Batch repair job

[LockdownProwler]

Hey all

Hope this is the right place to ask for this or get clarification.

At the moment I'm using to Netfabb mainly to split/repair parts (mostly .stl) to prepare them for 3d Printing.

Now I'm looking at a collection of 300+ .stl files, many of which contain errors that are easily fixed by an automated repair. So I would like to ask if it is possible to batch-process these files instead of opening every single one and repairing it.

So far I've only found information on batch-processing Simulations inside Netfabb but nothing else. If there is a way to do this in Meshmixer I could also use this software instead.

Best regards,

LP

[steffen_anders_adsk · Accepted solution]

Hi, @LockdownProwler,

Welcome to the Netfabb Forum!

By using Netfabb's Advanced File Import dialogue you can perform several actions upon opening right away, including executing a particular repair script. This dialogue is always used whenever you attempt to load more than one file at once. (You can also choose to use it every time, there is a setting for that in the dialogue itself as well as in the settings.)

The options in this dialogue are described in the online help here: https://help.autodesk.com/view/NETF/2019/ENU/?guid=GUID-D0F344B7-333F-40F5-B04A-6CF8A39D325D

The dialogue itself, and the immediate repair I mentioned, are shown in this video from 2:30 onwards: https://help.autodesk.com/view/NETF/2019/ENU/?guid=GUID-44C417F0-EF1C-4C1A-ADA1-B8D1663D822E

If your parts are already loaded, select them all, then choose Prepare > Run Repair Script (classic menu; Home > Run Script > Run Repair Script in the new menu style) and select the script to perform on them.

Best regards,

Steffen

[brianbartlow]

Is there an easy way to then export each file individually? As an additional option, is it possible to not rename the model/file and export while replacing the original?

So basically batch import - repair - export and replace original.

I'd create my own script if necessary. It would still save a lot of time.

[steffen_anders_adsk]

Hello, @brianbartlow,

Welcome to the Netfabb forum!

To effectively disable renaming, clear the suffix field in Settings > Part renaming > Repair part.

To export multiple files at once, select them and choose File > Export part > as [file type], with Multi File Export Options > Original part names with loading list selected.

Caveats:

• You cannot export parts automatically to their respective original filetype. At best, you can only choose to export them to the same type that you know they had during import.
• If the filetype (like 3MF) supports multiple parts stored in one file, naming of the target file(s) may not reflect the source file's naming depending on what behaviour you choose during import. Also, they cannot automatically be selectively re-exported into one file.

To fully address any naming and part and file association automatically, you would need Netfabb Ultimate's Lua capabilities and program the necessary routines applicable to your use case yourself.

Kind regards,

Steffen

[brianbartlow]

Hi Steffen,

Thanks for the reply. The setting to not rename is great! The option to save multiple files individually is almost great. 🙂 The problem is, that doesn't preserve the file locations. I am importing a lot of files from various folders and subfolders. If I export each part one at a time, it preserves the original file location. However, if I export multiple parts at once, it puts all of the files into the file location of the first part in the list.

Any chance that behavior could be "fixed"? Either by changing the behavior of "Original Part Names with Loading List" or by adding a new option?

[steffen_anders_adsk]

Hello, @brianbartlow,

That is not the focus of Netfabb's part export, or export in general. While Netfabb loads information from model files, it shouldn't be considered to be working natively on them like, say, a word processor works on text documents. (Its only truly native work file is the FABBPROJECT.) As such, as convenient the existing function of remembering a previously used path may be, anything that Netfabb exports, rather than saves, should be considered a new, virgin file that has no relation to any original, its path or otherwise.

To achieve the level of file system crawling you seek, I can only recommend using Netfabb Ultimate's Lua automation capabilities or developing a workflow with third-party file management or scripting solutions that places and sorts incoming and outgoing files in a way that is compatible with Netfabb's current multi-file support.

Kind regards,

Steffen