Standalone

Discussion in 'Suggestions & Feedback' started by swellguy3, Nov 28, 2016.

  1. swellguy3
    swellguy3 Member
    I've been using Shapeways for years, and the largest issue I face is upload time.
    Because my models are complicated and multifaceted I end up spending hours just waiting for confirmations and the internal checks.

    I was wondering if Shapeways has a desktop application that performs the same functions as the checks on the site- but is faster because it skips uploading to your servers etc. Just a way to check everything offline before uploading.

    If not is there a 3rd party app that does?

    If not you guys should consider making that.
    It wouldn't be too difficult as its the exact thing already built into the site.
     
  2. stonysmith
    stonysmith Well-Known Member Moderator
    No. There are several issues.

    First, a minor issue is that a lot of the code they use is PHP - PHP doesn't work great for desktop applications - a desktop application would have to be completely re-written in some other language.

    Second, You would have to buy NetfabbPro and add the Shapeways customizations to it, turning it into MeshMedic. Shapeways does not have the rights to distribute NetfabbPro to you, so it would be a separate cost and separate installation. NetfabbPro is quite expensive for commercial use.

    Then, you'd have to have direct interaction with the databases and the whole CloudFlare structure, aka the message "It will take some time for your changes to propagate". That is not going to happen. That part must stay under control of code that Shapeways maintains.

    Another good bit of time is spent on the 3dTools checks. My personal opinion is that this is one area where Shapeways could significantly improve processing time - allow a shopowner to set a "default" material in their shop, and process that material first, rather than the sequence of all 41 materials they currently use.

    Lastly, even if they did create a desktop application, there is the issue that materials are constantly being added, and the material guidelines are tweaked quite often. There would have to be some way to keep your desktop installation constantly updated with the most recent materials and rules. You could create a situation where you checked the rules with an older version that is no longer applicable, and the rules would have to be re-checked on upload anyway.. causing a doubling of the time it takes to upload.
     
  3. crnm
    crnm Well-Known Member
    Unfortunately, it is not quite as simple as it sounds to build such an application.

    The constraint is not upload time (data transfer). The main factors at play are complexity of the model and current processing pipeline load. When you upload a model to Shapeways, your model runs through multiple services that perform a variety of calculations, automatic fixes, visualizations, renders, etc. To get all of these pieces into a desktop app would be extremely difficult and would be very slow on the average consumer hardware.

    While it makes logical sense that processing all of the materials at once would be a lot slower than processing just one, this is actually not the case. Most of the compute time on printability checking is spent generating data for the checks, not the checks themselves. A good example is wall thickness. It is more computationally intensive to calculate the thickness of every wall in the model than it is to verify that the thicknesses calculated fit within the range for that material.

    We definitely hear the feedback about processing time. It is clear to us that faster processing equates to maker happiness. Having better integrations with the maker workflow is another thing that we're actively thinking about with our API. As we progress further on that front, hopefully you will be able to press a button in your model editing program of choice and it will automatically send us your model, run it through our pipeline, and send back a yes/no on printability, a price estimate and a buy button.
     
    Last edited: Nov 29, 2016
  4. stonysmith
    stonysmith Well-Known Member Moderator
    I was commenting on the fact that FUD/FXD seem to always be the last materials to finish their checks.. and they are my primary materials. It does make sense that you'd compute all the wall thicknesses one time.

    But I would like to see if anything could be done to speed up FUD <grin>
     
  5. crnm
    crnm Well-Known Member
    The last materials to finish require the most data and checks to assess printability. FUD would be slower than WSF as there are more processes and checks that need to be run. FUD and FXD are our most high definition materials.

    In cases where we have a result for WSF but not FUD, we have already completed many checks on FUD, but we're waiting on the data needed for the extra checks that FUD has over WSF.

    To sum it up: we tell you which materials are printable as soon as we know, there is no significant bias on which order they are processed other than the duration and complexity of the checks that need to be run.

    That being said, we're constantly looking for ways to speed up our processing speeds.
     
    Last edited: Nov 29, 2016