stl file into a solid?

[Chrisselfstarter]

hello was wanting to know if anybody knows a way to make a stl file a solid ? once I verify my part the only way I know how to save the verified part is as a Stl file , and then I can import it into solid works witch is fine but from there I cant do anything with it , I cant save it from solid works and then import it back into mastercam ,because theres no geometry on a stl file

What im trying to do is find a way to get the verified part from my first operation as a solid to my second operation for accuracy

any imfo would be helpful

chris

[Thee Rickster ™]

Hi Chris, welcome to the forum.

 

What version of Mastercam are you using?

[Mgrenier]

If you have access to V9, there was a chook that could take stl files and convert them to surfaces but it has not been there in the X version or later.

[djstedman]

There really is no way to do what your trying do .. at least not the way your trying to do it.. It would be amazing if Mastercam would in fact save a verified part as a solid.. but unfortunately it will not.. the stl file format is pretty useless in that its a mesh.. not an actual solid model.

 

You could save the STL file from verify and then bring it into your op20 file.. and then align it to your op20 operation.. or alternatively ..

 

You could in fact use different WCS so that you could make your final stock model from your first op be the stock for your second op.. or for that matter skip stock models altogether and just run verify on the first toolpath group.. (op10) then the second toolpath group(op20)

 

Im sure there has to be a thread on here somewhere about how to do it.. but basically you make multiple operations in one file .. and modify your wcs so that its correct for each toolpath group.. then you can use op10 to make the stock for op20 exactly like it is in the machine..

Edited April 14, 2014 by djstedman

[Guess_who]

There are a few softwares out there that say they can convert STL's into solid, but we've tried a few and had little success with complicated STL's. But simple STL's work OK

 

The few we've tried are, Vericut, Spaceclaim, and currently we are trying Syscode.

[Chrisselfstarter]

Thanks guys

[gaijin_2007]

The few we've tried are, Vericut, Spaceclaim, and currently we are trying Syscode.

 

I would also say to try to PowerSHAPE, they appear to have a nice mix of solid, surface and triangle mesh (stl) tools.

I found some videos on this page that look interesting http://www.delcam.tv/ps2014/LZ/EN/whats-new-r2.html

[Tyler Robertson]

is this for rest machining or checking accuracy in the verify? For what it sounds like you're trying to do a solid shouldn't be necessary. you can also use Stock model which can be generated from an stl file.

 

Here's the bacon of the salad:an STL just doesn't have the same data as a solid. Once you make an STL - to get it back into a solid takes a lot of 'decision making' on how to treat features. STL files don't have arcs, splines etc. it's made of lots of polygons (triangles) so a software has to essentially convert those all to faces of a solid, and given solids have faces, volume, edges, midpoints of edges, etc. there's a lot of decision making that any sort of converter would have to do. with a complicated STl file it will most likely ife with problems and take a long time to convert.

 

so why do people even use them?? Because any cad model can be degraded into an STL, and they're easier to use when it comes to rendering because the data in them is essentially the same throughout; you have vertexes and vertices. If a verification was cutting a 'true solid', the processing required would be astronomical. Also, every CAD /CAM /metrology etc. system under the sun can use them.

 

STLs are essentially the lowest common denominator CAD file you can get. You will have to watch with some software because they will say things like "automatically convert an STL to a SOLID" and by automatic, they mean "individually select areas that you want to turn into solid faces". Or they will turn the STL into a solid that doesn't contain accurate original data, or is simply unusable for machining

[MichaelH]

Found this tread very interesting, I find stl's a right ball ache. I do use stl at each stage for verification and it works great, but where it lets me down is in process sheets. OP1 for instance can have 1mm left on 1 edge and other features not machined, so main drawing becomes redundant. How easy would it be to use the OP1 stl to dimension and create a stage drawing but to no avail. The closest I got to was have my mastercam file run through vericut and save stock as step, stl dumped. But I do not have vericut and cannot kep asking for step files from a third party. Process sheets are a basic engineering requirement so why don't mastercam help and sort it!

[crazy^millman]

5 hours ago, MichaelH said:

Found this tread very interesting, I find stl's a right ball ache. I do use stl at each stage for verification and it works great, but where it lets me down is in process sheets. OP1 for instance can have 1mm left on 1 edge and other features not machined, so main drawing becomes redundant. How easy would it be to use the OP1 stl to dimension and create a stage drawing but to no avail. The closest I got to was have my mastercam file run through vericut and save stock as step, stl dumped. But I do not have vericut and cannot kep asking for step files from a third party. Process sheets are a basic engineering requirement so why don't mastercam help and sort it!

Really not in its wheel house and rightfully so since STL, Tessellation and any other ways someone want to call it is just that a skeleton of the real thing. There are tools to use if someone know the tools are there like Verisurf Reverse to take a STL and fit Geometric shapes to. Not free form geometry and organic surfaces, but I am talking about Planes, Circles, Spheres, Cones and etc... They are not at the point I think of taking a shape and fitting all the Geometric shapes to it automatically like other software's make the claim to do. It does take some work, but we did a job a couple months ago where we were given STL models from a different CAM for roughed shapes and then asked to machine them. We used the Verisurf reverse tools to do what I just mentioned to get a good idea. We also used the Stock model process using the original STL's to start machining from. Was it as easy as solid no, but that is the job and where the programmer has to use what that have to make what they have work. I have made landing gear parts in the past. I took the time and made a solid of the part in each machining operation. I took the toolpaths and backplotted them to give me where the tools were cutting on the part. I then did the time consuming task of making the solid for each operation that was exactly what we were machining. I had 40 hours in that work, but it was a 7 year program so that work upfront paid for itself 100 fold in reduced air cuts and efficient toolpaths.

The addition of the Model Prep tools should really aid any programmer here. I will take a finished part and dumb it down and make solids of my finished per operation part. That time is time well spent if I have to do exactly what was mentioned to make setup sheets per operation and want to have a good reference back to a solid to represent what I am doing. It is also good since I can program right to that shape and then compare the verify back to it.

STL to SOLID can be done with technology that is out there today. Is Mastercam a CAM Software the best choice no it is not. Mastercam with Verisurf Reverse added to it is a better choice. Do the research and see what STL is really about and the engines that drive and use this technology. It is only one part of the puzzle and there are other ways and processes to accomplish what a programmer is after it really comes down to how much work does a programmer want to do and how much does the programmer expect the software to do. Everyone wants the easy button one click feed a model in and 5 minutes later out come the complete NC program, Tool List, Setup sheet, Fixture design and etc... A company needs to make a plate with 4 holes in it then plenty of software can do that. The company can 3D print or Laser sinter that today just don't ask for good threads or good finishes. A company needs to machine a .08" thick all over part with over 3K surfaces and .03 Fillets out of Ti or Inconel that takes what it takes.

[SpacePilotPro]

I practically begged Mastercam to get rid of the crappy STLs in favour of some nice STEP files that can actually be useful. I used Edgecam about 10 years ago, and that software generated all stock models as STEP files that could be saved and altered.

[crazy^millman]

32 minutes ago, SpacePilotPro said:

I practically begged Mastercam to get rid of the crappy STLs in favour of some nice STEP files that can actually be useful. I used Edgecam about 10 years ago, and that software generated all stock models as STEP files that could be saved and altered.

File sizes might get insanely huge, but do see the merits for it.

We did a 10gb file for a customer with over 2000 operations over 10 different Mastercam files. I would say 5gb of that was just stock models.

[Jeff2005]

I have the software and capability to make a solid from an STL file.  Depending on how clean the the STL is.  How large and complex is your STL?  I have GEOMAGIC WRAP & Geomagic design X, and spaceclaim.  If the file isn't too complex I would be glad to take a look at it, if you like.

 

 

Thanks,

Jeff