topic Re: Convert Mesh into Solid. in Inventor Forum

Convert Mesh into Solid.

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 23:11:00 GMT

Hello,

I have this complicated STL file and I want to convert it to solid.

But when I converted it to solid, it will end up with a composite. I have posted the file here. Can anybody help? And if it is possible, please post the finished ipt file here.

Thank you very much! I appreciate it.

Jihang Liu

Re: Convert Mesh into Solid.

kelly.young — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 19:38:15 GMT

Hello @Anonymous what version of Inventor are you using for others to supply parts for so you can open them?

Please select the Accept as Solution button if a post solves your issue or answers your question.

Re: Convert Mesh into Solid.

Xun.Zhang — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 00:37:05 GMT

Hi Mr.Liu,

Please download Mesh Enabler 1.0.6 from Autodesk App store if you are a subscriber of Autodesk, then you can easily convert mesh to solid by just one click.

Will try to get the result with your part and update you later.

Hope it helps!

Re: Convert Mesh into Solid.

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 02:31:37 GMT

Hello,

I am using school computers which contain both 2016 and 2017. So either of them are fine.

Thank you very much!

Jihang

Re: Convert Mesh into Solid.

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 02:33:26 GMT

@Xun.Zhang

I have used mesh enabler and converted the mesh into solid but it turns out to be a composite. Can you help me to get a solid?

@kelly.young

I am using school computers which contain both 2016 and 2017. So either of them are fine.

Thank you!

Jihang Liu

Re: Convert Mesh into Solid.

Xun.Zhang — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 07:04:51 GMT

Hi, yes, it finally come out to be a composite surface since some of the mesh shape are open.

Currently, Inventor have limitsation to deal with Mesh geometry and meshmixer might help you out.

Hope it helps!

Re: Convert Mesh into Solid.

WHolzwarth — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 07:30:50 GMT

I don't think, that you'll ever get a solid from this file by using any of Autodesk's software products.

Sculls are in real life thin shells with unequal thickness. This one seems to be done by scanning a point cloud and meshing that. It's a compromise, as can be seen at the teeth and around nose and eyes, or the neck.

Don't use stuff like that for learning purposes.

Re: Convert Mesh into Solid.

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 15:19:45 GMT

@WHolzwarth @Xun.Zhang

Hello,

Thank you very much for your help. This is for research purpose 🙂

I have a head skin as a solid and I want to cut the skull from the skin.

I have convert this part into composite but based on my experience, composite can not be "copy" and "split".

Is there any way to do it if skull can not be transformed into solid?

Thank you a lot!

Jihang Liu

Re: Convert Mesh into Solid.

Frederick_Law — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 16:22:09 GMT

If you can find a 3D scanner in school, the scanning software could patch the file to be solid.

It'll cover the holes in the eyes, nose and everything else.

Re: Convert Mesh into Solid.

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 17:26:49 GMT

The problem is I don't have the physical skull. So I can't use 3D scanner to do the job.

Re: Convert Mesh into Solid.

Frederick_Law — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 18:04:30 GMT

I did not ask you to rescan the skull.

I said use 3d scanner software to patch the STL file.

Re: Convert Mesh into Solid.

Anonymous — Sat, 11 Aug 2018 17:20:40 GMT

I think this is a good learning experience. Trying to get meshes useable in Inventor is swiftly becoming a big deal. Saying "don't do that" doesn't really help.

Re: Convert Mesh into Solid.

TheCADWhisperer — Sat, 11 Aug 2018 18:29:07 GMT

Back in the last century we used to refer to the GIGO principle - Garbage In, Garbage Out.

Now you or I look at that image and we see a skull. (And not a very good representation at that - missing a lot of surfaces, comprised of unnatural triangular planar facets....)

Software "sees" 1s and 0s.

So I think we will have to wait for Inventor to incorporate Artificial Intelligence to compare the image/geometry against tens/hundreds/thousands of similar images/geometries and fill in the missing geometry information. It would be nice if it would smooth it all out too. Kind of an automagical "Easy Button" that doesn't require a good/very good/great scan of input data.

Re: Convert Mesh into Solid.

Anonymous — Sat, 11 Aug 2018 18:33:13 GMT

Fair enough, I get the GIGO principle. At our company we're seeing more
and more files coming in with meshes and there are some tools available
like mesh enabler from autodesk as well as other .stl "repair" tools that
while they fall short of magic, they can make meshes easier to deal with in
Inventor.

Re: Convert Mesh into Solid.

WHolzwarth — Sat, 11 Aug 2018 18:41:03 GMT

Right now, there's a similar discussion in the German Inventor forum. A first result is in Message 22

Gelöst: Globus in Inventor 2017 ? - Autodesk Community- International Forums