What settings for .stl import to see scan at its best?

Hi,
V5
I have been sent a scan by Nikon of a small figure 60mm tall idea being to capture every minute sculpted intended detail but not waste file size and money on the minute striations the sculpting tools caused which are not visible to the modellers naked eye and probably wouldnt even print in laser/resin 3D !

here is the settings panel I am offered upon import (and I presume new file>import file is the way to view the stl ? or is it best to do a file > open ?
!
stl import settings Nikon scan figure

I have asked my contact at Nikon but he is not familiar with Rhino.
Aim for me is to see truly what the scan has managed and not despoil it with the wrong settings.

Which viewing option, e.g. perhaps rendered, is best to see it at its best ? and any suggested settings for that option ?
Also my contact says:-
When creating a surface extraction VG used a triangulation mesh, this is why the first STL sent by Mr.X looks like shards of glass – as it is created from triangles. The more triangles applied results in a smoother surface but increases the file size. I suspect that the file looked like shards of glass as Mr.X had limited the number of triangles used in efforts to keep the file size down.

VG can now create CAD files but I suspect it will first create a triangulation mesh before converting to STEP. If STL is the requirement I am sure that between us we can figure out the best parameters to generate.

Please review the file and let us know your thoughts, we can then revise parameters if required.

Anyone care to explain what that is about , I just want a scan shape that looks just like the figure, then the 3D print to also match the figure. feeding the printer the best file to see just what the print can achieve if armed with accurate data is the first stage, but not 2Gb as was the first scan which Rhino wouldnt even open, and I couldnt send it digitally to anyone. It was superb but overkill with minute striations we simply didnt need.

Cheers

Steve

3D printers take triangulated mesh files, primarily .stl. Given that each triangle is a plane, mesh files are faceted representations of smooth-surfaced objects. Mesh facets are like pixels in an image, the more you have the smoother the reproduction is, but the heavier the file is as well.

Like images there is an adequate resolution which is a compromise between the quality of the image and its file size. It is also in relation to the size/scale of the finished product - you would prepare an 8x10 glossy image at a much finer resolution than a wall-sized poster because you will be viewing it from a much closer distance. If you can no longer see the image is ‘pixellated’ from the viewpoint, the quality is good enough.

So also with .stl files and mesh facets. The reproduction of the facets will depend on the quality/resolution of the 3D printing system, the size of the object and the requirements for surface quality/precision. It is useless to send an object to a printer (2D or 3D) with a resolution finer than the printer can print, therefore you should know on what system it will be printed as well. Also useless to print with very fine resolution when the purpose of the object is simply a study model.

To see the ‘true’ quality of an imported .stl file look at it in rendered mode with "Flat Shade’ active. that will turn off any artificial display smoothing and show you the real faceted surface quality of the mesh.

To vie

Hi, Understood and agree when it comes to the final workflow.

However a different mission at the moment.

is weld tick
split tick
22.5 all ok or is it not going to make a scrap of difference ?
what should the settings be to give me best view of the scan ?

If the scan looks less detailed and softer on defined edges, is that the scan or the settings I opened it as ?

The scan I went with those settings and the minute striations coupled with a super crisp scan have gone, so I wish to view the detail seeing quite what the scan has given, not smooth off detail due to wrong settings.

I just want at the moment to compare scans and see if the detail the figure had is there. I wish to assume that the printer can reproduce the smallest detail, rather than adjust the scan to suit the printer. I dont want to shoot down the scanning process and the printer just yet, by applying printer ability to the scanner, tail wagging the dog, but see what is possible regards intended detail capture in scanning.

regards flat shading active I go properties view rendered and tick flat shading and ok, I see no change, go back to ther to untick and its already unticked, try again and it wont hold its tick ! ticked when I ok it but unticked upon revisit.

Steve

In theory using FlatShade in your display mode should override the ‘weld’ settings. If Flat Shade is not working on your end, then there is something wrong.

Otherwise, you can make it ‘permanently’ flat shaded by selecting the object and running Unweld with an angle of 0.

I wouldn’t assume that for any 3D printing process - the resolutions vary widely depending on the technology used.