"Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:
> So after you have generated your STL files, have you tried editing them to see
> how that works out?
> Repaired / retriangulated the mesh?
>
> Also, I have an STL file that I need to edit (enlarge a USB connector hole) - do
> you have any recommendations for a good STL editor (free).
>

The only appropriate app I have at present is the free Meshmixer by Autodesk. It
has lots of mesh-repair tools for .stl files and other kinds of meshes, but I
have not yet learned how to use many of those features. And it can re-export the
file as .stl again. It hasn't been updated since 2021(?) but is still available.
There are a lot of instructional websites and videos out there for newbies; I
need to take a look myself.

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On 11.04.2024 20:05, Bald Eagle wrote:

> Also, I have an STL file that I need to edit (enlarge a USB connector hole) - do
> you have any recommendations for a good STL editor (free).

Simplest way for Windows seem to be 3D Builder from Microsoft Store - it 
does complain about some stl files and promises to fix them. 
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be forced to say the reason for 
complains, neither it does seem to export text stl, only binary one, 
which I cannot understand, so I can't understand what happened.

So I'm also rather interested in seeing some stl validator/fixer, 
preferrably small, and verbose enough for me to understand what's going on.

-- 
Ilyich the Toad
https://dnyarri.github.io/

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"Tor Olav Kristensen" <tor### [at] TOBEREMOVEDgmailcom> wrote:

> Have look here:
> https://www.geeetech.com/blog/tutorials/5-free-stl-editors-how-to-edit-stl-files/


Thanks TOR and Kenneth - I tried Meshmixer, and other than being a bit fussy and
non-intuitive, I think I managed to get it to work.

We'll see what the guy with the 3D printer says.  ;)

- BW

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"Kenneth" <kdw### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> [importing the .stl file into CURA, and printing the final model]
>
> The attached image shows the final result: the .stl file brought into my
> printer's software (Ultimaker CURA) then printed with medium-quality settings
> and a standard 0.4mm print nozzle.

Hi Kenneth,

I don't have much to say since I never got into 3D printing, but that final
result looks very good! It's amazing you can take something modeled in POV-Ray
and print it into the real world like that.

Have you tried using gyroid infills? Some people really like them.

Sam

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Possibly of interest to you:

https://www.martinjules.com/projects/single-project?id=5

- BW

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"Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:
> Possibly of interest to you:
>
> https://www.martinjules.com/projects/single-project?id=5
>

He apparently succeeded in writing his own parser for POV-ray (using Java?) He
mentioned elsewhere that he likes developing real-time rendering techniques;
it's difficult to tell from the video if he implemented that. (BTW, it looks
like he and his school mates(?) are still using v3.6).

It will be interesting to follow this work, to see if they eventually succeed in
coming up with a scheme to *directly* export an STL file (and not just for
mesh/mesh2 triangle-based objects...unless they figure out a way to turn
POV-ray's math-primitive objects and CSG into triangle meshes! *That* would be a
really important development.)

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"Kenneth" <kdw### [at] gmailcom> wrote:

> It will be interesting to follow this work,

Well, the idea was that if you really wanted to, you could contact him directly
and find out all sorts of things.

We can use all the help we can get regarding every aspect of POV-Ray's
development.

- BW

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Hey Kenneth:

Have you seen this? (mesh projection camera)
https://wiki.povray.org/content/Reference:Camera

Max Distance
This is an optional floating-point value which, if greater than EPSILON (a very
small value used internally for comparisons with 0), will be used as the limit
for the length of any rays cast. Objects at a distance greater than this from
the ray origin will not be intersected by the ray.

The primary use for this parameter is to allow a mesh camera to 'probe' a scene
in order to determine whether or not a given location contains a visible object.
Two examples would be a camera that divides the scene into slices for use in 3d
printing or to generate an STL file, and a camera that divides the scene into
cubes to generate voxel information. In both cases, some external means of
processing the generated image into a useful form would be required.

- bw

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"Bald Eagle" <cre### [at] netscapenet> wrote:
> Hey Kenneth:
>
> Have you seen this? (mesh projection camera)
> https://wiki.povray.org/content/Reference:Camera
>

I've used the mesh camera in the past-- actually just toyed with it-- but not
since I bought my 3-D printer and began learning about STL...so your reminder is
interesting news! Previously, I never really grasped the docs' info about
max_distance (and making 'slices' of a scene). I do need to go back and
investigate these possibilities...and to re-learn some of what I have probably
forgotten about the mesh camera <*sigh*>

Maybe I simply 're-invented the wheel' with my own object-slicing code
scheme here (?!)

Thanks! :-D

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"Kenneth" <kdw### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> I never really grasped the docs' info about
> max_distance (and making 'slices' of a scene).

Yes, that's the part that really caught my attention - there's no CSG, so I
wonder if there will be a significant speed-up.

Just mesh the screen with quads of triangles, and then rotate the mesh to flip
it up, and then scan down onto your object.  Use the 0.1mm height of your print
for your max depth, and that should do it.

I'm also wondering if this would be a good way to do some of the
object-to-isosurface stuff that's been talked about, and also be used as a sort
of pseudo-trace() to get all the intersections of a ray.

I just saw it when researching other things (as always) and thought you would be
interested.  :)

- BW

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