data handling

Design & Tech CAD

Data Transfer

Data translation to other 3D packages

IGES, STEP, VRML

Assembly issues - if your assembly is not fully constrained then you may get positioning errors in the translated neutral file.

Exporting an .stl¹ file

Save a copy

Set the file type to .stl

DON'T change the name of the stl file in the Export STL window

The window will give you 2 setting; chord height² and angle control³.

Minimum figure in chord height [put zero in the box and the system will set it to the minimum allowable] and 1.0 [range 0 to 1.0] in angle control will give the maximum surface quality.

Caution - maximising these figures will also give maximum .stl file size - these can become very big and therefore slower to process. Export at an appropriate level for the end use of the .stl.

Apply the setting - this will show the facets

Click OK to export the file

1. STL - stereolithograghy file - facet file.

The file consists of a Cartesian point cloud which lie on the original surface. The points are then joined to form three sided facets. Each facet has a positive and negative side.

2. Chord Height - the deviation of the facet surface from the original surface. The points at the corners of the facets will lie on the original surface but the centre of the planar facet will deviate from the surface - the distance between the three points and the curvature of the surface will dictate the deviation - the chord length.

1 Chord height
2 Part surface
3 Facet surface

3. Angle control - provides extra improvement on surfaces with a high curvature - small radius.

How do I exclude copy surface features from a model while saving as an iges or step file?

Couple of things that might help...

Config option: intf_out_blanked_entities NO (YES is default)
Deselect "Shells" when exporting.