A couple months ago I could export to STL files using Inventor Pro 2012 and a third party could open them on whatever platform they are using. Now when I export to STL files, the third party cannot open them and I cannot open them either on the Inventor Pro 2012 platform. Nothing has changed since the originals were sent to the third party. I have read some of the threads, but there is a lot of STL, none of the ones I read address this problem. The properties from Windows Explorer say the file type is Certificate Trust List (.stl).
Possibly if you are trying to open the STL files from the Windows Explorer, it doesn't know what program is used to open the STL file. Can you open from within Inventor. I have no problems here either exporting Inventor to STL or importing STL files.
If you wish to open STL files from the Windows Explorer window, you would need to RMB click on the file, select Open With, and then navigate to where the Inventor.Exe file is located.
Create a 1mx1mx1m cube and and then Save Copy As type STL.
Attach both the ipt and the stl file here.
Try opening this one, it works fine on my system at home
I am able to ope the cube file here. I'm not on IV2012 though. Are you current on all the SP's and hot-fixes.
I wonder if one could open the stl files in the Inventor 2012 environment. I could not find the stl file type in the drop down list.
There is no specific STL extension, just use the (*.*) option to allow you to open any file.
I tried and obtained a message "Failed to open document". I am not able to attach the stl file here owing to its file type.
@luiww wrote:I am not able to attach the stl file here owing to its file type.
In Windows Explorer right click on file name and select Send to Compressed (zipped) Folder.
Attach resulting *.zip file here.
I had no trouble opening in 2013.
I don't have access to 2012 to test.
It would seem the STL importation/exportation became corrupt after installing Mechanical Simulation. I have not tried to uninstall that to test the theory (and really don't won't to). Whether it is zipped, unzipped, assign .stl in the file name or let the program do it, the result is the same in 2012.
I have build 219, Release SP2
Check in the Add-In Manager that the module is loaded automatically at start-up in Inventor.
@Anonymous wrote:... Whether it is zipped, unzipped, assign .stl in the file name...
All of this doesn't make sense?