How do I know the volume of my model for STL?

#1

“Probably question for jewelry designers”
Hi, I would love to know if there is an option in Rhino to know what is the volume of my jewelry model, so I can convert it to final weight of the product in: wax, silver, or gold?
I know the software of 3D printer were I printed my model, does calculate the weight of STL model in grams for the printing wax. So probably there is an option to know it inside Rhino as well?

P.S. Is there an option to ask forum admin to have a special category for jewelry designers? Or may be there is one already and I’m missing it? Thanks in advance!

(Menno Deij - van Rijswijk) #2

Ok, this may be too obvious (?) but do you know the Volume command? If your jewelry model mesh (i.e. STL) is solid, it can calculate the volume.

You can find the Volume command under Analyze => Mass Properties. Or just type it in the command box.

#3

Thank you @menno! Going to explore the Volume command and to see if it fits the 3D printer results.

#4

Here is a link to a script
https://github.com/mcneel/rhinoscript/blob/master/SolidWeight.rvb

#5

wow, @Eddyf! Looks like I just found an occupation for myself on weekend… (Besides learning Rhino) Will try to learn the Volume command and this script, never done before any…
Re: “Gold” - I assume it refers in this case to pure 24K gold? Because 18K, 14K and so on - has a different weight for the same volume (density). And also in other metals reference is for pure material.
Thanks, again:)

(Dale Fugier) #6

This script will not work on Rhino for Mac as it does not support RhinoScript (VBScript)…

#7

a bummer… on other hand - good I know it before trying, thanks @dale!

#8

Probably greater than 4 out of 5 sessions has me reaching for Rhino’s Volume command:

Analyze > Mass Properties > Volume

Presuming the Rhino document started out in millimeter settings, the Volume command will likewise report in cubic millimeters. So in a result where I get “Volume=250 cubic millimeters” That should translate to 0.250 cubic centimeters.

Numerous sites suggest that a cube of 14k gold measuring 1 centimeter in all directions weigh approximately 14.4 grams.

(Sidenote to non-jewelers: Karat is a designation of gold’s purity. 24k designates a virtual total composition in gold. 14k could be elaborated as 14 divided by 24 – or 58.5% pure gold alloyed with something else to increase durability. 18k is 75% gold. 10k is 44% gold.)

Most north American jewelry slated for the showcase is usually either 14k or 18k. That’s why scripts like the above, while appreciated, doesn’t completely finish what Rhino jewelry users are after.

Again taking the example result of 0.25 cubic cm, multiply it by 14.4 and that gives a rough approximation of how many grams of 14k gold the object may use.

A cubic cm of platinum is roughly 23.8g

A cubic cm of silver is roughly 10.4g

Ideally, my wishlist item for RhinoWin and RhinoOSX would be a persistent window (like Control Panel of Flamingo nXT) that’d allow me to click on various nurbs/mesh/STL objects in the scene and it’d provide a spreadsheet-like calculation showing estimated weights for 3 or 5 materials. Each material would be selectable via pull-down (10k, 14k, 18k, platinum, silver, feathers, etc) but would also allow for a custom entry provided the user knows the exact cubic weight of that material (ie, 3D print a centimeter cube and weigh it for the specific resin I use) Jewelers would probably find a pennyweight option helpful, but then to be useful to a wider audience, the calculated weight would be available as a pull-down to find grams, ounces, pennyweight, pound, etc. If this plug-in were even smarter, it’d figure out the proper weight for objects that overlap in my scene before I commit to booleaning them.

#9

Thanks a lot to @CarterTG for such a detailed input on the subject!
I see u are a professional - can you please tell me how in proper English are called the additions you add to your jewelry piece to connect it to the “tree” for making a metal model? And do you add them already in Rhino - or they are added afterwards in the factory? Thanks a lot - hope you understand that I mean, if not I can take a picture next time.

#10

a little side note on the Volume command… if you select the object then run the command, it will report in the model’s unit.

if you run the command prior to selecting, you’ll get an option to choose which units will be reported (and the selected unit will be remembered throughout the rest of the session or until you change it to something else)

Analyse Weight of Object
#11

Wishful mockup as a dockable tool. As the user continues to model, selected objects updates the weight tool data in real-time Helpful for those who might be modeling based on (project) budget constraints…

WeightMockUp.jpg600x512 49.6 KB

The structure that channels molten metal is called a sprue

Fluid units for volume
#12

That plugin is awesome!

#13

Where can someone get that plugin?

(Makwanasachin58) #14

Hi Eva, see this video for practical learning,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxYowvzwuf8