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Program extremely slow and crashy with (stl converted to) STP import

10 REPLIES 10
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Message 1 of 11
LeonMF
4344 Views, 10 Replies

Program extremely slow and crashy with (stl converted to) STP import

Fusion 360 does not currently do STL import so I created my own workaround.  I generated an STP file using Freecad and then imported that into Fusion.

 

The process worked but, predicably there are a *lot* of features in this file.  I would have posted the STP but it was 22MB.

 

Random observations:

  • The more I zoomed in, the slower Fusion 360 got.  I would think that with less of the model to display, it would be better.
  • Rotating the object often caused Fusion 360 to crash
  • Creating sketches so that I could clone parts of the object, seemed to create crashes frequently as well.

The file I was using was the X-carriage from this thing:

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:69794

 

Up until this point, I've been a promoter of Fusion 360 but, when my coworker can directly modify STL files in Tinkercad without it exploding, I'm thinkig this lack of ability to handle these kinds of objects is a huge problem.

 

10 REPLIES 10
Message 2 of 11
LeonMF
in reply to: LeonMF

I should also note that I'm running this on a 2012 Retina Macbook Pro running Mountain Lion with all current patches.
Message 3 of 11
tdtwohy
in reply to: LeonMF


Did you check out turning off "User Feedback" in prefs?

On a slow server, the "comlink" between f360 and "mom" can be a bit... "wordy". At least it was for me (I use a tethered iphone for mine... it was s-l-o-w till I turned off the chatter).

Try and uncheck the boxes and see if that helps 🙂

Message 4 of 11
LeonMF
in reply to: tdtwohy

I can certainly try that. I'm on a 50 Mb down 10Mbit up connection so I wouldn't expect com to be a problem.
Message 5 of 11
schneik-adsk
in reply to: LeonMF

Asking some questions about mesh to brep here:

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/Everything-Else-General/What-a-mesh/td-p/4363871

Kevin Schneider
Message 6 of 11
innovatenate
in reply to: LeonMF

Hey Leon,

 

I noticed that the X_carriage.STL file from Thingiverse is only 446 KB, where as the subsequent step file is 22 MB. This is a pretty large jump in file size! What process did you use in FreeCAD to do the conversion from STL to STEP?

 

 

I suspect that the key to getting this to function smoothly is to lower the output size of the STEP file through some optimization, for example, recognizing planar faces as one surface instead of creating many smaller ones. Using Mesh Enabler from Autodesk Labs, I was able to convert this to a solid within Inventor with a .ipt file size of 3.7 MB. The resulting step file from exporting this part from Inventor to STEP was 7.7 MB. Once I imported this, F360 seems to work smoothly. Perhaps you could test these files on your machine? I've invited you to the design, let me know if you have any difficulties with access.

 

Mesh Enabler

http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/inventor_mesh

 

Another thought I had is if you imported a highly faceted STL file, it may be a good idea to switch to a shaded view with no edges shown (visible/hidden). More Faces = More Edges which could help slow everything down.

 

Hope this helps. 

 




Nathan Chandler
Principal Specialist
Message 7 of 11
LeonMF
in reply to: innovatenate

I used Part -> Create Shape from mesh with a sewing tolerance of 0.1. I'll try your file and see how it behaves here.
Message 8 of 11
LeonMF
in reply to: innovatenate

I'm not used to the social aspects of Fusion 360. I can't seem to find the invite.
Message 9 of 11
innovatenate
in reply to: LeonMF

Can you PM me the email address that I should send the Invite to? Perhaps I sent it to the wrong email address. I'm still getting use to the social aspect as well. 🙂 

 

Thanks,

 

 




Nathan Chandler
Principal Specialist
Message 10 of 11
innovatenate
in reply to: innovatenate

So I think I typed your e-mail incorrectly, sorry. :S Let me know if that doesn't work!

 

Thanks,

 

 




Nathan Chandler
Principal Specialist
Message 11 of 11
LeonMF
in reply to: innovatenate

I played around with it a bit.  Your STL importer is dramatically better than what I had and F360 doesn't seem to be choking on it..  I hope it's OK that I saved a copy of the f3d in case I need to go back to that design later.

 

 

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