Request for step files!!

is there a way to get step files of the printed parts? This will make it very easy to modify them and after rebuilding it a second time, I want to change some parts more than ever.

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----- Making the world smarter @ www.xetal.eu
----- Helping entrepreneurs @ www.fralke.com

I actually found it was not so hard to rebuild CAD solid files from the STL files, most of the parts are pretty standard geometrical extrusions so its fairly trivial to rebuild the face curves from the STL files and make a new set of CAD parts, I think it took me about 4 hours to make a complete set of part files for my printer.

If I could measure and project stl, it would be easy. But fusion360 even changes proportions of imported stl and measuring printed parts ... Even worse.
If you remade the parts ..... Can you generate step files :-)?

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----- Making the world smarter @ www.xetal.eu
----- Helping entrepreneurs @ www.fralke.com

I could, but unless your printer is a Mendel 3 they wont be hugely useful to you.

Try using RS Designspark, for a free package this is inordiately good at generating solids from STL, partly because its parent software (spaceclaim) is awesome at this task.

also FreeCAD has a solids from STL function that I occasional use to convert STLs to solids

Sometimes when aiming for a solid in a particular CAD packages you need to bounce your files between two or three packages to get the exact right input file... besides STEP, what other solids file formats do you have access to?

Quote
bgkdavis
also FreeCAD has a solids from STL function that I occasional use to convert STLs to solids

How? I cannot grab the gemoetry so it is useless for me and I am using the latest FreeCAD version.

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Slicer: Simplify3D 4.0; sometimes CraftWare 1.14 or Cura 2.7
Delta with Duet-WiFi, FW: 1.20.1RC2; mini-sensor board by dc42 for auto-leveling
Ormerod common modifications: Mini-sensor board by dc42, aluminum X-arm, 0.4 mm nozzle E3D like, 2nd fan, Z stepper nut M5 x 15, Herringbone gears, Z-axis bearing at top, spring loaded extruder with pneumatic fitting, Y belt axis tensioner
Ormerod 2: FW: 1.19-dc42 on Duet-WiFi. own build, modifications: GT2-belts, silicone heat-bed, different motors and so on. Printed parts: bed support, (PSU holder) and Y-feet.
Ormerod 1: FW: 1.15c-dc42 on 1k Duet-Board. Modifications: Aluminium bed-support, (nearly) all parts reprinted in PLA/ ABS, and so on.

Freecad has a solids from STL function.

here I've just looked up the howto.....

Import the stl file in the "mesh design" work space.

You can clean up your stl using the mesh design tools.

Switch to the "part" work space click on the stl file in the left plane then click on the part menu, scroll down to "create part from mesh" then wait. If the mesh is very dense it may take a while.

Export the solid model as an stp file.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/2015 02:16AM by bgkdavis.

Okay I found a tutorial. But afterwards you will not be able to edit the structure, but you can grab the geometry this is much worth, but using triangles is only a compromise. With step-files you can do a little bit more.

---

Slicer: Simplify3D 4.0; sometimes CraftWare 1.14 or Cura 2.7
Delta with Duet-WiFi, FW: 1.20.1RC2; mini-sensor board by dc42 for auto-leveling
Ormerod common modifications: Mini-sensor board by dc42, aluminum X-arm, 0.4 mm nozzle E3D like, 2nd fan, Z stepper nut M5 x 15, Herringbone gears, Z-axis bearing at top, spring loaded extruder with pneumatic fitting, Y belt axis tensioner
Ormerod 2: FW: 1.19-dc42 on Duet-WiFi. own build, modifications: GT2-belts, silicone heat-bed, different motors and so on. Printed parts: bed support, (PSU holder) and Y-feet.
Ormerod 1: FW: 1.15c-dc42 on 1k Duet-Board. Modifications: Aluminium bed-support, (nearly) all parts reprinted in PLA/ ABS, and so on.

..... unless you are the OP who specifically wanted STEP, and maybe has access to one of the many CAD packages that can manipulate STEP files.

To be honest I prefer .fcstd or maybe .scad depending on the necessary changes, but unfortunately no chance if there is only a .STL-file. Okay grabbing the structure helps a lot much more you cannot do with .step-files

---

Slicer: Simplify3D 4.0; sometimes CraftWare 1.14 or Cura 2.7
Delta with Duet-WiFi, FW: 1.20.1RC2; mini-sensor board by dc42 for auto-leveling
Ormerod common modifications: Mini-sensor board by dc42, aluminum X-arm, 0.4 mm nozzle E3D like, 2nd fan, Z stepper nut M5 x 15, Herringbone gears, Z-axis bearing at top, spring loaded extruder with pneumatic fitting, Y belt axis tensioner
Ormerod 2: FW: 1.19-dc42 on Duet-WiFi. own build, modifications: GT2-belts, silicone heat-bed, different motors and so on. Printed parts: bed support, (PSU holder) and Y-feet.
Ormerod 1: FW: 1.15c-dc42 on 1k Duet-Board. Modifications: Aluminium bed-support, (nearly) all parts reprinted in PLA/ ABS, and so on.

Quote
Fpex
is there a way to get step files of the printed parts? This will make it very easy to modify them and after rebuilding it a second time, I want to change some parts more than ever.

Yes - a STEP assembly for each Ormerod revision can be found here: [github.com]

Well, I've been using Inventor for my designs and it's just far more stable than FreeCAD. Compared to Inventor, FreeCAD really feels like Inventor 1.0 but it's okay for rather simple modifications or to create simple parts.

You can design even bigger parts with freeCAD and meanwhile it is much more stable and it is free. I only get an educational version of Inventor or otherwise I had to use my work PC, but that is not allowed and a license is very expensive. Fusion 360 or DesignSparks are alternatives for Windows PCs.

---

Slicer: Simplify3D 4.0; sometimes CraftWare 1.14 or Cura 2.7
Delta with Duet-WiFi, FW: 1.20.1RC2; mini-sensor board by dc42 for auto-leveling
Ormerod common modifications: Mini-sensor board by dc42, aluminum X-arm, 0.4 mm nozzle E3D like, 2nd fan, Z stepper nut M5 x 15, Herringbone gears, Z-axis bearing at top, spring loaded extruder with pneumatic fitting, Y belt axis tensioner
Ormerod 2: FW: 1.19-dc42 on Duet-WiFi. own build, modifications: GT2-belts, silicone heat-bed, different motors and so on. Printed parts: bed support, (PSU holder) and Y-feet.
Ormerod 1: FW: 1.15c-dc42 on 1k Duet-Board. Modifications: Aluminium bed-support, (nearly) all parts reprinted in PLA/ ABS, and so on.

Quote
Treito
You can design even bigger parts with freeCAD and meanwhile it is much more stable and it is free. I only get an educational version of Inventor or otherwise I had to use my work PC, but that is not allowed and a license is very expensive. Fusion 360 or DesignSparks are alternatives for Windows PCs.

After I bit the bullet and learned the OpenScad syntax I didn't want to go back to a GUI based CAD program, and I now use OpenScad exclusively (for most work projects as well). Not only is it more versatile than the (very expensive) professional CAD package I have at work, but once you are familiar with it, it is also a lot faster as well - especially when you only need to make a few modifications or tweaks to a previous design. I don't know of any other product that is able to make completely parameter-driven CAD designs.

The biggest drawback that makes it unsuitable for all work projects is the limited output formats available and the fact that it does not have the facility for producing annotated and dimensioned 2D engineering drawings from a design, though with most things made these days by CAM machines the drawings are becoming less necessary, and the document trail can be satisfied by storing the computer design file together with a text document detailing materials and tolerances etc. I expect that there are applications that can produce some sort of engineering drawings from an STL or other OpenScad output - I've not looked.

Unless I only want to make trivial changes to an STL (mirror, scaling, adding a couple of holes etc.), I re-create the part that I have only an STL for by importing the STL into OpenScad to use as a template when I re-design the part, after which I get rid of the import and it becomes a standalone Scad design.

Dave

Treito, I tried a recent FreeCAD version about two weeks ago and it crashed when I tried to create a bit more complex geometry - I only had a block and tried to build something on top and FreeCAD really didn't like that. That's why I cannot recommend it for now, but it's good to see there is at least one open-source approach with a more or less active development.

Dave, the parametrics feature in Inventor is great. When you make a part and sketches in it, each parameter is kept in a table so you can name, reuse and modify them on demand. If you actually need to reuse the same part with different dimensions in an assembly, you can also use iMates, which make it possible to abstract parametrics from a part so you can easily modify them in an assembly. It surely depends what output formats you prefer, but at least Inventor allows you to import CAD files from basically any industrial CAD format and it lets you export to STEP files, although I haven't used this function yet. Needless to say, you can also export parts into the STL format. Making construction drawings is really easily as well, you just need to know how it works - basically you just project contours onto a sheet and add the annotations you'd like to see. The only downside is that you cannot re-import STL files unless you install MeshMixer, which requires a subscription license AFAIK. I must admit I have not used OpenSCAD yet, but I figure it becomes really difficult to use once you start to design very complex assemblies. In such cases I find it quite valuable to verify an assembly prior to printing using a feature called "collision detection", which AFAIK isn't implemented in any freeware CAD tool either.

So many comments! I use fusion360, which is free and professional. I have use several tools and the only one that I would use among the free ones is openscad but only for mechanical parts and similar. For anything related to design, not.

Zombie, thanks for the link, I will check it out!

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----- Making the world smarter @ www.xetal.eu
----- Helping entrepreneurs @ www.fralke.com

Quote
zombiepantslol
In such cases I find it quite valuable to verify an assembly prior to printing using a feature called "collision detection", which AFAIK isn't implemented in any freeware CAD tool either.

Designspark has the option to highlight where parts overlap or collide

I am using the Git-Version of FreeCAD with linux and I draw complex structures like the X-Arm or a complete bed support consisting of 4 parts and I had no problems so far. Of course Inventor is much better but it costs 6000€ and FreeCAD is free. The parametric features of OpenSCAD is incredible. I have a file for pulleys where you can select which kind of pulley you need, how mucht teeth, if you need support at the inside and/ or outside and so on. I do not believe that Inventor is capable of doing such kind of things. But for me this program is too abstract. At complex structures I have to see what I am drawing. So if I would learn OpenSCAD I could use it only for simple structures.

DesignSpark and Fusion 360 are powerful programs. They have a complete other User Interface in comparison to Inventor 2013 or FreeCAD, but they only run under Windows. So if I would nou be bound on any system and maybe costs my favorite order would be:

1. DesignSpark
2. Fusion 360
3. Inventor (Only because the other two programs are free of charge and are powerful)
4. FreeCad
5. OpenSCAD

But I am more or less forced to use FreeCAD and it works also pretty good but not as comfortable as the others and you should often save as crashes can happen, but there are some design rules to avoid crashes.

Regards,

Sven

---

Slicer: Simplify3D 4.0; sometimes CraftWare 1.14 or Cura 2.7
Delta with Duet-WiFi, FW: 1.20.1RC2; mini-sensor board by dc42 for auto-leveling
Ormerod common modifications: Mini-sensor board by dc42, aluminum X-arm, 0.4 mm nozzle E3D like, 2nd fan, Z stepper nut M5 x 15, Herringbone gears, Z-axis bearing at top, spring loaded extruder with pneumatic fitting, Y belt axis tensioner
Ormerod 2: FW: 1.19-dc42 on Duet-WiFi. own build, modifications: GT2-belts, silicone heat-bed, different motors and so on. Printed parts: bed support, (PSU holder) and Y-feet.
Ormerod 1: FW: 1.15c-dc42 on 1k Duet-Board. Modifications: Aluminium bed-support, (nearly) all parts reprinted in PLA/ ABS, and so on.

Fusion runs under OS X also, onshape in web based.

---

----- Making the world smarter @ www.xetal.eu
----- Helping entrepreneurs @ www.fralke.com

Quote
zombiepantslol
Dave, the parametrics feature in Inventor is great. When you make a part and sketches in it, each parameter is kept in a table so you can name, reuse and modify them on demand.

Yes, I have used inventor. OpenScad is far, far more versatile however, because sizes and iterations can be defined as a complex function of other parameters. So changing just one parameter can have the effect of modifying scores of other design parameters, and the parameters are not limited to dimensions of objects, but to iterations and the conditional implementation of parts as well.

Look at this as a relatively simple example [www.thingiverse.com]
The web-based "customiser" is simply a front-end for OpenScad - if you download the OpenScad source file you'll find all the parameters (and more) to do the same things off-line that you do with the customiser. There is no way that you could make an Inventor design that can be changed so easily by inputting a few numbers.

Dave

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dmould
There is no way that you could make an Inventor design that can be changed so easily by inputting a few numbers.

Dave

Fraid this comment is a long way from the truth, Ive seen entire macine designs parameterised in inventor and driven from an excel spreadsheet at point of sale a few parameters of entered and 5 minutes later an entire set of drawings and bom are printed....without even opening inventor.

Quote
bgkdavis

Quote
dmould
There is no way that you could make an Inventor design that can be changed so easily by inputting a few numbers.

Dave

Fraid this comment is a long way from the truth, Ive seen entire macine designs parameterised in inventor and driven from an excel spreadsheet at point of sale a few parameters of entered and 5 minutes later an entire set of drawings and bom are printed....without even opening inventor.

I used to use Inventor Autodesk Professional for all CAD designs, and use it now if OpenScad is not suitable. It certainly has some great features that OpenScad does not have (such as putting the parts together as an assembly and making them move as they will in the actual machine being made), but easy parametric design is not one of them. The relationships must be tacked on afterwards, and you can also specify "constraints" (which I have found to be a rather clumsy approach, and it is not easy to see what constraints have been applied to what). I guess you can achieve a lot of what OpenScad does, but adding the relationships is a secondary operation that can well become just as involved and time-consuming as the mechanical design part, and you would only go to that trouble if you were intending the design to be customisable. With OpenScad it is almost second nature to define all sizes in terms of dependent variables rather than absolute values. I still do not believe that you could get Autodesk to do the same as the example I gave, but maybe it has some features that I am not familiar with (like all complex software, most users only get to know the features they use fairly regularly).

Dave