stl files

[difficultone]

Can I measure an stl file in SolidWorks? I import an stl into part mode and I don't seem to be able to do anything at all with it. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[rstupplebeen]

When you imported it did it say that it would be a display body. If so then no real luck aside from creating a line of approximate length. I have found that eDrawings handles large STLs better than SolidWorks. I hope this helps.


Rob Stupplebeen

 

[JMirisola]

STL is a file format native to the stereolithography CAD software created by 3D Systems. This file format is supported by many other software packages; it is widely used for rapid prototyping and computer-aided manufacturing. STL files describe only the surface geometry of a three dimensional object without any representation of color, texture or other common CAD model attributes. The STL format specifies both ASCII and binary representations. Binary files are more common, since they are more compact.

An STL file describes a raw unstructured triangulated surface by the unit normal and vertices (ordered by the right-hand rule) of the triangles using a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system.


Try running FeatureWorks on it, though I'm not sure it'll work.


Jeff Mirisola, CSWP
Design Manager/Senior Designer
M9 Defense
My Blog

 

[JMirisola]

I forgot to say that the above post was from wikipedia...aside from the last line.

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP
Design Manager/Senior Designer
M9 Defense
My Blog

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

When importing the STL activate the options to select the relevant settings.