File repair, Meshmixer, Netfabb or Blender?

[canicoll]

I'm getting some files that can't be modified in Fusion so I need to invest some time to learn another tool.

What is the best option for this? Meshmixer, Blender or Netfabb?

Ideally i'd like to minimize the pain by picking one that can fix .stl files as well as make any necessary adjustments to the model for machining or printing.

Cheers,

Cam

[samuel.baker]

Hello,

Personally I would recommend Netfabb, I have used this a few times to fix some STL's.

Most importantly I would use Netfabb because it can handle large and awkward STL models as well and fix them nicely.

There are plenty of guides online as well which make it easy.

However I have not used the other two so I am biased. 😉 

[canicoll]

Thank you Sam, I tried Netfabb and it worked great although it was automated so i'm not sure how I will go when I need to manually repair a mesh. Does it have any manual manipulation for mesh files?

It is not available to hobbyists though and I can't manage $40 a month right now so i'll have to look at something else. I assumed it might have the same licensing as Fusion.

[steffen_anders_adsk]

Hello, @canicoll,

While Netfabb comes in three subscriptions Standard, Premium, and Ultimate, the full range of repair and manual mesh manipulation tools is available in the subscription-free Netfabb, too. Visit https://www.netfabb.com  to obtain a Netfabb installer and https://help.autodesk.com/view/NETF/2020/ENU/?query=%22Netfabb%20Basic%22 for more details on launching into the free Netfabb.

With the automated repair you mention, you've probably used one of the three built-in repair scripts, Default, Simple, and Extended. They are just that, scripts, or macros, that execute a sequence of individual repair actions. All of these actions can be run manually. To learn more about repair actions, read this section in the online help here: https://help.autodesk.com/view/NETF/2020/ENU/?guid=GUID-B14F1534-169D-41E0-9E43-3BD34C5F2D7D

Repair also provides some tools to work at the level of individual triangles, like adding or deleting them. To learn more about that, read this article in the online help here: https://help.autodesk.com/view/NETF/2020/ENU/?guid=GUID-9A42A7A5-B26F-4C06-A982-8AAB9028A6D8

Note, however, that Netfabb is a print preparation tool with focus on import, repair, arrangement, and orientation as well as support generation, extrusion and thickening, cutting, hollowing and latticing (latticing not included in free NF), and (for metal powderbed printing) process simulation (NF Ultimate only).  It is not a modeling, sculpting, or design or construction tool, so for those you'd still need another tool like Fusion 360.

Best regards,

Steffen