(STL to PRO/E)
> This sounds useful - what tools do you use to convert the stl facets to
> ruled surfaces. Any input would be appreciated as I have a job now that
> this may apply to. Thanks in advance for any input.
>
> Todd Stahlhut
Well, it's really not that useful, thanks to SolidView's ability to dice
and slice with ease; But if you want a commercially
available solution, here's a method I've tested succesfully:
1~Use your STL to DXF translator. (Windows version available at
ftp://3dtech.3d.com.)
2~Load the DXF into Autocad13 (any version WITH Iges translator option.) and
output an Iges file.
3~Read the Iges file into Pro/E version 16. This usually creates a solid as
soon as the translation is finished. Earlier Pro/E versions had trouble
dealing with dozens of triangles all meeting at one point.
hint: AutoCAD with IGES will set you back $4500 or so, but so would a
stand-alone STL to IGES translator, and ACAD can do a whole lot more, right
now it is one of the very few programs that can edit an STL file on a single
triangle basis.
We've written an entire suite of STL editing utilities that work directly
inside AutoCAD, including hole-drilling, part-splitting, STL I/O, surface
moving, complex feature removal, etc. As we get our website up and running
in the next couple of months, I'll try to make HTML offering these files. (If
I can get clearance.)
We'll see if SolidView 2 has some of these editing capabilities in the next
few months, as Mr. Allison hinted at the SME conference.
AutoCAD with AutoSURF generates excellent "cutting surfaces" for use in
Pro/E, in case you find Pro's surface generation features a little
cumbersome. The trick is to IGES out a wireframe of the Pro part into
AutoCAD so you can reference precisely where to place the surfaces, then IGES
the surfaces into Pro for cutting or protruding.
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