center, USA
STL cannot store assemblies. Only single objects.
So one file per file is usually exactly what is needed.
Of cause you should always
a) upload your original Solidworks project with all it's files too
(sldasm, and all sldprt)
b) tag the thing as "solidworks", so people who don't know the
file-endings know what that is.
I found Grabcad to be unusable because not a single
design on that site states a license.
So you don't know if you are allowed to print them into
pysical objects, modify the designs, report them somewhere
else,... not even if and what kind of attribution is required and
what other obligations you have.
On 3dcontentcentral I remember only seeing mesh models for
3d graphics. No solids that can be used in CAD programs
such as Solidworks.
Solidworks can easily have multiple bodies in one stl. I do it all the time with makerbots and also with professional rapid prototyping firms. You just need to go in the options menu.
On Mar 5, 2012, at 3:00 AM, Marcus Wolschon <marcus.wolsc...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> STL cannot store assemblies. Only single objects. > So one file per file is usually exactly what is needed. > Of cause you should always > a) upload your original Solidworks project with all it's files too > (sldasm, and all sldprt) > b) tag the thing as "solidworks", so people who don't know the > file-endings know what that is.
> I found Grabcad to be unusable because not a single > design on that site states a license. > So you don't know if you are allowed to print them into > pysical objects, modify the designs, report them somewhere > else,... not even if and what kind of attribution is required and > what other obligations you have.
> On 3dcontentcentral I remember only seeing mesh models for > 3d graphics. No solids that can be used in CAD programs > such as Solidworks.
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "thingiverse" group. > To post to this group, send email to thingiverse@googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > thingiverse+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/thingiverse?hl=en
Wow. Almost everything you said is counter to my experience. I routinely save multiple parts in an assembly as a single stl. This is how I print plates of many parts. Maybe that is not what you meant as an assembly? Grabcad has several different file types and you can search by type. If no attribution is declared, I would think there are no restrictions. Public domain. 3dcontentcentral usually has a select box to allow you to download as part, assembly, or other things. I download cool stuff all the time. Most recently, I downloaded a very well done Dremel assembly. I was able to pick it apart and learned a few things!
> STL cannot store assemblies. Only single objects. > So one file per file is usually exactly what is needed. > Of cause you should always > a) upload your original Solidworks project with all it's files too > (sldasm, and all sldprt) > b) tag the thing as "solidworks", so people who don't know the > file-endings know what that is.
> I found Grabcad to be unusable because not a single > design on that site states a license. > So you don't know if you are allowed to print them into > pysical objects, modify the designs, report them somewhere > else,... not even if and what kind of attribution is required and > what other obligations you have.
> On 3dcontentcentral I remember only seeing mesh models for > 3d graphics. No solids that can be used in CAD programs > such as Solidworks.
--
Ron Thompson On the Beautiful Florida Space Coast, right beside the Kennedy Space Center, USA
marcus.wolsc...@googlemail.com> wrote: > STL cannot store assemblies. Only single objects.
Actually, STL does have a mechanism for storing multiple separate objects in one file HOWEVER it's implicit rather than explicit in the format definition so support for it is patchy at best.
Basically, the STL format looks like this:
solid <name> facet normal *ni nj nk* (data) endfacet facet normal *ni nj nk* (data) endfacet (etc) endsolid
now there's nothing in the format that says whether you can simply add another solid at this point (with solid <name>...endsolid), resulting in a file with multiple separate objects.
I would expect that some programs support this, some don't, and some simply pull out all the facets and treat them as a single solid.
Interestingly, there's also nothing in the standard to dictate how many vertexes in a facet so in theory you could use squares or other shapes instead of triangles, however expect support for that to be extremely poor.
Binary mode STL files (which make up the majority of them) aren't so flexible. An 80 byte comment header, a face count, then three vertexes, a normal and two bytes of I'll defined miscellaneous data per face.
I doubt most apps would know what to do with an ASCII STL with more than one solid, or more than three vertexes for a face.
- Revar
On Mar 5, 2012, at 5:13 PM, Triffid Hunter <triffid.hun...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 5, 2012 at 7:00 PM, Marcus Wolschon <marcus.wolsc...@googlemail.com> wrote: > STL cannot store assemblies. Only single objects.
> Actually, STL does have a mechanism for storing multiple separate objects in one file HOWEVER it's implicit rather than explicit in the format definition so support for it is patchy at best.
> Basically, the STL format looks like this:
> solid <name> > facet normal ni nj nk > (data) > endfacet > facet normal ni nj nk > (data) > endfacet > (etc) > endsolid
> now there's nothing in the format that says whether you can simply add another solid at this point (with solid <name>...endsolid), resulting in a file with multiple separate objects.
> I would expect that some programs support this, some don't, and some simply pull out all the facets and treat them as a single solid.
> Interestingly, there's also nothing in the standard to dictate how many vertexes in a facet so in theory you could use squares or other shapes instead of triangles, however expect support for that to be extremely poor. > -- > Go visit thingiverse at http://thingiverse.com and stay tuned to the blog at http://blog.thingiverse.com.
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "thingiverse" group. > To post to this group, send email to thingiverse@googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > thingiverse+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/thingiverse?hl=en
Every tool I have used (AutoCAD, OpenSCAD, ReplicatorG, Skeinforge, Rhino) supports multiple objects in an STL (e.g. A chess set can be exported as one file, made of several pieces that are not connected). STL geometry is mathematically defined in terms of triangles, so if you encoded squares into a file no tools would support them.
Sent from my iPad
On Mar 6, 2012, at 4:43 AM, Revar Desmera <revar...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Binary mode STL files (which make up the majority of them) aren't so flexible. An 80 byte comment header, a face count, then three vertexes, a normal and two bytes of I'll defined miscellaneous data per face.
> I doubt most apps would know what to do with an ASCII STL with more than one solid, or more than three vertexes for a face.
> - Revar
> On Mar 5, 2012, at 5:13 PM, Triffid Hunter <triffid.hun...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Mon, Mar 5, 2012 at 7:00 PM, Marcus Wolschon <marcus.wolsc...@googlemail.com> wrote: >> STL cannot store assemblies. Only single objects.
>> Actually, STL does have a mechanism for storing multiple separate objects in one file HOWEVER it's implicit rather than explicit in the format definition so support for it is patchy at best.
>> Basically, the STL format looks like this:
>> solid <name> >> facet normal ni nj nk >> (data) >> endfacet >> facet normal ni nj nk >> (data) >> endfacet >> (etc) >> endsolid
>> now there's nothing in the format that says whether you can simply add another solid at this point (with solid <name>...endsolid), resulting in a file with multiple separate objects.
>> I would expect that some programs support this, some don't, and some simply pull out all the facets and treat them as a single solid.
>> Interestingly, there's also nothing in the standard to dictate how many vertexes in a facet so in theory you could use squares or other shapes instead of triangles, however expect support for that to be extremely poor. >> -- >> Go visit thingiverse at http://thingiverse.com and stay tuned to the blog at http://blog.thingiverse.com.
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> Groups "thingiverse" group. >> To post to this group, send email to thingiverse@googlegroups.com >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> thingiverse+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/thingiverse?hl=en > -- > Go visit thingiverse at http://thingiverse.com and stay tuned to the blog at http://blog.thingiverse.com.
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "thingiverse" group. > To post to this group, send email to thingiverse@googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > thingiverse+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/thingiverse?hl=en
Actually, there's a difference between an stl that defines multiple geometries (objects) in a single solid (like a plate of chess pieces) - and an stl that actually contains multiple solid definitions.
I recently ran into this for the first time with this thing: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:17122 If you look at the stl, it contains 3 solids. ReplicatorG does not currently support this and if you load that stl into repg, all you'll see is the gear. Also, blender crashes if you try to import it.
If you open it in Netfabb it tells you it's made up of multiple solids and will let you re-save them as separate objects.
On Tue, Mar 6, 2012 at 9:53 AM, Laird Popkin <lai...@gmail.com> wrote: > Every tool I have used (AutoCAD, OpenSCAD, ReplicatorG, Skeinforge, Rhino) > supports multiple objects in an STL (e.g. A chess set can be exported as > one file, made of several pieces that are not connected). STL geometry is > mathematically defined in terms of triangles, so if you encoded squares > into a file no tools would support them.
> Sent from my iPad
> On Mar 6, 2012, at 4:43 AM, Revar Desmera <revar...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Binary mode STL files (which make up the majority of them) aren't so > flexible. An 80 byte comment header, a face count, then three vertexes, a > normal and two bytes of I'll defined miscellaneous data per face.
> I doubt most apps would know what to do with an ASCII STL with more than > one solid, or more than three vertexes for a face.
> - Revar
> On Mar 5, 2012, at 5:13 PM, Triffid Hunter <triffid.hun...@gmail.com> > wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 5, 2012 at 7:00 PM, Marcus Wolschon < > marcus.wolsc...@googlemail.com> wrote:
>> STL cannot store assemblies. Only single objects.
> Actually, STL does have a mechanism for storing multiple separate objects > in one file HOWEVER it's implicit rather than explicit in the format > definition so support for it is patchy at best.
> now there's nothing in the format that says whether you can simply add > another solid at this point (with solid <name>...endsolid), resulting in a > file with multiple separate objects.
> I would expect that some programs support this, some don't, and some > simply pull out all the facets and treat them as a single solid.
> Interestingly, there's also nothing in the standard to dictate how many > vertexes in a facet so in theory you could use squares or other shapes > instead of triangles, however expect support for that to be extremely poor.
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "thingiverse" group. > To post to this group, send email to thingiverse@googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > thingiverse+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/thingiverse?hl=en
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "thingiverse" group. > To post to this group, send email to thingiverse@googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > thingiverse+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/thingiverse?hl=en
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "thingiverse" group. > To post to this group, send email to thingiverse@googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > thingiverse+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/thingiverse?hl=en
On Tue, Mar 6, 2012 at 9:53 AM, Laird Popkin <lai...@gmail.com> wrote: > Every tool I have used (AutoCAD, OpenSCAD, ReplicatorG, Skeinforge, Rhino) > supports multiple objects in an STL (e.g. A chess set can be exported as > one file, made of several pieces that are not connected). STL geometry is > mathematically defined in terms of triangles, so if you encoded squares > into a file no tools would support them.
> Sent from my iPad
> On Mar 6, 2012, at 4:43 AM, Revar Desmera <revar...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Binary mode STL files (which make up the majority of them) aren't so > flexible. An 80 byte comment header, a face count, then three vertexes, a > normal and two bytes of I'll defined miscellaneous data per face.
> I doubt most apps would know what to do with an ASCII STL with more than > one solid, or more than three vertexes for a face.
> - Revar
> On Mar 5, 2012, at 5:13 PM, Triffid Hunter <triffid.hun...@gmail.com> > wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 5, 2012 at 7:00 PM, Marcus Wolschon < > marcus.wolsc...@googlemail.com> wrote:
>> STL cannot store assemblies. Only single objects.
> Actually, STL does have a mechanism for storing multiple separate objects > in one file HOWEVER it's implicit rather than explicit in the format > definition so support for it is patchy at best.
> now there's nothing in the format that says whether you can simply add > another solid at this point (with solid <name>...endsolid), resulting in a > file with multiple separate objects.
> I would expect that some programs support this, some don't, and some > simply pull out all the facets and treat them as a single solid.
> Interestingly, there's also nothing in the standard to dictate how many > vertexes in a facet so in theory you could use squares or other shapes > instead of triangles, however expect support for that to be extremely poor.
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "thingiverse" group. > To post to this group, send email to thingiverse@googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > thingiverse+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/thingiverse?hl=en
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "thingiverse" group. > To post to this group, send email to thingiverse@googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > thingiverse+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/thingiverse?hl=en
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "thingiverse" group. > To post to this group, send email to thingiverse@googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > thingiverse+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/thingiverse?hl=en
my 2 cents, I dont see anyone mention AC3D, I'm not very savy with
these 3d programs at all but AC3D reminds me alot of imagine on the
old amiga that I used to use and find it easier than learning on my
own how to use other programs, they just get me lost and frustrated,
anyway point being AC3D will save and open stl's with multiple objects
but than again I come across stl's that it cant open, it cant even
open anything that netfab has modified.
On Mar 7, 5:11 am, Tony Buser <tbu...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Actually, there's a difference between an stl that defines multiple
> geometries (objects) in a single solid (like a plate of chess pieces) - and
> an stl that actually contains multiple solid definitions.
> I recently ran into this for the first time with this thing:http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:17122If you look at the stl, it contains
> 3 solids. ReplicatorG does not currently support this and if you load that
> stl into repg, all you'll see is the gear. Also, blender crashes if you
> try to import it.
> If you open it in Netfabb it tells you it's made up of multiple solids and
> will let you re-save them as separate objects.
> On Tue, Mar 6, 2012 at 9:53 AM, Laird Popkin <lai...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Every tool I have used (AutoCAD, OpenSCAD, ReplicatorG, Skeinforge, Rhino)
> > supports multiple objects in an STL (e.g. A chess set can be exported as
> > one file, made of several pieces that are not connected). STL geometry is
> > mathematically defined in terms of triangles, so if you encoded squares
> > into a file no tools would support them.
> > Sent from my iPad
> > On Mar 6, 2012, at 4:43 AM, Revar Desmera <revar...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Binary mode STL files (which make up the majority of them) aren't so
> > flexible. An 80 byte comment header, a face count, then three vertexes, a
> > normal and two bytes of I'll defined miscellaneous data per face.
> > I doubt most apps would know what to do with an ASCII STL with more than
> > one solid, or more than three vertexes for a face.
> > - Revar
> > On Mar 5, 2012, at 5:13 PM, Triffid Hunter <triffid.hun...@gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> > On Mon, Mar 5, 2012 at 7:00 PM, Marcus Wolschon <
> > marcus.wolsc...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> >> STL cannot store assemblies. Only single objects.
> > Actually, STL does have a mechanism for storing multiple separate objects
> > in one file HOWEVER it's implicit rather than explicit in the format
> > definition so support for it is patchy at best.
> > now there's nothing in the format that says whether you can simply add
> > another solid at this point (with solid <name>...endsolid), resulting in a
> > file with multiple separate objects.
> > I would expect that some programs support this, some don't, and some
> > simply pull out all the facets and treat them as a single solid.
> > Interestingly, there's also nothing in the standard to dictate how many
> > vertexes in a facet so in theory you could use squares or other shapes
> > instead of triangles, however expect support for that to be extremely poor.
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Those apps aren't saving more than one "solid". (Where the word "solid" is rigidly defined as the set of faces between solid and endsolid keywords.) They are just saving one "solid" with multiple discontiguous volumes bound by the various faces. The difference mainly being that the different objects aren't nicely grouped. The ASCII STL format could theoretically support more than one "solid" per file, and more than three vertexes per face, but the binary STL format cannot, and I know of no ASCII implementations that do.
- Revar
On Mar 6, 2012, at 6:53 AM, Laird Popkin <lai...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Every tool I have used (AutoCAD, OpenSCAD, ReplicatorG, Skeinforge, Rhino) supports multiple objects in an STL (e.g. A chess set can be exported as one file, made of several pieces that are not connected). STL geometry is mathematically defined in terms of triangles, so if you encoded squares into a file no tools would support them.
> Sent from my iPad
> On Mar 6, 2012, at 4:43 AM, Revar Desmera <revar...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Binary mode STL files (which make up the majority of them) aren't so flexible. An 80 byte comment header, a face count, then three vertexes, a normal and two bytes of I'll defined miscellaneous data per face.
>> I doubt most apps would know what to do with an ASCII STL with more than one solid, or more than three vertexes for a face.
>> - Revar
>> On Mar 5, 2012, at 5:13 PM, Triffid Hunter <triffid.hun...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On Mon, Mar 5, 2012 at 7:00 PM, Marcus Wolschon <marcus.wolsc...@googlemail.com> wrote: >>> STL cannot store assemblies. Only single objects.
>>> Actually, STL does have a mechanism for storing multiple separate objects in one file HOWEVER it's implicit rather than explicit in the format definition so support for it is patchy at best.
>>> Basically, the STL format looks like this:
>>> solid <name> >>> facet normal ni nj nk >>> (data) >>> endfacet >>> facet normal ni nj nk >>> (data) >>> endfacet >>> (etc) >>> endsolid
>>> now there's nothing in the format that says whether you can simply add another solid at this point (with solid <name>...endsolid), resulting in a file with multiple separate objects.
>>> I would expect that some programs support this, some don't, and some simply pull out all the facets and treat them as a single solid.
>>> Interestingly, there's also nothing in the standard to dictate how many vertexes in a facet so in theory you could use squares or other shapes instead of triangles, however expect support for that to be extremely poor. >>> -- >>> Go visit thingiverse at http://thingiverse.com and stay tuned to the blog at http://blog.thingiverse.com.
>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "thingiverse" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to thingiverse@googlegroups.com >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> thingiverse+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/thingiverse?hl=en >> -- >> Go visit thingiverse at http://thingiverse.com and stay tuned to the blog at http://blog.thingiverse.com.
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> Groups "thingiverse" group. >> To post to this group, send email to thingiverse@googlegroups.com >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> thingiverse+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/thingiverse?hl=en > -- > Go visit thingiverse at http://thingiverse.com and stay tuned to the blog at http://blog.thingiverse.com.
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "thingiverse" group. > To post to this group, send email to thingiverse@googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > thingiverse+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/thingiverse?hl=en
