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    [Plugin] Import STL files

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    • Didier BurD Offline
      Didier Bur
      last edited by

      Wow ! IGES and STP are muuuuuccccchhhh more complex than STL...

      DB

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      • W Offline
        watkins
        last edited by

        Dear Didier,

        I imagine so or someone would have done it by now. It was just something to put on the wish list.

        Regards,
        Bob

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        • E Offline
          Eric_J
          last edited by

          Hello Didier

          This file does not seem to work for me, and I have some questions?

          1. The file appears to be in binary format. Do I need to have it in ASCII format to use it on a Mac?
          2. On a Mac, exactly which "plugins" folder should the file be placed? I can find at least two. (Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 6/SketchUp/plugins and Applications/SketchUp.app/Contents/Plugins)
          3. The file has an ".rb" extension. Double clicking the binary file attempts to open the application RealBasic, for which I do not have a license. Do I need to purchase a license for RealBasic or would that be resolved by having the file in ASCII format?

          Many thanks in advance for any assistance.

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          • R Offline
            remus
            last edited by

            1. and 3) a .rb is really jsut a text file. You should be able to open it in any plain test editor, like notepad on windows (not sure what the mac equivalent is)

            2)Not sure about this one, im sure a more mac savy person will come along and tell you where to put it.

            http://remusrendering.wordpress.com/

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            • E Offline
              Eric_J
              last edited by

              OK, it seems to work when put into Library/Application Support.../plugins, and it seems to export properly!

              Thanks again!

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              • H Offline
                Howard leslie
                last edited by

                Didier,
                If possible, could you adjust your script so it mines down into all groups and components and converts all data in a model to *.stl ??? (or a *.sat file ???)
                Additionally, all stl objects are to retain the sketchup group and component names.
                ...........
                I know TIG has produced several very useful scripts with this mining ability that dig down into all groups and components.
                Some of his code could possibly help ???
                ............
                This would make your script so much more useful
                Anything you can do, hugely appreciated.

                Regards
                Howard L'

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                • Didier BurD Offline
                  Didier Bur
                  last edited by

                  Hi
                  I'll see what I can do. Code exists also in su2pov for instance so it is just a question of time (which is hard to find these days for me...)
                  Regards,

                  DB

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                  • C Offline
                    casey344
                    last edited by

                    First, thank you for posting the utility - getting this to work will save us so much time.

                    My STL file is not importing properly. I get the prompt to specify scale then a jumbled version of what I am importing. See image below.

                    I am using Sketchup 7.0. Any ideas what I am doing wrong?

                    Thank you.


                    Screen Snaper Image.jpg

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                    • Didier BurD Offline
                      Didier Bur
                      last edited by

                      Hi,

                      @unknownuser said:

                      I am using Sketchup 7.0. Any ideas what I am doing wrong?

                      Not at all. It can be aproblem with SU7, or a problem with the STL file. Post it here so I can check it.
                      Regards,

                      DB

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                      • C Offline
                        casey344
                        last edited by

                        Thanks for offering to help.

                        You should be able to pick it up here ...

                        Link to file:
                        https://download.yousendit.com/bVlCSXR3Mm1wTVYzZUE9PQ

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                        • Didier BurD Offline
                          Didier Bur
                          last edited by

                          AAARGGHHHH 71 Mb !
                          Downloading it now, but I guess the file is too big for SU...

                          DB

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                          • C Offline
                            casey344
                            last edited by

                            Sorry, not my doing. πŸ˜•

                            Manufacturer sent it that way.

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                            • J Offline
                              jwelin
                              last edited by

                              Thanks for the work on this plugin. I have a three questions:

                              Is there a limit to the level of nested groups/components it exports?

                              The exported STL seems to be incompatible with some applications. Rhino sees the geometry, for instance, while Magics does not. Also an SU2stl generated stl, opened in Rhino and resaved as an STL is much smaller in file size. Would you like to see examples?

                              Is there a way to call this plugin from another? I have a need to batch export.

                              John Welin
                              architectural model maker
                              Chicago, USA

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                              • Didier BurD Offline
                                Didier Bur
                                last edited by

                                Hi,

                                @unknownuser said:

                                The exported STL seems to be incompatible with some applications

                                There are several STL formats which slightly differ in their syntax. The one I have choosen to export is the most standard one, as defined here for instance:
                                http://www.gom.com/CONTAINER/files/sp_stl_en.pdf
                                or here:
                                http://mech.fsv.cvut.cz/~dr/papers/Lisbon04/node2.html
                                Maybe some applications do not support every kind of STL ?

                                @unknownuser said:

                                an SU2stl generated stl, opened in Rhino and resaved as an STL is much smaller in file size

                                I don't have Rhino, but I suppose that it saves an STL in the binary format, while my script saves it in ASCII (text), which is 8 times bigger (average). You can see the same differences between an ascii dxf and a binary dxf (dxb) for instance.

                                @unknownuser said:

                                Is there a limit to the level of nested groups

                                No. Not tested here but as a recursive method is involved, there should be no limits.
                                Components are NOT supported, groups are.

                                @unknownuser said:

                                Is there a way to call this plugin from another?

                                Unfortunately no.

                                Regards,

                                DB

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                                • thomthomT Offline
                                  thomthom
                                  last edited by

                                  @didier bur said:

                                  @unknownuser said:

                                  Is there a limit to the level of nested groups

                                  No. Not tested here but as a recursive method is involved, there should be no limits.
                                  Components are NOT supported, groups are.

                                  I found that recursive methods might cause SU to bugsplat. http://www.sketchucation.com/forums/scf/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=15585&p=120726 I had a method that looped over entities to find connected entities which used a recursive method. Had to change it to an iterative method.

                                  Thomas Thomassen β€” SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
                                  List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

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                                  • Didier BurD Offline
                                    Didier Bur
                                    last edited by

                                    @unknownuser said:

                                    I found that recursive methods might cause SU to bugsplat.

                                    Bad news 😞

                                    DB

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                                    • thomthomT Offline
                                      thomthom
                                      last edited by

                                      Mind you, it happens when you do many recursions. When crawling geometry you quickly end up with hundreds iterations. So if the script never goes that deep you're ok. But it's something to be aware of.

                                      Thomas Thomassen β€” SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
                                      List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

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                                      • N Offline
                                        NewOne
                                        last edited by

                                        When exporting STL from SolidWorks, here is an option to put all geometry in same file or to create separate file for each part. Mr. Didier Bur, could this script to be modified in a manner that allows multiple file selection and each geometry to be made group (or component if there are more identical parts) ? Or to specify a folder where stl part files are located?

                                        Thank you.

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                                        • Didier BurD Offline
                                          Didier Bur
                                          last edited by

                                          Dropped into the to-do list πŸ˜‰

                                          DB

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                                          • GaieusG Offline
                                            Gaieus
                                            last edited by

                                            bump
                                            (sorry Dider - no practical reason just testing some moderation stuff)

                                            Gai...

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