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Need help .STL --> .SLDPRT convert Need a solidworks user

Discussion in 'Software' started by John Rygg, Feb 25, 2016.

  1. John Rygg

    John Rygg Active Member

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    Hello I need help converting a .stl file to a solidworks .sldprt format for a project
    does anyone on here have Solidworks and would convert a file for me?

    Or does anyone know how to do this without Solidworks?
     
  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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  3. daniel871

    daniel871 Well-Known Member

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    You're basically SOL on importing an STL so that it will function/be able to be modified in Solidworks.

    .STL format is basically an end use file format. Arcs will be converted into line segments, spherical surfaces will be converted into collections of triangles.

    That said, Solidworks Premium has a mediocre STL import function that will really only work on well-made STL files that are solid/without flaws in them. If there are holes in your STL's body surfaces, the Feature Recognition part of Solidworks will crash.

    To clarify this a bit, here's a nifty analogy I read elsewhere. Solidworks part files are apples, STL files are Applesauce--it's easy to take apples and dice them into applesauce but it's much harder to take applesauce and make an apple.

    You would be much better off getting a Parasolid/ACIS file as your starting point, because those are at least native file formats for Autodesk (ACIS) and 3DS (Parasolid) programs.
     
    mark tomlinson likes this.
  4. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Hard to make the end result better than the starting point.
    Coal to diamonds works for nature (but rarely).
     
  5. John Rygg

    John Rygg Active Member

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    Sorry I should clarify a bit . I am trying to get a design injection molded . but the company does not support .STL
    I do not have solidworks so I cannot convert it. I do not want to work on the file after conversion.
    but just want to be able to send it to the company in a format they support//

    other formats they support are below . if anyone can help me convert to one of these from STL that would be helpful.

    native SolidWorks (.sldprt) and ProE (.prt) files; files from other CAD systems output in IGES (.igs), STEP (.stp), Parasolid (.x_t or .x_b), ACIS (.sat); and AutoCAD (.ipt and .dwg, 3D only).
     
  6. daniel871

    daniel871 Well-Known Member

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    Import the STL into Autodesk Fusion360, let it process, export it again in one of the AutoCAD formats.
     
  7. robert sanchez

    robert sanchez Active Member

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    @John Rygg to clarify, what you are asking for is the biggest issue we all have about STL files and using solidworks. Depending on the file it is almost impossible to do anything with it if you only have Solidworks.

    However, the below link may be of help.
    https://robosavvy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8097

    Good luck. I have not tried it.
     
  8. John Rygg

    John Rygg Active Member

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    Thanks I downloaded fusin360 but I do not see an Import function ? can you give me a tip?


     
  9. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    Fusion 360 doesn't work with STL files very easily. In Fusion 360, click on the cloud icon with the up arrow in the middle of it. In the dialog box click on select files or drag and drop your STL files. Click the upload button.

    After a few minutes, based on complexity of the STL as well as your internet connection, you will eventually have a MESH file in the Fusion 360 workspace. The Mesh file is just a shell and is as difficult to work with as a plain STL.

    After you import your STL, select Modify>Mesh>Mesh to Brep while in Model mode. This will convert it, if the model is very simple to a solid body which will resemble the STL. The biggest problem still is that each and every triangle in the STL file is a surface on your solid model. Still a pain in the ass to work with if you are not simply cutting it on a plane or scaling it. Second issue, only the simplest meshes can be converted, Fusion 360 will not convert a mesh file in excess of 10000 triangles. If the STL is anything but low resolution, 10000 triangles will be easily exceeded.

    I have ultimately found it easier to recreate the model, to the best of my ability, as a solid model, rather than import a mesh and convert it to a solid.
     
  10. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    This is so true. 3D scanners can lead you down the same path. Sounds good, but tons of cleanup and rework are required so it is almost always easier to just recreate the model from scratch.

    Best favor you can do yourself after deciding on a printer is to learn how to model.
     
    #10 mark tomlinson, Feb 26, 2016
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2016
  11. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    Here is how I equate working with STL files for example with the simplest modification, scaling.

    It is like working with a .jpg, follow along. You have a 1080p monitor and your kids/wife/girlfriend/mistress is the desktop background picture. It works well because it is a 1080p image, you have no other copies. You move into the new 4K monitor craze and want to use the same picture, so you use that same image and let the monitor scale it. It looks like crap! so you get something like Photoshop/Lightroom/etc and scale the image, maybe even apply some sharpening, you use that as your new 4K background and guess what, it looks like crap!

    That is exactly what you get what you use STL files and try to do anything with them other than print them as is! They scale like crap! they are a pain in the ass to work with, even if you have infinite patience. And then the modified file, if you ever get to that point, prints like crap.

     
  12. John Rygg

    John Rygg Active Member

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    Yes I created the model myself but now I need it in a different format because it is being sent off to an injection molder .



     
  13. John Rygg

    John Rygg Active Member

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    Sorry I do not see a cloud Icon with an arrow in the middle of in in Autodesk fusion
    only menu items
    MODEL
    CREATE
    ASSEMBLE
    SKETCH
    CONSTRUCT
    INSPECT
    MAKE
    ADD-INS
    SELECT


     
  14. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    Modify should have been in between Create and Assemble. If it's not I don't know why it wouldn't be, the Autodesk forums are very good at answering questions.
     
  15. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    You might wan to consider different software if whatever you are using doesn't support exporting in an actual 3D model format.
    I assumed since all you had to work with was an STL that you did not model it yourself (otherwise don't try working with the STL -- use a full 3D model rather than a surface model). We do everything as SLDPRT file until we are going to print it.
     
  16. Robert Foreman

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    Here is a video that shows how to import a .stl file into Fusion 360.
     
  17. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    @Robert Foreman, you still want to convert to a BRep in order to modify it in any way, the same provisos apply no matter how you import it. If you are just working on a single STL model and are not planning to modify it, you might as well not import it at all. In the case of the OP, he will be better off manipulating it in the software he used to create it, or if he didn't create it then recreate it in the software of his choosing. Importing and trying to manipulate an STL file is an exercise in futility.

    While the video does show you how to import, even the example she imported cannot be turned into a solid model file by Fusion 360, The Bunny contains 10,996 triangles in it's shell and Fusion will not convert any STL that contains over 10,000. And the bunny is rather low resolution to boot!
     
  18. Robert Foreman

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    Here is another one they put out a few days ago. I have not tried this yet but it might do the trick.
     
  19. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
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    This should be used as a last resort. Every facet becomes a separate surface, try and add a fillet or chamfer and you will learn very quickly how frustrating it is to work directly with STL files or files converted from STL.
     
  20. WADZOQUADZ

    WADZOQUADZ Member

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    Converting STL to solidworks part file (solid body) is a pain sometimes but iv been doing it successfully on at least 75% of the Stl's i try . On older versions of solidworks forget it as feature recognition always locked up but 2016 FR is much better . It also helps to have a PC with lots of memory and a Solidworks approved workstation graphics card. If you give me the file i can try to convert it for you.
     

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