3D File Fixing for 3DPrinting

Hi Guys,

I want to ask you a question what 3D File Fixing and Healing Service are you using and why ?

I am currently using MakePrintable it's cloud-based solution for 3D File Fixing and Healing what I like about that service is :

1. fix most common issues including wall thickness
2. has many plugins and integrations
3. it's currently still in Beta which means it's free

Cheeers

Mostly I use Meshmixer by Autodesk. Free, good editing of STL files, easy to add custom support and fun to play around with when you get bored.

I do it manually in a 3D modelling application, total control over the results and you learn a lot about modelling manifold objects. It's espe ially good if you find out the object just doesn't work as a printable object, and no amount of automated software is going to give you the results you want. Case in point is the Kitt 2000 object on thingiverse, it was converted to stl from a 3Ds object file which was built for 3D rendering only, so a lot of corners were cut. I'm now in the process of building my own 3D printable object and use it as a template. It's a lot of effort but the experience you gain can be put to use in other objects as well. Ymmv

it is better to fix it yourself in 3D modelling application, the auto fix don't do it right a lot of the times I find

I have to agree here that manual fixing is usually better than and program or service.
But it depends on the skill level of the user.
Take Sketchup - great program to quickly create what you want but a disaster if you have no clue how to keep a model a solid.
And even if you are careful, some volume operations cause undesired effects and errors that not always can be fixed by hand in a reasonable amount of time.
Same story for downloaded models, created as a solid in some program but exported to STL with errors.
Had a few of those with many little defects, some had to be repaired externally as I set a limit of 50 errors I fix myself before letting it fix somewhere.
I found one of the most causes for errors is people being unaware that a circle never is a circle...

Sketchup creates bad STL files because curves are actually polygons. When you think you've connected two objects together, unless you connect the vertices of the polygons the objects that look like they are together are either missing or overlapping- both conditions that will create errors in STL files. Try any of the Autodesk freebies, DesignSpark Mechanical, OnShape, Solidworks, Rhino, etc. and you won't have to fix the STL files before printing.

Meshlab can be useful for editing STL files, but you can do some basic edits by importing STL files into CAD software, too.

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

If a curve is a curve or a polygon does not really matter if you set the polygons right
Same for creating STL files - it is not that hard to create complex models and still keep them small in file size and solid.
Although I agree there are better programs to deal with solids, but you take what you have.
And being old and fragile I am already too lazy to learn a new program, but maybe one day when I get really bored....

I suppose you can try to place your circles with the right angular orientation to put the vertices where you're going to need them so you can accurately connect to them, but why go to that sort of trouble when so many proper (and free) CAD progams use actual curves and let you do exactly what you want and produce STL files that don't require repair without any effort? Why would anyone want to spend even 5 minutes of their life repairing an STL file? I'd guess that on their death bed no one is going to be thinking "I wish I had spent more time repairing STL files".

It's sort of a metaphor for 3D printing in general- you can use a crappy printer and spend all your time trying to coax a quality print out of it, or you can use a quality machine and spend your time using it as a tool. I don't know why so many people choose the former, but they do. People are weird.

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Quote
SlowFoot
Mostly I use Meshmixer by Autodesk. Free, good editing of STL files, easy to add custom support and fun to play around with when you get bored.

I tried to repair this model [www.thingiverse.com] using meshmixer turned out to be the slot sizes shrank after the print. I thought it was slic3r problem but it wasn't. The original model got some holes on the front tentacle making slic3r unable to slice that area or repair it