Steps to create 3D printer acceptable file what is correct order?

[Steve1]

Hi,
I have tried to summarise the steps, from what became a very complex thread on watertight.

Is this object watertight rhino yes and Anycubic Prusa and F360 no

Hi, Rhino 8 selBadObject ok Sel nonmanifold ok volume ok yippee ! we need a command called BINGO where champagne corks fly, fireworks explode and popper confetti goes off ! export as step, open into prusa slicer (after install of same and a long drawn out wizard just go next next next, avoid accounts and stuff unfamiliar with) shows as healthy. (no triangle by file name, dont see a health check command) Export as .stl open into Rhino8 its gained a much more refined dome end regards fa…

I am not sure when to mesh it and when to run triangulatemesh
I have an SR7 file and it passes the rhino checks,
so export as step,
import into Prusa, prusa says is OK,
export from Prusa as .stl.
open into rhinoV8,
run triangulatemesh, nothing happens.

Is it already triangulated, small curves are triangles, large planar areas large triangles, perhaps its already done ?

What order am I supposed to be doing all this in ?
My head is swimming.

SR7 25x25mm basis SR5 rhinoV5 3D print calibration PrusaOKexport.stl (2.1 MB)

Cheers

Steve

[Helvetosaur]

@Steve1

export from Prusa as .stl.
open into rhinoV8,
run triangulatemesh, nothing happens.

Is it already triangulated,

Yes. .stl files can only contain triangles. Exporting as .stl will automatically triangulate meshes.

[Steve1]

Hi,
@Gijs
@davidcockey
@Helvetosaur
Kyle Houchens had said to use his settings to mesh it,
but I am not able to if its meshed in Prusa. as I dont see p[topns to alter numbers within.
and I was told to export from Thino V8 as step, ‘prusa ok it’ then export as stl from prusa.

so which option to use,

1.Mesh it with Kyle settings then prusa check it,
or
2. export as step, prusa check it THEN export as stl from Prusa ?

unable to @ Kyle Houchens. as dont see him in list of Kyles.

Steve

[martinsiegrist]

@theoutside is Kyle Houchens.

I did not look at your file.

Why do you export as *.stp and then *.stl?

What’s not ok with directly exporting *.stl out of Rhino?

[Helvetosaur]

@Steve1

Kyle Houchens had said to use his settings to mesh it,
but I am not able to if its meshed in Prusa. as I dont see p[topns to alter numbers within.
and I was told to export from Thino V8 as step, ‘prusa ok it’ then export as stl from prusa.

Totally incomprehensible… STL out of Rhino and import into any slicer. I have been doing this for years (decades?) no problem. Don’t have Prusa, but have used Cura, BambuLabs, FormLabs, etc. etc.

[Steve1]

@martinsiegrist

Why do you export as *.stp and then *.stl?

In the lengthy thread I give a link to, when I was working on SR4, in there is someone telling me to export as Step, check in Prusa looking for a warning triangle, to click the triangle to run repair, then export as stl from Prusa.

so I followed orders !

and also I was told to mesh it in Rhino using the settings I post above. given my by Kyle, who sent me the file personally.

I had been following the Rhino route of check its watertight etc, then mesh it, but then AnyCubic slicer was declaring it faulty, so the step route was suggested to solve things.
It all got very confusing at times.

Ok , I will mesh it in rhino with Kyles settings, then check it in prusa.

Steve

[martinsiegrist]

@Steve1

had been following the Rhino route of check its watertight etc, then mesh it, but then AnyCubic slicer was declaring it faulty, so the step route was suggested to solve things.

This might be for some netfabb checks or similar… which might have been useful in Rhino 4 times but mesh manipulation has been improved since that.

I exported hundreds of parts for 3D printing right out of Rhino. It’s always worth checking the files for naked edges…

Maybe you’re trying to export some problematic geometry???

[Steve1]

Hi,
my checklist and workflow (and ideal results are ) :-

SelBadObject = None
SelNonManifold = none
SelClosedPolysrf = selects it
SelOpenPolysrf = none
Volume gave a figure
ZoomNaked = none

@theoutside

Kyle Houchens McNeel says…I’d mesh it with these settings,

then run triangulatemesh to detail it a bit further (some printers don’t like quads)

So, following all this above,

I take the Rhino solid, run all the checks, IT PASSES ALL
export as stl, using KH settings,
then import it, and run TriangulateMesh on it. I see nothing happen. has it ?

Here is the file and the rhino8 made stl file using KH settings,

and with it the prusa stl export, note the very different triangles for large flat areas.

With no apparent visual change when using TriangulateMesh, is that phase needed ?

I note that Blender likes 4 sided faces, and here we are using triangles. Oh boy its confusing !
SR7 compare rhino8 stl to prusa stl.zip (6.6 MB)

Steve

[martinsiegrist]

Do you also check the exported mesh for open / naked edges?

[Steve1]

Hi,
In the list of commands I followed above, is that covered, if not what is the command ?
Cheers

Steve

[martinsiegrist]

You’re checking for open polysurfaces before exporting. That’s clear.

But after exporting *.stl, do you import that and check again the output?

[Steve1]

Hi,
yes I imported the rhino8 made stl, ran TriangulateMesh and then on that result ran all those check again.
Isnt this fun !!!
I am then wondering I need to get that out yet again as a mesh, so do I select it and yet again do export selected and choose stl ?

else its there as a .3dm so not able to be handed over to the print bureau.

would exporting it again as .stl mess up the triangulatemesh just done to it ?

Steve

[martinsiegrist]

The difference I see is the Kyle mesh has no simple planes.

I don’t see the point of your separate triangulation. I think an *.stl is always triangulated.

You can also look at an *.stl with some other software to do a verification.

I’m not saying export multiple times but import what was exported to see how it looks can be useful and is a good check especially when you don’t print yourself.

[nxakt]

I fought with this for a while, Rhino meshes causing problems for Prusa Slicer.

In the PrusaSlicer, right click the green imported model on the platter.

Select “Fix by Windows repair algorithm”, wait a few seconds for it to run through.

You are now good to go.

[martinsiegrist]

I see prusa can import *.stp

So if your Rhino geometry is all NURBS, this might be an option for you.

[Steve1]

Hi,
thats what I did, then saved as stl, but here I am told export as Mesh., and wrist smacked why export as step.

I have just taken the stl that rhino8 made, then imported it into rhino8, run triangulatemesh, then exported it yet again as stl. then imported to prusa, no warning triangle, but then followed nxakt advice and right click repair windows algorithm.
that took a while to repair,
and its a few kb less in file size.
here is that one.
SR7 3D calibration RhinoV8exportSTL_KyleH_thenTriangulateMeshthenRepairPrusaWinAlg.zip (3.1 MB)

so if its shown with no triangle, is repairing it as nxakt suggests to do with right click repair windows algorithm a good thing, trust it is. sounds tiger tank proof let alone bullet proof !

I suppose I then need to import it yet again and run those Rhino checks on it, yet again !
Not done that yet.
now done that and all is good, polysurf dont work as its no longer a polysurf.

Steve

[martinsiegrist]

@Steve1

I have just taken the stl that rhino8 made, then imported it into rhino8, run triangulatemesh, then exported it yet again as stl.

Why do you run triangulatemesh? Do you see any quads after importing an *.stl?

Prusa imports *.stp since 2022 and if you model mesh or SubD geometry in Rhino, *.stp is not necessarily the right format. It depends on your project.

[okeating (Owen Keating)]

I export STL’s from Rhino to Prusa all the time with no issues. I just make sure I have a closed polysurface and then use the default settings. I don’t think I’ve ever had an issue with prusa slicer having issues with an STL.

[Steve1]

@martinsiegrist

Why do you run triangulatemesh? Do you see any quads after importing an *.stl?

Hi,
because Kyle Houchen said to do so.

see my quotes just now from the other thread.

> Kyle Houchens McNeel says…I’d mesh it with these settings,

> then run triangulatemesh to detail it a bit further (some printers don’t like quads)

its so dense I cant see anything anyway !
he hadnt saud to study it, just said do it., as some printers dont like quads.

Steve

[Helvetosaur]

There.Is.No.Need.to.Triangulate…. STL supports ONLY triangles, so your mesh will always be triangulated on export. STL=Standard Triangle Language (there are other names) or as I like to say, Stupid Triangles and Lots of them.