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[warspite]

 , I 'play' with CAD both professionally and at home, 2D cad at work usually means I delve into 3D solid CAD at home to do what I call visualisations of equipment that are being purchased by clients and how they look in there rooms / spaces etc.

As some of you have read recently, I have attempted to create Kerrsy's cormorant, though it looks reasonable good its got a few internal voids created when one solid does not merge with another as expected - due to haste some of the feathers were not made 0.5mm wider than most of the others so hence the voids when a merge is done, though they are only about 0.05mm wide there are a few, in Autocad 2014 which I am using, there does not appear to be a way of deleting them other than creating a shape that basically wipes out the void, these voids are only apparent in the wire view, and other than having another go at merging them so they are all inside each other, that's my only other option.

The main problem is not the voids but the file formats in export, I can save in 3 different AutoCAD formats and 3 different DXF formats (all year related), but I am perplexed with the exporting, stl (lithography) appears to just create a certificate, 3dxf appears to create a pdf view, and iges - well its any bodies guess.

Just as a way of giving Kerrsy a file he can pass on, is there any suggestions other than that of the file format - dwgs (by the way I supplied all 4 formats dwg, stl, 3dxf & iges to kerrsy).

[JimG]

.stl files are normally used for 3D printing but if you don't have 3D print software or Sketchup they appear to Windows as a certificate file. A good program to check for gaps in the stl file is netfabb which will repair faults. You will want the free version as the pay version is rather expensive or you can use their online service.

Jim

[grendel]

I used an android stl viewer app to look at my CAD 3d created stl files. that seemed to work.
Grendel

[warspite]

so even though it looks like a certificate, it is an actual stl file?

[essex2visuvesi]

I'm not at my main comp at the moment but I opened the file you sent me on here http://www.viewstl.com/ and it seems OK as long as the outer "shell" is complete then the internal voids are not an issue as the 3d printer software will generate its own "filling"


checking the file on http://www.willit3dprint.com/ shows that it should print but a couple of the feathers it's not sure about (5th and 6th feather on the underside of the left wing.


I'll run off a low quality print tomorrow when I'm back home.

[warspite]

that'll be Mr Kerrsy sending the file  , sorry about the quality but its a first attempt at doing a multicurved object, usually its panels and folded steel we draw, the closest to this would be augers on a compactor or as complex as a reverse jet filter or even the front face of a cash sorting machine.

[carlmt]

Another method I use to 'test' 3D work for printing is to upload the stl file to Shapeways and let them run their 'tests' on it.  Once done, the screen will show if and where there may be problems printing in the various materials they offer.
 
I think you may need to set up an account with them before doing this, but it is free and the 'test' of the part is free and quick. It will also give you a price to produce the part in each of the different materials.
 
I do it this way a lot when designing the fittings for the ferries.