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Meshes

rob_marshallrob_marshall Member Posts: 9
A colleague has converted a .stp to .stl before sending it me. When I open it up in Oneshape, it doesn't open up as a part, but Meshes. How do I make it a part, as doing any measurements on meshes is a bit difficult for me.

Comments

  • _Ðave__Ðave_ Member, Developers Posts: 712 ✭✭✭✭
    Just have your colleague send the stp to you. The stp should open as a part.
  • JAMES_SOLIDPROFESSORJAMES_SOLIDPROFESSOR Member Posts: 7
    Hi Rob,

    I'm still trying to figure out myself how to export the part from Onshape into a different file format. If you right click on the .stl tab at the bottom of the interface, and select "Export", you should be able to download the part in different file formats, which can convert the mesh body into a solid body. However when I click download on my computer, nothing's downloading, so I haven't found a solution.

    On a related note, if you need to make measurements on the .stl file, you can select nodal points on the mesh as reference points and then use the measurement functionality in the bottom right corner. For instance, I downloaded this .stl file from another website, and imported it into Onshape. From here, if I wanted to determine the distance between the top circular face and the bottom circular face, I can select any point on the top, and any point on the bottom, and then expand the distance tab in the bottom right corner.



    Here you can see that the distance between the top and the bottom is in the Z-direction, which has a height of 27 mm. This is a simple way to make measurements using a .stl file.

    If I find another way to convert the .stl to another file type, like IGES or STEP, I'll be sure to send an update.
    James Jepsen
    Content Services Manager, SolidProfessor

    Interested in improving your CAD skills?
    www.solidprofessor.com
  • OpenR2OpenR2 OS Professional Posts: 188 ✭✭✭
    The STL file format only contains an array of triangles. It's basically just an organized mesh of triangles.

    The STL can optionally contain a normal vector per triangle to assist in lighting calculations but if the normal is not present most software will just regenerate it using the right hand rule walking from v1 to v2 to v3 on the triangle.

    Like Dave mentioned above, getting the original STP file is what you need to import the data as true math data with topology.
    If you were purposely give the STL file to protect intellectual capital then the suggestion from James is as good as its going to get.



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