Models with Holes on Purpose

I'm trying to print an object that has a hole but it's showing as a mess in Simplify3D.
Fixing it of course plugs the hole. I'm using Meshmixer to edit the part and there is no manual for the new version or any help that tells me anything. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.



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I have a model of Gort from Day the earth stood still. I want to print the head with an opening under the visor where the laser beam shoots out and burns up the fine citizens of Earth. Using Meshmixer, I cut out a horizontal hole. The head is hollow. The model in Simplify shows the head messed up on the layers where the hole is. While I haven't looked at it in any other software, from my experience comparing other models in different software, it would look the same in them. I've attached the stl in case you want to look at it.

 

I haven't looked at your stl but run it through Netfabb Basic to fix any errors.

 

You have an open surface. You'd need a certain wall thickness to achieve what you're trying to do.

 

Sorry, been sick with a cold and haven't turned on the computer.

I used the Online NetFabb repair service to fix the original model. When I ran the head through, it closed the cutout.

With two likes on your post, I guess your suggestion has a consensus! So by wall thickness, does that mean more shells?

 

You need it to be a solid model. What you have there is a surface model, as in it has 0 thickness.

 

Wow, I'm going to have to do some research on this one. Another new term to boggle my mind. The original model was a lightwave file. I didn't know there was such a thing as "surface model". Care to push me in the right direction?

 

That's a solidworks term, not sure how it applies to other software. Basically a model is comprised of closed surface bodies, aka a solid.

When your surfaces aren't closed off you have a hollow body, which is not a solid and can't be interpreted by a slicer because it has 0 thickness.

I've uploaded 2 examples of a solid body vs a surface body

 

To the naked eye, they look identical to me. How do you know one is a solid or a surface? They both gave the big exclamation point in Netfabb.

 

Examine it more closely. The surface has 0 thickness

 

Duh, I think I had loaded the same one twice. I easily see the difference. I don't know if this is the same, I made the head solid in Meshmixer then hollowed it out. It looks like your example and looks good in Simplify. Is that all there is to it? Only thing, it filled in the hole so I have to learn how to cut it out again.