http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php Shapeways: Bring your creativity to life in 3D http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23767&th=4540#msg_23767 I am using Blender to do the UV mapping.
I can get the .wrl into mesh lab such that it shows the textures, but when I upload the same file to Shapeways (zipped of course with the images) the texture is not there. I will say that I have 2 separate closed objects that overlap. Could this be why the textures are not showing up in my 2D view?

I have gotten the texture to show up when I upload a file with just one object.]]> steeveesas 2011-02-12T23:50:25-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23777&th=4540#msg_23777 Kaetemi 2011-02-13T08:48:42-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23788&th=4540#msg_23788
How are these models done? They look to have multiple textures:
http://www.shapeways.com/tutorials/exporting_to_vrml_and_x3d _for_color_printing

Also it says:

Shapeways only supports UV textures, no other texture projections.
You can only use bitmap textures (no 'procedural' shaders').
Texture files must be in JPG or PNG format.
You can use more than one texture map on your object, but the maps are not allowed to overlap – the printer cannot figure out which texture to print in that case.The last limitation is the resolution of your texture – we recommend you keep the total resolution of your texture maps below 2048x2048 pixels. For example, if you need 4 textures, keep them all below 1024x1024 pixels.


Is it the overlap, or can you really only have one texture?]]> steeveesas 2011-02-13T18:53:40-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23789&th=4540#msg_23789
If you use multiple textures in a single connected mesh, your mesh will have multiple submaterials. Last time I tried, that wasn't supported.

Basically you need all your UV's in channel 1 with 1 single material that points to 1 single texture in UV channel space.]]> Kaetemi 2011-02-13T19:47:00-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23790&th=4540#msg_23790 stannum 2011-02-13T20:58:39-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23791&th=4540#msg_23791 steeveesas 2011-02-13T21:01:15-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23794&th=4540#msg_23794
I have spent a few hours this evening troubleshooting my problem. My model has 43 mesh objects. I have taken a stepped approach by creating VRML files which first exported just some of the objects with the materials applied. Things were working fine as I continued to add objects and upload them to shapeways. The colors were displaying correctly and I was wondering why when I uploaded my initial model it didn't work. Well as I continued adding all the objects shapeways began to confuse the materials and objects began having the wrong colors on them.

See the attached image.
In the first frame of the image things are fine. You can see I have my texture showing up on my model and also an orange material on the gloves, grey material on the arms and a red material on the glove bands.

In the next frame of the image things are still fine. I have just added shoes and legs and applied the materials.

In the next frame of the image things start going wrong. I added an eye and some spikes to the shoes. The spikes don't have a material applied. The eye had a blue material applied in blender but it shoes up as the orange material. Also now the legs and the shoe soles have become orange also.

In the next frame of the image I just added spikes (with no material applied) to the glove bands and now just about everything but the glove bands and arms are orange.

[Edit: added another frame to the image.]
In the next frame all I did from the previous frame was move the eye and the glove and foot spikes away from the rest of the model...and you can see the body now has the correct color again. But most of the items are still the wrong color. But the point is that the proximity of the objects seems to influence the color interpretation.

Can anyone explain why this is happening? Should I be doing something different in Blender to avoid this problem?]]> steeveesas 2011-02-14T00:40:03-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23798&th=4540#msg_23798 stannum 2011-02-14T03:43:07-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23806&th=4540#msg_23806
In our experience, Shapeways' unification/repair process will produce the same results as the union operator in other software.

If nothing else, your unified mesh will no longer need to be post-processed by Shapeways' repair ...

]]> kontor_apart 2011-02-14T08:48:00-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23848&th=4540#msg_23848 Additionally when I use it in Blender with my model I begin to get non-manifold errors. The boolean union doesn't result in a watertight mesh.]]> steeveesas 2011-02-15T01:47:20-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23855&th=4540#msg_23855
New design rules better cover this, because new system makes design for color different from other materials where you just keep it watertight and it works. If anybody knows a software that does mesh booleans perfectly 99.99% of times, please say so, as most software has issues sooner and later.]]> stannum 2011-02-15T03:44:43-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23857&th=4540#msg_23857
I will send this problem to service@shapeways to see what they say. In the meantime, can anyone figure out a cloogey way to get around the problem and make it work?]]> steeveesas 2011-02-15T04:07:21-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23860&th=4540#msg_23860 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=msg&th=4551&a mp;start=0&

]]> dizingof 2011-02-15T05:01:50-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23862&th=4540#msg_23862
This will take some time...I will try it tomorrow night after work. I'll let you know how it goes.]]> steeveesas 2011-02-15T05:19:26-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23864&th=4540#msg_23864 Website Update: 'Multiple Shell Merge' and other fixes "... There's just one catch: it doesn't work for color (i.e.: VRML2) models yet, but we're working on that."



]]> stop4stuff 2011-02-15T07:48:40-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23867&th=4540#msg_23867 later post.

As far as I can tell, that meshmedic thing is basically an enhanced Netfabb repair followed by a boolean union. If you cannot clean your meshes to the point that the union works in your software, chances are high that the meshmedic process fails as well.

]]> kontor_apart 2011-02-15T11:34:57-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23870&th=4540#msg_23870
Since the union is apparently only needed in order to get a correct volume calculation, couldn't Shapeways do it just for this purpose (ignoring the UV maps), and keep the original mesh (or repaired mesh, if the original isn't manifold) for printing?]]> GHP 2011-02-15T12:50:35-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23872&th=4540#msg_23872
I analysed your model and I believe that you're the first to run into a limitation of our renderer: we're currently limited to displaying 16 different materials on an object. During VRML importing, our (Blender) script collects the separate parts and joins them together.

I believe that during the collection of separate parts, it will create new materials for each one - even if they are the same as previously defined materials. The later version of your model (with the spikes) has 43 separate objects.

Could you mail me the original .blend file so I can run a few tests on that and verify my theory? I'll try to pre-join similar parts in Blender before exporting them (like joining the arm parts together, and join the shoe parts together). I'll make sure I don't have more than 16 parts, and check if the upload succeeds in this case.

This is a bit if a kludge, I know. The renderer is on our todo list, so I'll add a note about this problem.

Bart]]> bartv 2011-02-15T13:54:44-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23873&th=4540#msg_23873
I just uploaded test #3 another full color test model with accurate intact textures.

The best solution so far that i came up during all the "research" that i've been doing lately with full color printing, exporting/importing back and forth using many 3d software tools and which unfortunately shapeways software doesn't recognize - is a very cool utility which was written by am Italian student that basically "bakes" the textures into the model.

The end result is a single wrl file with NO textures.
Meaning.. no textures/parts mess which is perfect for every one not just newbies.

Again unfortunately only Cortona3D viewer for Firefox can display this file... other tools including meshlab 1.3.0b don't.


But beside all that... shapeways has ignored too many requests on the forum by practically anyone about that wax coating that kills the white color and subsequently dims all other colors.


I sent another color model to print with a request to CS not to coat it with wax - hopefully it will arrive with vivid colors.
I will coat it myself with a simple clear epoxy quick-dry spray.
This worked great before.

I will share results when it arrive.










]]> dizingof 2011-02-15T14:07:02-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23874&th=4540#msg_23874
I will also try to join the parts of my model which have the same materials to see if that works like you suggested.

Expect the file later on tonight, I don't have access to the file at the moment.

I appreciate the help.

Steve]]> steeveesas 2011-02-15T14:16:19-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23876&th=4540#msg_23876 bart@shapeways.com. That's hardly a secret address

@dizingof: our production team is aware of the issues with the infusion. It's difficult to control. The thing is though, if we *don't* infuse the models they're a lot more brittle and will sometimes not survive shipping..

Bart]]> bartv 2011-02-15T14:26:46-00:00 http://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=rview&goto=23896&th=4540#msg_23896
First color print for me...and very satisfied with the results. This was just a trial, and I was dissapointed at first when following the directions things weren't working out and it seemed hopeless without tons of work.

bartv - you are a man that knows his software! I bet it's like you said. I did what you suggested and joined the parts that were going to share the same materials anyhow. Once I did that things uploaded perfectly!

So now I know how to go back and color some of my other models.

Here are a few pics of the uploads I did with a few color variants.

@bartv: do you still want me to send you my .blend file? I will do so if you like, but if you are satisfied based on this post then there's no reason...

Does this mean that for color printing 17 objects (16 joins) is the max before colors become mixed?

]]> steeveesas 2011-02-16T00:35:28-00:00