{"id":29453,"date":"2017-02-20T18:33:06","date_gmt":"2017-02-20T23:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/?p=29453"},"modified":"2022-08-15T17:05:22","modified_gmt":"2022-08-15T21:05:22","slug":"tutorial-tuesday-5-quick-fixes-with-meshlab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tutorial-tuesday-5-quick-fixes-with-meshlab","title":{"rendered":"Tutorial Tuesday 5: Quick Fixes With MeshLab"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to Tutorial Tuesday! This week we\u2019ll discuss three methods for modifying 3D meshes with the free software MeshLab<\/a>. When you export a 3D file to STL format, what you\u2019re doing is creating a file that describes the surface of an object with a mesh of tiny triangles. Sometimes there are problems with that mesh that cause printability issues, and MeshLab can help you fix most of those issues to make your files ready for printing.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll focus on the top three issues that can arise with meshes: having too many triangles (too fine a mesh), having triangles that are oriented incorrectly or inconsistently, and having triangles that intersect with bad geometry. MeshLab has a dizzying array of menu items with long names, but if you know just which ones to choose then you can repair these three types of issues very quickly. Let us know in the comments if you have other mesh-repair techniques to share!<\/p>\n

Reducing Triangle Count <\/b><\/h3>\n

Shapeways can accept 3D models with up to one million triangles<\/a>, but it\u2019s surprisingly easy to go over that threshold, especially if you\u2019re working with 3D scans or a sculpting program. To reduce the overall number of triangles in your model, open the model in MeshLab and from the Filters menu select \u201cRemeshing, Simplification, and Reconstruction\u201d and then \u201cSimplification: Quadric Edge Collapse Decimation.\u201d For more detailed information, see the Shapeways Tutorial Polygon Reduction with MeshLab<\/a> as well as Mister P.<\/a>\u2019s video Mesh Processing: Decimation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"meshlab-QECD\"<\/a><\/p>\n

P. S. to MeshLab veterans: Good news! MeshLab updated to a long-awaited new version in late 2016<\/a>, and in the new version you can perform \u201cQECD\u201d multiple times in a row without crashing the program! There\u2019s still no \u201cundo\u201d in MeshLab though, alas. :\/<\/p>\n

Orienting Normals<\/b><\/h3>\n

If some of your model appears \u201cinside out\u201d (like the black area in the image below), then you should select and flip any reversed normals using the method outlined in the recipe Using MeshLab for fixing normals<\/a> in the 3D Printing with RepRap Cookbook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"meshlab-normals\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Or, try a quick overall fix in MeshLab by selecting \u201cNormals, Curvature, and Orientation\u201d from the Filters menu, then choosing the \u201cRe-orient all faces coherently\u201d tool.<\/p>\n

Removing Non-Manifold Edges<\/b><\/h3>\n

If the mesh of your model has faces that meet together in geometrically unpleasant ways, then you\u2019ll need to repair it before 3D printing<\/a>; see the Shapeways article Fixing Non-Manifold Models<\/a>. \u201cNon-manifold\u201d edges and vertices look those like the ones shown below from Martin S\u00e4lzle at PCL Developer’s Blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"meshlab-non_manifold\"<\/a><\/p>\n

You can identify and select non-manifold elements from the Filter\/Selection menu in MeshLab; look at the bottom of the view window for a count of the number of bad faces. To repair any bad geometry, use the method from the MakerHome article Shrinking and Remeshing the Fidget Cube<\/a>: from the Filters menu, choose \u201cCleaning and Repairing\u201d, and then try some combination of the tools \u201cRemove Duplicate Faces\u201d, \u201cRemove Duplicated Vertex\u201d, \u201cRemove Faces From Non Manifold Edges\u201d, and\/or \u201cRemove T-Vertices by Edge Flip\u201d.<\/p>\n

What are your favorite fast fixes for repairing and simplifying meshes? Let us know in the comments so we can all learn how to handle mesh problems quickly and get back to designing and creating!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to Tutorial Tuesday! This week we\u2019ll discuss three methods for modifying 3D meshes with the free software MeshLab. When…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105,"featured_media":29456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[489],"tags":[557,963,521,508,494,482,1619,1576,1592,479],"class_list":["post-29453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-products-and-design","tag-3d-modeling","tag-3d-scanning","tag-47-design-apps","tag-33-education","tag-18-how-to","tag-6-inspiration","tag-mesh-fixes","tag-meshlab","tag-tutorial-tuesday","tag-3-tutorials"],"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/meshlab-QECD-625x350.jpg","yoast_head":"\nTutorial Tuesday 5: Quick Fixes With MeshLab - Shapeways Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Welcome to Tutorial Tuesday! 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