Hi, All,

I just got a Da Vinci 1 3D printer, and I need it primarily for one project, to create raised transfer patterns.  I want to 3D print a flat plane with raised ridges that correspond to my designs/line drawings so I can transfer them (in reverse) to other physical media. 

I was going to work on the project at my leisure over the next 8 weeks of "vacation" (I'm self employed, and this is my slow season), but I got a call to help a friend with a work crunch  that will cut my free time down to a few hours a week until I need to get busy with my own work again.  As a result my time to get to know the software is crunched down to practically nothing.

I have legal copies of Silo 2, Shade 10, Hex 2.5, Carrara 8, Pegasus, Curvy 3D, Blender, etc. (all legal) that I purchased some time ago, but haven't had any real time to become familiar with.  

My main question is "Would Hexagon lend itself well to easily converting my drawings to a 3D mesh of a raised (very low relief) transfer plate?" If not, what software would work simplest and best? Any resulting files need to be saved as STL files or converted to print.

Any hints or suggestions would be appreciated. 

Thanks  ~Jerry / leather-guy

Hi Jerry, 

Carrara doesn't export to .stl and I don't believe Hexagon does either (been awhile since I've used it).

Of the software you list, Blender will probably be your best bet. Just update to the most current version if you haven't. 

Shade, when it was Amapi, was brilliant for this kind of thing but I'm not familiar with it in its current form. 

Hexagon will save an STL file, although in text format only. Binary STL format is more common now, and makes smaller files that are faster to open/save. Its possible to use Hexagon for 3d printing. I have done many projects in Hexagon that have been 3d printed, in conjunction with Netfabb. The biggest issue I have with Hexagon and 3d printing is that its a 32-bit application, and even using LAA to allow it to use up to 3Gb of ram (without LAA it will use up to 2Gb) it can barely handle 1 million triangles. Depending on your needs that might be enough, but I have found for detailed relief or sculptural work, at least 2 - 3 million triangles is a must. 

Its fairly easy to end up with errors that will be an issue for 3d printing regardless of what modeling software you use., although some of the processing software used by the printer seems to be more forgiving than others.

I used the free version of Netfabb for a while to fix errors and it was pretty good, and then purchased the Pro version. The Pro version will also repair intersecting triangles. In my experience Netfabb is least expensive, most capable tool for repair. The price went up recently, I think it is now in the $1500 - $2000 range, but it is still far less expensive than Materialise's Magics (which is about $8000). Netfabb does have a less expensive "home" version, but I have not used it so I don't know how it compares in functionality.

There is a program called Leveller http://www.daylongraphics.com/products/leveller.php which may be useful if you are producing reliefs, and its only $50.  Its marketed as a terrain generation program, but it can produce reliefs by displacement painting, heightmaps, and meshes created in other applications. Some advantages is are you can't make intersecting triangles, or undercuts because of the way it works. Also, it can easily handle many millions of triangles. The biggest limitation from a 3d modeling standpoint is there can only be one Z value at a given XY location. So you can make a half sphere, but not a full sphere, for example.

there are a ton of online and mini programs that will convert OBJ files to STL.. I haven't played much yet but they are out there.

Hexagon does.. I've uploaded a few items to a 3D file share for printing http://www.thingiverse.com.. I do it there cause it does a virtual image/print of the item so you can see if there are any errors...

Places like SHapeways does it also.. 

Once again Blender to the rescue, Blender has built-in 3d printing tools.

One more thing carrara doesn't have and never will.

Why do people keep paying for it again?

Once again Blender to the rescue, Blender has built-in 3d printing tools.

One more thing carrara doesn't have and never will.

Why do people keep paying for it again?

Why are you staying on this forum if you don't like Carrara ?

Once again Blender to the rescue, Blender has built-in 3d printing tools.

One more thing carrara doesn't have and never will.

Why do people keep paying for it again?

Why are you staying on this forum if you don't like Carrara ?

Same reason you keep paying for it - I'm a glutton for punishment.

He asked a question and I merely answered it - how is it my fault that carrara fails again when DAZ could have added this functionality years ago?

You want me to lie next time?

 there's also Bryce will do what you need , this chap goes through it but you could ask on daz forum

http://www.3dprintedsculpture.com/3d-printing-natural-forms-i/