How to export .obj + .mtl + .jpg for 3D printing

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I imported to mudbox a 3D color model created with the Artec-3D-color-handscanner for bodyscanning:

.obj (imported as mesh)

.jpg (imparted as related texture leyer)

I worked on both of them and did some small modifications and optimizations.

Now I would like to export this model to prepare the printing on an 3DSystems printer ProJet 660. For the printer-software I need the following 3 files in one folder:

.obj

.jpg

.mtl

Or - if possible one VRML File which contains the 3D-mesh and the texture.

How to do these exports from mudbox??

[Anonymous]

 Hi Stefan,

I have exactly the same question as you. Did you discover a way to do it?

Many thanks

Chris

[Anonymous]

Did you ever find your answer to your question? I'm trying to determine the same thing!

[sergimen2001]

Hi Guys:

You are lucky, I have made, and I already make, 3D sculpts using mudbox for 3D priting, and in addition, I made some sculpts for full color 3D printing.

I'm going to talk about from my experience making and ordering my full color sandstone copies to the 3D printing service based in the Netherlands, Shapeways.(but there some others like sculpteo, 3DHUB, etc).

For Full color 3D printing you have, 1st to all:

1:The mesh must be closed, and with no holes.

2: I recomend to make your sculpt hollow to save a goood ammount of money in the 3D printing process.( I use Meshmixer after I make an reduction at the finished sculpt in Mudbox).

3: Run a reduction in Mud. Well, Shapeways have an polycount limit of 1 million polys, or 64mb file size, the first that happen. But, I have uploaded meshes with 1,7 or 1,8 millions, uploading the 3D file, compressed in a zip, and no problem with the polycount while the file size dont exceed the 64mb. 😉 

4: Obviously you need to create UVs to paint the model. Shapeways can accept models polipainted or Vertex Painted, but when you reduce the polycount, obviously, the colors will be more blurred... I prefer to upload the mesh with UVs.

5: Paint the mesh, an export. The maximum size allowed to upload the textures in a zip with the 3D model in shapeways is 1024pixels. And Shapeways able image formats like jpg, png, tiff.

6: The format to upload 3D models for full color 3D printing in this case, is VRML, not STL. STL not able UVs. And is necessary be precise with the size in VRML, due this format only works in Meters, and is necessary to be precise, or our model could be exported in a size more big than the 3D printer bed...

Is a bit loong to explain. But, if you like I can prepare an detailed video tutorial in my channel abou how to use Mudbox and Meshmixer for digital sculpture and 3D printing.

And here is Frankie, my Full Color Sandstone 3D printed bust, ordered to Shapeways:

This was totally modeled,sculpted  and digitally painted in Mudbox, the posterior preparation was made with Meshmixer.

I hope you like it, and I hope my response would be helpfull.

Greetings:
Sergio Mengual
3D Artist-3D Generalist-3D Character Artist
https://www.facebook.com/Sergio3D2D/
https://www.artstation.com/artist/sergiomengual
https://www.youtube.com/user/sergiomengual

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your response!
Yes, it would be much appreciated if you could upload a step by step video of the process!

My situation is:
1. I'm doing all my product design & engineering in AUTODESK Fusion 360 and it's great.
2. I also have the need to incorporate organic shapes into my designs. Such as a beer bucket with beer on ice, a rodeo bull head and a boat anchor leaning on a rock. See www.hookinit.com for conceptual reference!
3. After designing organic shape in either (to be determined) MudBox or ZBrushCore??? I will then bring back into Fusion 360 and convert to BRep solid and finish design and integrate it back into my engineered shapes.
4. Then, in the end take in back into MubBox or ZBrushCore and paint, render & texture for export of VRML file for Full Color 3D Printing on 3D Systems ProJet 660 sandstone material system.

Does all this make sense?
A video of your workflow would be great!
Thanks!

Thanks,

Rick Steele
Steele Growth
231-632-8273

Sent from my iPhone - please forgive typos and brevity.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your response!
Yes, it would be much appreciated if you could upload a step by step video of the process!

My situation is:
1. I'm doing all my product design & engineering in AUTODESK Fusion 360 and it's great.
2. I also have the need to incorporate organic shapes into my designs. Such as a beer bucket with beer on ice, a rodeo bull head and a boat anchor leaning on a rock. See www.hookinit.com for conceptual reference!
3. After designing organic shape in either (to be determined) MudBox or ZBrushCore??? I will then bring back into Fusion 360 and convert to BRep solid and finish design and integrate it back into my engineered shapes.
4. Then, in the end take in back into MubBox or ZBrushCore and paint, render & texture for export of VRML file for Full Color 3D Printing on 3D Systems ProJet 660 sandstone material system.

Does all this make sense?
A video of your workflow would be great!
Thanks!

Thanks,

Rick Steele
Steele Growth
231-632-8273

Sent from my iPhone - please forgive typos and brevity.

[mikethetigerHSL7H]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Hi,

I imported to mudbox a 3D color model created with the Artec-3D-color-handscanner for bodyscanning.

---

Which settings did you use in Artec Studio to export? I tried different variations, Mudbox warns me about bad geometry and so on..

[sergimen2001]

Hi:

If you imported and 3D scanned meshes, is normal to receive some warnings from Mudbox.

The scanned meshes normaly are totally made of triangles, and sometimes you can have areas with "poles", this is, more dan 5 or 6 edges coming to a single vertex, and other situations.

Someone are more problem than others. That is because Mudbox started like an 3D sculpting and painting soft for visuall industry, like films, videogames, and other areas, where the workflows hightlight the clean meshes for animation, texturing, and so.

If you are planning to use your scans in Mud to make some fixes by hand with the sculp tools or paint tools, and these scanned meshes are for 3D printing there is no problem with the warnings in Mud.

Normaly the 3D printers use triagulated meshes with no problem,(obviously you need to make some inspection to the model with an dedicated soft, like Autodesk Meshmixer, to next generate  the STL or maintain it in OBJ if your 3D printer support that file format.)

I have worked several times with scanned meshes from clients that want to do some type of resculpt in their action figures.

In those cases, what I do, is, in the possible, run an retopo operation for the mesh, to generate a new one with all quads. In the most cases mud can deal with triagulated meshes and/or with some gltiches. If your scans have holes in the mesh, I recomend to use the commans Mesh>Patch, previously to run the retopo operation.

Sometimes could be some small glitched areas in the retopologized model, due the ugly geometry of some scanned meshes. In this case, I use a bit the sculpt tools to make fixes by hand.

If your mesh is so ugly, that the automatic retopo fails...well, I normaly start a new mesh, using the original scanned like reference. I lock the triangulated mesh, and start with an sphere,sculpt tools, and retopo, until I get the general forms the most similar to the original.

For the final touch I run an Mesh> Transfer Details operation, to transfer the fine details from the original to the new one.

If you create good UV coords for your new mesh, you can make an transfer paint layers operation to transfer the paint color textures to the new mesh...

This is...sinthetic. I hope would be helpfull. Perhaps in the future I'm going to upload an videotutorial to my youtube channell dedicated to the workflow in Mudbox with 3D scanned meshes for 3d printing.

Greetings:

Sergio Mengual
3D Artist-3D Generalist-3D Character Artist

https://www.artstation.com/artist/sergiomengual

https://www.facebook.com/Sergio3D2D/

https://www.youtube.com/user/sergiomengual