I loaded some files from sketch up anf they look great but in the 360 view the top details are missing. will the print look like that or like my original design? these are 15mm scifi buildings under my account. thanks for any help. scotty
Hi Scotty, welcome to Shapeways! Your model is well built, but there are a few interior edges that need to be erased before its "Solid" (aka "manifold"). You can see these easily by using the Section Plane tool in Sketchup to look inside the model. I've attached a picture of the faces that need to be erased. They're painted red so you can see them easily. If that doesn't fix the problem, try exporting the file to STL with this plugin: SKP2STL. Some errors are caused by uploading DAE files to Shapeways. Hope that helps!
ok, based on what i think you are talking about i did a new model from scratch. this is my first day in 3d modeling so i am sure i suck at it. take a look at my new one please and see if im on the right track. Scotty
Looks good now. One question what size is it supposed to be? The reason I ask is. I opened your original files in Meshlab, exported them as STL. Opened them in Netfabb. The first file needed repairing the second file is OK. The size it gives your model is 2.75 x 2.74 x 1.13.All sizes in mm. I don't think this is what you require. If it is inches you require just multiply by 25.4. which will give you 69.8 x 69.57 x 28.6 mm. Is that the size you wanted? The problem you have then is your wall thickness is now as can be seen, and your volume is 28.05 cubic cm. Very expensive. I would try to keep your walls to a minimum, try to use mm as you design.
it should be about 70mm across. what if i make the walls as individual pieces? more like a kit than a whole structure? scotty
Hi Scotty The 70mm size is right then. I usually make everything as a solid then use a 'shell' command to create the wall thickness at the same time deleting the bottom face. That is in Autocad. As for Sketchup. I'm not to sure, I have it but don't use it. Give a shout out for any sketchup users or try http://sketchucation.com/ But remember, seeing you are new, work in mm, it is a lot easier once you get used to it.
i want to use this as a master to cast resin copies in an RTV mold. Is it easier to cut as one solid piece? i will look into the shell thingy. thanks brother.
It all depends on how much you want to pay. Shapeways charges by the cm3 so a piece that is solid would be many times more expensive than one with a thin wall. It does not matter to the 'printer' how thick the model is. Have a read on these, it will make more sense of it all then. https://www.shapeways.com/tutorials/
ok check this one out. it says it is the right 7cm size on the page. I thinned the walls down. the plugin for the shell wouldnt open. Scotty
According to Netfabb they both want repairing. Get your self a copy of Meshlab http://meshlab.sourceforge.net/ and Netfabb http://www.netfabb.com/basic.php Meshlab will open DAE files. There are a number of filters you can apply to your mesh. Netfabb will open STL files. There you can check, scale and repair your model. Once you have opened your DAE file in Meshlab. Export mesh as STL. One problem when you open your STL in Netfabb it may need scaling by 25.4. From there you can repair your file and check the wall thickness. Don't forget once you have repaired or scaled your model you will have to Export 'part' as STL. It may require you to repair it again. If it does not repair it click on ignore, save file as STL and upload it to http://cloud.netfabb.com/ They may be able to repair it.