Meshlab

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Draft

Warning: There are some inconsistencies in this piece. Newer versions of Meshlab makes merging two positioned objects really easy. Import the two models, then flatten, then save. See below. Aligning in Meshlab remains difficult and we rather suggest to do this with Netfabb or a similar tool. - Daniel K. Schneider 15:57, 7 December 2011 (CET)

Introduction

This little tutorial was made in 2010 to cover first steps of using Meshlab for creating printable RapMan .STL files. 3D printable objects are also called models or meshes. Meshlab calls them "meshes", no surprise here.

We will cover:

File format conversion
Merging already aligned meshes
Aligning and merging of meshes

This kind of "how to" is relevant for any 3D printing, but some of the original text only concerned the RapMan. No time for serious updating, sorry ....

Importing 3D modeling formats and exporting to .stl

Some 3D modeling tools can't export to .STL. Google sketchup (free version) only can export to .DAE, the collada format, unless you install a so-called plugin. For most [Slicers and user interfaces for 3D printers slicers], you need an .STL. Some can read *.obj or *.ply formats. I suggest using .STL, since it is the standard for exchanging open source printable 3D objects.

Example to import .dae:

File -> Import Mesh

(In older versions only, to import .dae:)

File -> Open

You then could fix meshes and do other manipulations like changing size and position, but for beginners it's easier to use NetFabb for this. Therefore just save

To export as .stl:

File -> Export Mesh as

In old versions:

File -> Save As

Merging models into a single one (mashups)

Now let's assume that you have two or more objects that you would like to merge, i.e. in the simple sense of fusioning models that already in the right position. Aligning models and more complex "Mesh merging" are much more difficult procedures. Anyhow aligning with a tool like Netfabb or even Google sketchup is simple. In Netfab, align the models, then export each one separately. Then open each model in Meshlab.

Merging the easy way

In the most simple case, objects already are in the right position, e.g. you positioned each object you made in the right x/y/z position using a tool like Netfabb or sketchup.

Import the STL Files (two or more)

   File -> Import Mesh 
   File -> Import Mesh

Menu Filters->Layer and Attribute Management->Flatten Visible Layers
File->Export Mesh as

... done :)

Merging the difficult way

According to the Layer Management Meshlab wiki page:

You can add an external mesh to a new layer by going in File > Open As New Layer.

Then open the layers tool. Click on the 5th icon from the left and that looks a like a pile of paper (or layers).

Either right-click on the layer box that will popup, or go in Filters > Layers Management. Then flatten your layers, click on Flatten visible Layers The options are explicit.

Then File->Save as

Again, you could import to Netfabb again for repair or directly import to skeinforge, depends how much you trust your STL files. When you export from sketchup to .DAE, repair is mandatory I believe.

Example - paper clip with a name

(1) Get the paper clip from Thingyverse

Paperclip by byunfold

(2) Create a 3D Text Then, for creating the text we played with two options (pick either one):

(2a) Create a 3D text with Google Sketchup and save as .DAE (collada), then transform to .STL with Meshlab

(2b) Create a 3D text with netfabb (click on the second icon from the left)

For both options, size doesn't really matter, but it's easier to create something in the 1 to 10 cm range and about 2mm high.

However, the kind of chosen font does matter. Pick a regular bold font. In addition (if you have the patience, you could explode the text group and space out the letters. The RapMan has trouble printing narrow fonts or letters that are too close !

(3) Align and resize with netfab

Procedure:

Load both models in netfabb
Make the Paperclip size correct, e.g. use Menu: Part->Scale (or click on the icon). I made the paper clip a bit bigger and about 2mm high (Z-axis).
Then rotate the letters, resize and approximatly position, etc.
Then (important) position the paperclip at origin (Menu: Part->Move to origin). Verify by clicking the "information" icon
Then position the letters on top. E.g. if height of the paperclip is 2.2mm, position it at z=2.2mm
Then look at the object from top and move the text into final position
Finally, export both files as STL, e.g. clip.stl and name.stl

Two parts in Netfabb

Notice: In the pro version of Netfabb you can merge, in the free version you can't.

(4) Merge with Meshlab as explained above

Import the paperclip
Import the text
Flatten the layers
Export as new STL (file: nameclip.stl)

Merge with Meshlab (old version! In the new version it is much simpler !)

(5) Repair the final STL with netfab

Import nameclip.stl to netfabb
Repair by clicking on the red + sign (I just used default repair). Apply the repairs.
Export part as .STL

(6) Print

Import to skeinforge
Print ...

Here is a first result. No so good, since I used an inappropriate font (the default in netfabb)

Paperclip for Sandra - Font to be improved

Sorry for the bad picture quality. My cellphone can't handle close-up pictures of plastic and that's the only camera at hand at work.

Here is a result for another girl:

Paperclip for Laurence

The next picture shows a version that was way to fat (2 to 3 mm for clip is enough). The fat one can go to a keyring ...

Too fat (almost 1cm)

The best results come from paperclips that are about 10cm long and about 3mm thick (without counting the letters). Make sure to print a hot and large lines raft !

Almost perfect clip for Sandra

Moving and aligning meshes

In order create a single model from several imported misplaced and mis-sized models within Meshlab, you need to dig into Meshlab commands first.

By default, e.g. when MeshLab starts, you are in the so-called camera mode where the mouse actions are used to change the way in which you look at the model.

When you use Interactive editing tools, the mouse actions are interpreted in a different way (e.g. for painting the mesh), but you can always switch back to the camera mode by pressing ESC; in this case the edinting tool is just suspended and you can go back to editing by pressing again ESC.

To exit from an editing tool, you have to press again the toolbar button that started it.

Obviously for mac users, you should substitute the ctrl with the command key.

**Standard camera mode**
left drag	Rotate the object. Click far from the center to rotate around the line of view.
ctrl+left drag	Pan (move right/left)
wheel	Zoom in or out
shift+left drag	Zoom (if you do not have a mouse wheel or if you want smooth zoom)
ctrl+shift+left drag	Light rotate, to interactively change the default light setting.
left double click	center and zoom on clicked point; subsequent rotations and zooms will be centered on the chosen point. E.g. if you want to rotate an mesh arount its center, double click in the center.
alt+left drag	Z translate; moves the camera along the viewing direction, (the effect can be similar to zoom, but it allows to more precisely navigate in the space around the object)
shift+wheel	change field of view and move the camera to keep the model of approximately the same dimension (in practice increase/decrease the perspective deformation, much alike the Hitchcock zoom depicted in the Vertigo movie).
ctrl+wheel	move near plane back and forth to section the object and reveal its interior.
alt+wheel	change point size when rendering mode is Points. Use Points rendering to display interactively huge meshes.

Other useful key combinations for mesh inspecting are:

ctrl+d toggle double sided lighting
ctrl+k toggle backface culling
ctrl+f toggle blue-red back=front lighting

With align tool enabled and one mesh selected, the selected mesh will change position, rotate, change size etc. using different commands

The Align tool:

Click on the A - align tool
In the Align tool popup window, select one of the Meshes
Click on "Manual Rough Glue"
Then use the key+mouse combinations below to change position, size and orientation
Click on "Store transform".

In the align tool mode there are both camera mode and object move/resize commands. Note: You also could hit ESC to go to camera mode, and hit ESC again to come back.

**In the align tool**
left drag	Rotate orbit around the current center of the object. Click far from the center to rotate around the line of view.
ctrl+left drag	Pan (move the object right/left with respect to the others
wheel	Zoom in/out the whole scene (camera mode)
middle drag	Pan the whole scene (camera mode)
ALT-middle drag	Rotate the whole scene (camera mode)
shift+left drag	Make the objects bigger/smaller in or out

With one of the two selection tool enabled on can edit meshes. Click = click left button of the mouse

With a selection tool
click	Select all the faces in the direction (including the hidden ones behind)
ctrl+click	Add faces to selection
shift+click	Remove faces to selection
alt+click	Select only the front faces (without the hidden ones behind)
ctrl+alt+click	Add only the front faces (without the hidden ones behind) to selection
shift+alt+click	Remove only the front faces (without the hidden ones behind) to selection
wheel	Zoom
middle mouse button	Translate mesh
alt+ middle mouse button	Rotate mesh

Example - create a Lego-compatible duck

Warning: This will take many hours to print. Also overhangs are too strong at the bottom. Some filing needed...

We use two ingredients:

parametric lego duplo byDomonoky
Duck bysuzujoji

Two .STL meshes before aligning

Procedure:

Open the Lego brick
Open the duck as new layer
Click on the align tool
Click on Manual Rough Glue
Make the duck bigger and align it with the commands explained above.
Click on "store transformation"
Then use the layer tool to merge the two layers as explained above
In principle, one then could use Meshlab to improve the mesh, but I used netfabb for this (easier to understand)
So just "save as" some *.STL

An .STL duck mesh being resized and put in position

Two .STL meshes in position

In netfabb:

Align the duck to Z=0 !
(keep its size or else it will not be DUPLO compatible)
Repair it with the + tool
Export part as .STL

Then import to skeinforge and print :)

Of course, an expert would simply the mesh, i.e. there is not need to have Lego structures be printed inside the duck, but then nobody will ever see what's inside ;)

Anyhow I know that I should "gut" the insides of the duck (i.e. the head of the duplo brick) with a 3D rubber ... sometimes soon if I find time. Right now it will print like this:

A duck with an interior life

At some later stages of the print you would see:

Giant duplo-compatible duck in progress

The final object is quite amazing. It took about 10 hours to print though. The only "bad" areas are underneath, where the overhang is really big.

Giant duplo-compatible duck in progress

And it can stand on a real DUPLO plate:

Giant duplo-compatible duck before cleaning

Example - DUPLO plus Pantherwoman

Now lets try again with the The Pink Panther Woman!!!! made by januario

This time I decided I had to rid of the caps. With Meshlab this is fairly simple:

Turn the DUPLO sideways so that you can see all the caps
Click on "Select Faces in rectangular region" (make sure that they are all red and nothing else, you can hit ESC and turn the object, then hit ESC again)

Select faces in rectangular region

Then delete the current faces (second last button)
Then go repair with NetLab (don't know how to do this with Meshlab yet)

Anyhow:

This Duplo brick is available as source code for OpenScad and: “Commenting out the caps in the openscad file and recompiling/exporting would probably have be a easier way to remove the caps” (Domonoky).
Even better: I downloaded OpenScad, added a forth parameter to the scade file, recompiled and saved it as .STL. You can get my modified version from Thingyverse.

Included is the scad file and 3 examples. All you need to do is to change a line on top of the file, e.g.

duplo(1,1,3,true);

or

duplo(2,2,1.5,false);

Then

menu: Design-> Compile and render
menu: Design-> Export as .STL

Read OpenScad beginners tutorial

A more powerful set of OpenScad scripts is available under the name of Doblo factory.

Back to our project. I created the duplo pink panther women with the procedure explained for the Duck (aligning with Meshlab and fixing the .STL with netfabb). I also used a different polymer. The Duck was in ABS ("Lego"-like plastic). This one uses PLA which is prettier and is printed at 205 degrees only.

At the time of writing she is still being printed, but I got a half-sized version done:

Mashup of Duplo brick and Pink Panther woman in progress ...

For RapMan printing. This object really needs a raft. Without it warped (the brick in the picture below) and worse the print head moved it (the unfinished one to the right).

Duplo-compatible women for grown ups printing ...

I used an infill of 0.25 (means that about 0.25 of the inside is filled with honey combs. According to Bogdan Kecman this is way too much. I'll try a version with only 0.05 sometimes.

Duplo-compatible women for grown ups printing (at later stage and later at night)...

Here is the final result with two different types of printing parameters:

Two pink panther woman printer with Rapman

Skeinforge parameters for green woman / blue woman

Temperature: 205 all over

Fill

Infill: 0.25 / 0.05 (blue vs. green)

Speed

Flow rate: 400.0 / 380

Feed rate: 16.0

Cool

Max cool: 2.0

Min. layer time: 1.0

Minimum Orbital Radius: 20.0

Raft

Base Lyer Thickness over Layer Thickness: 2.0 / 2.5

Base Nozzle Lift over Base Layer Thickness 0.37

Interface Layer Thickness over Layer Thickness: 1.5

Raft Margin: 5.0

Links

Software needed

MeshLab is the open source, portable, and extensible system for the processing and editing of unstructured 3D triangular meshes. Can import/export STL (for 3D printers like the RapMan))
- Meshlab documentation wiki
- MeshLab is sponsored by the EU 3d-coform project.
- Imports: PLY, STL, OFF, OBJ, 3DS, COLLADA, PTX, V3D, PTS, APTS, XYZ, GTS, TRI, ASC, X3D, X3DV, VRML, ALN
- Exports: PLY, STL, OFF, OBJ, 3DS, COLLADA, VRML, DXF, GTS, U3D, IDTF, X3D

Netfabb “is a software tailored for additive fabrication, rapid prototyping and 3D printing. It includes the ability of viewing, editing, repairing and analyzing stl-files or slice-based files in various formats.” Base version is free.

Sketchup (optional)

skeinforge download

Moving on

Find more printable objects: 3D assets

Credits and copyright modification

This article is also available under the following copyright: Contents of this page (including pictures) are also available under the GNU Free Documentation License 1.2. Parts of this page have been taken from Meshlab Wiki

For the paperclip: unfold
For the duplo: Domonoky
For the duck: suzujoji
For the Pink Panther Woman januario