STL export from 2018 not working

[Anonymous]

I am not able to open these .stl atf files in Meshmixer or Netfabb from Maya 2018...This is very annoying. Anyone have a solution? Ive always had some issues here or there exporting .stl's from Maya but now its basically impossible.

[jordan.giboney]

Hi @Anonymous

Thank you for posting 🙂 I just tested this by exporting a NURBS sphere from Maya 2018 and imported it into Meshmixer without any trouble. Can you tell me more about what is in your scene and any errors you are getting when opening it in Meshmixer? Here's a couple other things I would try:

• Confirm that your graphics card is on our Certified Hardware list, and that your drivers are up to date
• Have you had a chance to install the 2018.1 update? You should have it available via your Autodesk Account (Sign on > Management Tab > Maya > 2018 downloads > Updates and Add-ons)
• Double check that the objects you are exporting are NURBS. Meshmixer will not accept polygons.
• If you feel that your copy of Meshmixer was corrupted and would like to do a clean install, I would recommend doing so using the Microsoft Fix it Tool - this tool does a great job of cleaning up all the residual data left behind by previous installs that may be causing hangups

Let me know how that goes! If the problem persists, I would be happy to continue assisting you 🙂

[jordan.giboney]

Hi @Anonymous

I just wanted to check in and see how things were going 🙂 Any luck with any of those suggestions from my previous post?

If anything else comes up let me know, I would be happy to help!

[Anonymous]

Hi Jordan,
I have realized that for some reason now I cannot export a polygonal mesh as STL from Maya 2018. This seems to be a new limitation though Im not sure if it is. I have always been able to export STL's from Maya and thus use it in my 3D printing workflow. I have used this PC as well...Its a Wacom Cintiq Companion 2 and I have the new Maya 2018 update as well but it did not fix this issue.

I really need to be able to use Maya to export STL's from sculpted detail and thus polygons.
The file exports but when importing into Meshmixer it say "error opening file"
and in Netfabb it says "invalid STL file".

Thank you
Dennis

[Anonymous]

Upon looking into this Im worried that youve made Maya unqualified with the Wacom Companion 2. Can you check on your end to verify that Im right about this and that it might be resulting in some of these issues.
I ahve also had an issue using photoshops 3D functions on this PC too so it all makes me wonder but as of now Im still unable to use Mayas STL's in Meshmixer and Netfabb and my DXF file format is completely missing from the dropdown where it normally would be.

Also..
I did reset prefs in Maya and can say that its not meshmixers issue. 2016 has all the functionalities and I skipped 2017 all together.

[jordan.giboney]

Hi @Anonymous

Thanks for your patience with this. After further testing and speaking with my Development Team, this appears to be a new defect associated with our 2018.1 Update for Maya. I have been told that this is not the case without the update, so I am currently uninstalling Maya 2018 in full to test over here, but I wanted to get back to you as quick as I could. I will post again as soon as I have tested on 2018 (without the update installed).

Thanks again for your time and understanding!

[jordan.giboney]

Hi @Anonymous

It appears that we have a defect on our hands. After additional testing and speaking with my Development Team, we have found that some changes to the ATF plugin has caused these problems in 2018. Luckily, 2017 Update 4 appears to be working as expected. Is using 2017 a suitable workaround for the time being?

I have filed an official defect for this issue within our Development Database, so they should begin working on this shortly. Thank you very much for bringing this to our attention.

[jordan.giboney]

Hi @Anonymous

Just wanted to check in and see if you had a chance to test out Maya 2017 and that it will work for your pipeline 🙂 Any additional questions I can help with?

Thanks again for reporting this issue. I know our Development Team is eager to get this issue resolved. If you have any other issues that arise, please do not hesitate to post again, I would be happy to help 🙂

[Anonymous]

I followed this thread and tried 2017 but even though the ATF plugin is loaded, there are no options for exporting any of the files available in this plug in such as STL.  It appears as though the plug-in is in fact not loaded.  I heard there was an issue with Maya 2017 and the ATF plug-in as well.  Any advice? Is there a patch to 2017 that I need to address the defect or bug found in it?

[Anonymous]

Had to download the trial of 3dsmax as the .stl export seems to work without issue.

I am a Maya user and can do everything I need in it from VFX to real-time game dev, so it would be nice if I didn't have to buy apps both just get 3D-printable output.

[dgorsman]

@Anonymous, check out Fusion360.  It's geared specifically towards the lightweight "maker" type user, much more so than visualization software like Maya.  Licensing terms are a bit better than Maya or 3DSMAX, too.

Personally I'm not big on the "all in one" type application, as technical design/3D printing and visualization requirements can be quite different from each other.  Sometimes you need a pickaxe, sometimes you need a shovel.  Trying to make a workable pickshovel isn't going to end well. 

[Anonymous]

Any further developments here?

It is not working with the latest Maya.

[max_schoenherr]

It is working with NURBS surfaces, but definitely not with meshes. I just did a test upload to → Wikicommons which in the case of a polygon failed: The file is 84 bytes small and basically empty. The NURBS torus exports well. Since most 3D objects for 3D printing are developed using mesh tools, this bug needs to be fixed. I'm on the student edition of Maya 2018.2

[max_schoenherr]

Here's a brief tutorial about this (problem and NURBS success): → youtube

[Anonymous]

Currently I rely on Maya for 3d references and molds on a day to day bases. I have found myself extremely hinder with my older 2016 maya version lacking compatibility with the new OSX updates and my new Maya 2018 lacking the ability to export polygonal STLs. Please fix this issue.

[absudario]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am not able to open these .stl atf files in Meshmixer or Netfabb from Maya 2018...This is very annoying. Anyone have a solution? Ive always had some issues here or there exporting .stl's from Maya but now its basically impossible.

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I was basically pushed by autodesk to upgrade maya to last version (2018). For my surprise, nor even the project built on Maya 2016 would not open, nor maya 2018 can afford exporting a mesh
to STL?  how come such a huge company have to leave open these kind of issues for so many months to public?

[sn00ze]

any update on this issue?

[misha123]

Any solution for this issue? Or fix in the process. Updated to 2018.3 and still receiving this bug.

[mindymind]

yeah, its amazing how they do it, I am trying to export STL files as well. File size is 1kb? better delete the plugin. It's pathetic with Maya. From version to version it's trial and error

[Anonymous]

I am also not able to export STL from Maya 2018. I get a low filesize that wont open anywhere else. What is the fix to this, please?