I'm using Solidworks and it won't let me import a large STL file as anything other than graphics only (it has a limit of 20k facets). Its a surface model and I need to bulk it out to make it real for manufacture. The graphics designers can't do anything other than STL it seems 🙁
Does anyone have the ability to read in a 5.2Mb STL and export a useable surface?
Send it to me if you like, email in profile - not promising but should be able to do it
Clobber -ygm
yeah mail me at work leigh.thompsett@elekta.com
goby - ygm too
depends what you want the 'surface' to do.
an STL is little better than a point cloud, it's just that the points have been joined up to make (thousands/millions) of triangles.
(i'm told by machining people that) you can't use an STL for programming machine moves, it's needs converting to a NURBS/IGES.
a simple 'open-and-save-as' conversion can often give a valid file, but it's fraught with problems and short-cuts.
i sometimes get asked to convert an STL 'scan' to an IGES model that A) has adequate dimensional reproduction, and B) our CAD-CAM programmers are happy to use.
it's not difficult, but it's not easy either...
Hopefully goby or ahwiles can help, my software isn't up to the job...
This is something I have to do reasonably often, and basically it's a pain. Pretty much as awhiles said, an stl is basically dumb geometry information whereas CAD is looking for something with meaning (nurbs). We use Geomagic, which these days is effectively a mini CAD software package designed for handling point clouds and meshes and turning them into lines, curves, surfaces etc. Not cheap though.
What is the geometry OP? Are you talking lots of planes or complex curvy surfaces? And what sort of manufacture?
Email in profile, I'll happily have a look at it.
Thanks all,
turns out Solidworks 2015 can import larger STL files, a colleague who has it imported and exported the STEP and IGES versions whcih I've got into SW 2014 (as thats what I use)
Now need to tidy it up and make it useable...