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    Importing .stl files

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    • W Offline
      watkins
      last edited by

      Dear All,

      Many thanks for all the replies.

      Regards,
      Bob

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      • Didier BurD Offline
        Didier Bur
        last edited by

        An importer could be quite easy to write (I remember an old Autolisp routine of mine some years ago...). The problem could be the exact format of the STL input: there are binary and ascii formats and within these two kinds of files, sometimes keywords may vary, and scientific notations as well. I used some of these for rapid prototyping and this was (sometimes) a nightmare...
        Please post an sample STL file so I can take a look at it. πŸŽ‰

        DB

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        • GaieusG Offline
          Gaieus
          last edited by

          Post it zippedas the forum may (not may but does) notallow that format.

          Gai...

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          • Didier BurD Offline
            Didier Bur
            last edited by

            I have published an import STL script here:
            http://www.sketchucation.com/forums/scf/viewtopic.php?f=153&t=8081
            It's added to the previous su2stl.rb script.
            Plugins menu -> Export STL file / Import STL file
            There are 2 samples for tests in the zip archive.
            Supported format is the most common STL ascii format.
            Regards,

            DB

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            • W Offline
              watkins
              last edited by

              Dear Didier,

              Thank you so much for all your hard work. I am always amazed by how quickly a request becomes a reality. I will let you know how I get on with the new script.

              Once again, many thanks,
              Bob

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              • W Offline
                watkins
                last edited by

                Dear Didier,

                Just a quick follow up on my previous post.

                I created a Sketchup model of simple machined/punched shapes (see the attached file), exported the model as a .stl file, then imported back into Sketchup using your new import option. Apart from some minor cleaning up it worked very well. I used the Delete Coplanar Edges script to remove a lot of the redundant lines and then the erase tool to remove the remaining lines. Interestingly, the through circular hole needed re-cutting, while the elliptical hole was just fine. Ah! The mysteries of life!

                Once again, thanks.

                Regards,
                Bob


                Test_piece.skp

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                • Didier BurD Offline
                  Didier Bur
                  last edited by

                  Hi Watkins,
                  Redundant lines you mention are due to the STL format which only contains triangles (as you probably know) and the re-cutting on some holes are sometimes due to decimal precision (10 e-14 in SU) and in some cases that is not even sufficient. I've encountered from time to time an error message from SU: "Points are not planar" when reconstructing a model from a STL file with this script. Go figure... This is rather stupid because 3 points are always coplanar.
                  Regards,

                  DB

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                  • W Offline
                    watkins
                    last edited by

                    Dear Didier,

                    Yes, I knew about the redundant lines issue, but the glich with precision was new. I'm sure this will become a very useful script. I have asked a colleague of mine to create a 3D model in AutoCAD's Mechanical Desktop, and then to export to as a .stl file. I will let you know the results.

                    Thanks again,
                    Bob

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                    • C Offline
                      cdubea
                      last edited by

                      In any event, thank you for providing this. Hopefully it's better than the method I was using to get SolidWorks models into Sketchup. I'll test is later today and report back.

                      chris

                      http:www.dubea.orgchris_small.jpg

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                      • W Offline
                        watkins
                        last edited by

                        Dear Chris,

                        Let me know how you get on. I use Inventor myself, and would really like an .iges export option for Sketchup. I like to mass model in Sketchup because it is so quick and easy (creative juices and all that).

                        I recently tried importing a Swagelok coupling as a .dwf file (downloaded from the web) and it sort of worked (needed a lot of cleaning up, and the remaking of faces).

                        Regards,
                        Bob

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                        • C Offline
                          cdubea
                          last edited by

                          @watkins said:

                          Dear Chris,

                          Let me know how you get on. I use Inventor myself, and would really like an .iges export option for Sketchup. I like to mass model in Sketchup because it is so quick and easy (creative juices and all that).

                          I recently tried importing a Swagelok coupling as a .dwf file (downloaded from the web) and it sort of worked (needed a lot of cleaning up, and the remaking of faces).

                          Regards,
                          Bob

                          I really didn't have much success. Attached is a zip file with a 3d pdf of the part I exported from SolidWorks, the .stl file and the resulting Sketchup file.

                          You can see the results leave something to be desired.

                          Thanks

                          chris


                          RMH.zip

                          http:www.dubea.orgchris_small.jpg

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                          • W Offline
                            watkins
                            last edited by

                            Dear Chris,

                            As you say, disappointing.

                            Did you see the link to SpaceClaim posted a few days ago?

                            http://www.spaceclaim.com/

                            Regards,
                            Bob

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                            • C Offline
                              cdubea
                              last edited by

                              @watkins said:

                              Dear Chris,

                              As you say, disappointing.

                              Did you see the link to SpaceClaim posted a few days ago?

                              http://www.spaceclaim.com/

                              Regards,
                              Bob

                              I'm familiar with SpaceClaim. Michael Payne was one of the architects of SolidWorks many years ago and left when Dassault Systemes bought SolidWorks. I've been involved with SolidWorks since '96.

                              The pricing on the LT version is very reasonable. If I'm not mistaken, the pro version is done on a perpetual lease basis. It's a nominal fee up front with an annual fee to use the software.

                              http:www.dubea.orgchris_small.jpg

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                              • W Offline
                                watkins
                                last edited by

                                Dear Chris,

                                Thanks for the additional information. I will request a quote for the LT version and consider using it as a mechanical design alternative to Sketchup. I will check to see if SpaceClaim LT will export .sat, .stp and .igs formatted files.

                                Regards,
                                Bob

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                                • Didier BurD Offline
                                  Didier Bur
                                  last edited by

                                  Hi cdubea,

                                  with rmh.skp, I got the following message in the console:
                                  Error: #<ArgumentError: Not enough points - at least 3 required>
                                  If you open the stl file in a text editor, you'll see that coordinates are given in scientific notation (vertex 4.613638e+000 2.150841e+000 7.951958e-002 for instance). That doesn't disturb Ruby, but values are very small, this may be the problem (with SU autosnap feature I guess).
                                  An intersting test would be to scale your original model by 1000 or 10000, re-export the stl and see what's happening then when importing in SU.
                                  Regards,

                                  DB

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                                  • C Offline
                                    cdubea
                                    last edited by

                                    @didier bur said:

                                    Hi cdubea,

                                    with rmh.skp, I got the following message in the console:
                                    Error: #<ArgumentError: Not enough points - at least 3 required>
                                    If you open the stl file in a text editor, you'll see that coordinates are given in scientific notation (vertex 4.613638e+000 2.150841e+000 7.951958e-002 for instance). That doesn't disturb Ruby, but values are very small, this may be the problem (with SU autosnap feature I guess).
                                    An interesting test would be to scale your original model by 1000 or 10000, re-export the stl and see what's happening then when importing in SU.
                                    Regards,

                                    No problem. I'll give it a try and report back.

                                    chris

                                    http:www.dubea.orgchris_small.jpg

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                                    • C Offline
                                      cdubea
                                      last edited by

                                      @didier bur said:

                                      Hi cdubea,

                                      with rmh.skp, I got the following message in the console:
                                      Error: #<ArgumentError: Not enough points - at least 3 required>
                                      If you open the stl file in a text editor, you'll see that coordinates are given in scientific notation (vertex 4.613638e+000 2.150841e+000 7.951958e-002 for instance). That doesn't disturb Ruby, but values are very small, this may be the problem (with SU autosnap feature I guess).
                                      An intersting test would be to scale your original model by 1000 or 10000, re-export the stl and see what's happening then when importing in SU.
                                      Regards,

                                      Looks much better.

                                      Thanks for making this available.


                                      Wire Mold.zip

                                      http:www.dubea.orgchris_small.jpg

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                                      • S Offline
                                        sorgesu
                                        last edited by

                                        Didier,

                                        I was so happy to find this script for IMPORTING STL and provide it to one of my students who was desperate. She told me I was a "Goddess". I confer it back on to you, you are a God.
                                        However, I lost my status fast. The script worked as a far as asking for a unit of measure, and then it proceeded to do nothing. It didn't even seem to try and provided no error message.
                                        I've attached the files which she sent to me.
                                        Can you help?
                                        Many thanks.


                                        PowerPlant-AllParts.zip


                                        PowerPlant-ExteriorComponents.zip

                                        Susan Sorger
                                        Former Seller Hand Rendered Entourage
                                        Former Canadian Authorized Training Centre, SketchUp

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                                        • Didier BurD Offline
                                          Didier Bur
                                          last edited by

                                          Hi Susan,
                                          Your STL files are BINARY, and su2stl can only read ASCII.
                                          Get an ascii version of these files and it will work !
                                          Almost all exporters that I know (Autocad, etc) can export ascii stl files.

                                          I've translated your binaries into ascii with stl_util which can be downloaded here:
                                          http://www.ptcuser.org/rugs/U52/downloads/index.html (works also on XP,Vista...)
                                          See attached ZIP
                                          Regards (and don't loose your status πŸ˜‰ )

                                          P.S. Reading ascii files can be long. I've updated the script so it now displays the number of triangles processed and the total number to convert.


                                          In the Zip you'll find the 2 ascii versions of your STL and the 2 corresponding SKP


                                          Replaces old version. Put it in Plugins folder.

                                          DB

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                                          • S Offline
                                            sorgesu
                                            last edited by

                                            You are not just a God, you are top God. Zeus or something like that.
                                            Thanks Didier!!!!!

                                            Susan Sorger
                                            Former Seller Hand Rendered Entourage
                                            Former Canadian Authorized Training Centre, SketchUp

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