Question regarding thicken a stl model
Question regarding thicken a stl model
(OP)
Dear all:
I have a stl model of a femur and need to add a layer of cartilage on the femoral head. Since the stl model is composed of a lot of small triangles, thicken those triangles (altogether) will have normal problem. If I thicken the triangles one by one (hundreds of them), it will end up with hundreds of parts with gaps or overlaps. I would like to have one solid part after this thicken process. Anyone has a better idea? Or any other software can do this?
Thanks a lot,
James
I have a stl model of a femur and need to add a layer of cartilage on the femoral head. Since the stl model is composed of a lot of small triangles, thicken those triangles (altogether) will have normal problem. If I thicken the triangles one by one (hundreds of them), it will end up with hundreds of parts with gaps or overlaps. I would like to have one solid part after this thicken process. Anyone has a better idea? Or any other software can do this?
Thanks a lot,
James





RE: Question regarding thicken a stl model
The thing you want to do, is add more triangles, really, where necessary. I suspect there might be two options worth pursuing.
i) Find out where the original file came from, and get a copy in a different format that is easier to edit. It might be likely that it came from point cloud data that either has or hasn't been surfaced. If it has been surfaced, you could probably use that and use a more 'arty' 3D package like Rhino or 3DSmax to manipulate the surfaces as you desire.
ii) Undertake some surfacing operation yourself on the model you have. There must be something that can identify or fit surfaces over the stl polygon model. Once you've achieved this, it's then a case of adapting the surface model as I mentioned previously, Rhino or 3DSmax.
I've never heard of anything where you can change STL files directly, though I may be surprised.
RE: Question regarding thicken a stl model
That said, this software isn't cheap. There may be some cheaper/free alternatives but I could be wrong.
As the previous post describes you may be best to surface the data and then manipulate that to your requirements.
RE: Question regarding thicken a stl model
Best,
James
RE: Question regarding thicken a stl model
I have found a sample method to create a 3D model from an stl body.
Send me your model if you are interested of more information
Regards
Didier
www.psi-cad.com
RE: Question regarding thicken a stl model
Best Regards
Hudson
www.jamb.com.au
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