Checking your mesh

This tutorial will show you how to check your mesh using Accutrans 3D. Accutrans 3D is a windows based 3D object conversion software that comes with a 30 day fully functioning free trial, after that you can purchase it for only $20. Accutrans 3D can also be used to convert files from the following formats into various formats including STL: (see the Accutrans 3D website for a complete list of input and output formats)

So if your 3D modeling software does not output STL files you should be able to use this method to create one.

Firstly start Accutrans and from the file menu select `Open (all known formats)’ and load in your model. Next we need to check whether the mesh is watertight (more information here) by selecting `Tools’ and then `Check for Water-tight Meshes’.

If the mesh is watertight you will get the following message:

If you don’t get this message go back to your original 3D model and check the mesh. Holes are usually caused by normals pointing in the wrong direction or modeling errors. Click here for more information on surface normals.

To save your file in the STL format , select `Save with options’ from the File menu, and the following screen will appear.

Under `Save file type’ make sure you have selected `Stereolithography (Binary) (*.STL)’
Before you click `Save’ double check that the scale of your model is correct and is small enough to fit in our machines (machine sizes are given in our Materials section). You can change the scale factor under `Output Scale Factor’.

And that’s it, now you can check your own mesh and convert your files with Accutrans 3D.

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