DATA PREPARATION FOR 3D Printing

Karali Patra
Professor, Dept of Mechanical
Engineering, IIT Patna
& PIC, FIST-TBI, IIT Patna
Demo classes by: Rahul and Raj Narayan (Engineers, FIST)
Ritesh (MTech student) and Akshay (PhD student)
Module 2 (10 lectures)
 STL interface Specification, STL data generation, STL data
Manipulation, Advantages and limitations of STL file format, Open files,
Repair of STL files, Alternative 3D Printing interfaces
(in two lectures on 2nd June, 2022)
 Part orientation and support generation, Factors affecting part
orientation, Various models for part orientation determination, The
function of part supports, Support structure design, Automatic support
structure generation. Model Slicing and Contour Data organization,
Direct and adaptive slicing: Identification of peak features, Adaptive
layer thickness determination, Tool path generation
(in four lectures on 3rd and 4th June, 2022)

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About Additive Manufacturing
Additive Manufacturing (AM) refers to a process by which digital 3D
design data is used to build up a component in layers by depositing
material.

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Types of 3D Printers
Type Technologies Materials
Thermoplastics e.g., polylactic
acid (PLA), Acrylonitrile
Extrusion Fused deposition modeling (FDM) butadiene styrene (ABS),
Polycarbonate (PC), eutectic
metals, edible materials
Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) Almost any metal alloy

Electron beam melting (EBM) Titanium alloys

Selective heat sintering (SHS) Thermoplastic powder
Granular
Thermoplastics, metal powders,
Selective laser sintering (SLS)
ceramic powders

Powder bed and inkjet head 3D Plastics/metal/ceramic (used for

printing (3DP) toys, household items)

Laminated object manufacturing

Laminated Paper, metal foil, plastic film
(LOM)
Photopolymer
Stereolithography (SLA)
(UV Laser)
Light polymerized
liquid resin
Digital Light Processing (DLP) 4
(conventional light source)
 Fused Deposition Modelling
 Fused Deposition Modeling, is an additive manufacturing technology commonly used

for modeling, prototyping, and production applications.

 FDM works on an "additive" principle by laying down material in layers. A plastic

filament or metal wire is unwound from a coil and supplies material to an extrusion

nozzle which can turn the flow on and off.

 The nozzle is heated to melt the material and can be moved in both horizontal and

vertical directions by a numerically controlled mechanism, directly controlled by a

computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software package.

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3D Printer (with FDM)

• Model:-Aeqon 400 V3
• Build Size:-400 mm x 300 mm x 300
mm
• NOZZLE Diameter:-0.4, 0.6, 0.8 mm
• Extruder:-Single
• Accuracy:-80-250 Micron
• Build Material:-ABS, PLA, Metal
fill, Carbon fibre, Polycarbonate,
Polyurethane, ABS - PC.

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3D Printer (with FDM)

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STL file generation
 STL file format has become a RP industry’s defacto standard data transmission format.

This format approximates the surfaces of a solid model with triangles.

 STL Files are typically created by a computer-aided design (CAD) program as an end product

of the 3D modeling process. We can identify STL files by the “.stl” file extension.

CAD Model

STL File Generate through CAD Model

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STL Interface Specification
 STL is a file format native to the stereolithography CAD software created by 3D
Systems

 This file format is supported by many other software packages; it is widely used for
rapid prototyping, 3D printing and computer-aided manufacturing.

Insertion of .stl file in 3D Printer Software Package

 STL file stores information about 3D models. This format describes only the
surface geometry of a three-dimensional object without any representation of
color, texture or other common model attributes.
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STL interface Specification
 The true meaning of the file extension .STL has been lost to the mists of time. It is

widely believed to be an abbreviation of the word STereoLithography, though

sometimes it is also referred to as “Standard Triangle Language” or “Standard

Tessellation Language”

 The main purpose of the STL file format is to encode the surface geometry of a

3D object. It encodes this information using a simple concept called “tessellation”

or “tiling”

 The STL (STereoLithography) file format is an openly documented format for

describing the surface of an object as a triangular mesh, that is, as a representation

of a 3-dimensional surface in triangular facets.

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 Lecture 1-STL interface Specification, STL data generation

STL interface Specification

 Tessellation is the process of tiling a surface with one or more geometric shapes
such that there are no overlaps or gaps, If you have ever seen a tiled floor or wall,
that is a good real life example of tessellation. The tiled wall and floor are simple
real life examples of tessellation. Tessellation can involve simple geometric shapes
or very complicated (and imaginative) shapes.

edge-to-edge tiling:
Rhombitrihexagonal
tiling:
tiled floor in the
Archeological Museum
of Seville, Spain

Source: wikipedia
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STL interface Specification
 Let's look at a few examples to understand how this works. For example, if you
have a simple 3D cube, this can be covered by 12 triangles, as shown in the image
below. As you can see, there are two triangles per face. Since the cube has six
faces, it adds up to 12 triangles.
 If you have a 3D model of a sphere, then it can be covered by many small triangles,
also shown in the same image

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STL interface Specification
 The STL file format is an openly documented format for describing the surface of
an object as a triangular mesh, that is, as a representation of a 3-dimensional
surface in triangular facets. STL is sometimes referred to as "Standard Tessellation
Language" or "Standard Triangle Language.

A CAD representation of a torus

(shown as two concentric red circles)
and an STL approximation of the
CAD Model of Torus same shape (composed of triangular
planes)

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Advantages and limitations of STL file format

 Advantages of the STL File Type

1. It is universal and supported by nearly all 3D printers.

2. Provides a simple method of representing 3D CAD data.

3. It can provide small and accurate files for data transfer for

certain shapes.

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Advantages and limitations of STL file format
 Disadvantages of the STL File Type

1. The STL file is many times larger than the original CAD data file due

to fidelity.
As the fidelity of printing processes embraces micron-scale resolution, the
number of triangles required to describe smooth curved surfaces can result in
massive file sizes.

2. It’s also impossible to include metadata (such as authorship and

copyright information) in an STL file.

3. The geometry flaws exist in the STL file.

4. The subsequent slicing of large STL files can take many hours

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STL data Manipulation
Purpose of data manipulation
1. Part orientation and support generation

2. Factors affecting part orientation

3. Support structure design

4. Automatic support structure generation

We will discuss about these in subsequent Module

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 Repair of STL files
 Why Repair an STL File?
1. For 3D printing, surfaces are converted to a mesh format that describes geometry as a
cloud of connected triangular faces and vertices, ie. STL Format.
2. Mesh conversion is like smashing a perfectly smooth mirror, then gluing back together
all the bits and pieces to make it look like the original.
3. Done badly, the result is a model with all kinds of edges, holes, and floating parts, as
well as areas with many intersecting triangles that do not belong there. Done well,
the 3D print is a manifold mesh without holes, indistinguishable from the original
design.

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Repair of STL files

How to Repair an STL

File

Repair your STL file Repair the error in

using a dedicated the native CAD
3D printing software before
software exporting to STL

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 Repair of STL files
 Repair your STL file using a dedicated 3D printing software

Many software solutions exist dedicated to the preparation of STL files for 3D printing
and they can repair most STL errors. Popular (and free) examples include Netfabb (using
the Repair command) and Meshmixer (using the Inspector command). For quick repairs,
3D Builder is an easy-to-use software for visualizing and repairing STL files and a free
online STL repair tool can be found here.

 Repair the error in the native CAD software before exporting to STL

In most cases, best results will be achieved when the STL file is correctly designed and
exported in the first place and is always the recommended option.

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Repair of STL files
Repair your STL file using a dedicated 3D printing software
 A typical STL file repair workflow contains the following steps:
1. Auto-repair. The STL repair software’s wizard will attempt to fix all major errors,
including holes, separate shells, and intersections.
2. Separating shells. A mesh consists of collections of connected triangles. It can
contain multiple continuous surfaces that ideally are joined together while obsolete
ones need removal.
3. Closing holes, bridging gaps. Some comprehensive STL repair programs allow
different ways of hole filling, such as planar, tangent, ruled, or freeform.
4. Resolving overlaps and intersections. This typically requires recalculating entire
portions of the mesh.
5. Filtering out double faces, double vertices, inverted normals, and sharp, narrow
triangles.
6. Stitching open edges and remaining holes.
7. Manual repair by deleting and creating triangles.
8. Remeshing to optimize triangle count.
9. Exporting to the chosen mesh format.

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Example of Auto Repair in dedicated 3D Printing Software “Netfabb Basic
1. Auto-repair. The STL repair software’s wizard will attempt to fix all major errors,
including holes, separate shells, and intersections.

There is some
issue with this STL
File

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Example of Auto Repair in dedicated 3D Printing Software “Netfabb Basic
1. Auto-repair. The STL repair software’s wizard will attempt to fix all major errors,
including holes, separate shells, and intersections.

Incorrect Mesh

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Example of Auto Repair in dedicated 3D Printing Software “Netfabb Basic
1. Auto-repair. The STL repair software’s wizard will attempt to fix all major errors,
including holes, separate shells, and intersections.

Auto Repair

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Example of Auto Repair in dedicated 3D Printing Software “Netfabb Basic
1. Auto-repair. The STL repair software’s wizard will attempt to fix all major errors,
including holes, separate shells, and intersections.

After Repair we get valid mesh

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Example of Auto Repair in dedicated 3D Printing Software “Netfabb Basic
1. Auto-repair. The STL repair software’s wizard will attempt to fix all major errors,
including holes, separate shells, and intersections.

After Repair we get valid mesh

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3D Printing interfaces
 A so-called slicer takes a 3D drawing (most often in .STL format) and
translates this model into individual layers. It then generates the machine
code that the printer will use for printing.

 3D printers can be either controlled through a small on-board control

screen or through a (USB) interface with a computer or through both.
User interface/control software allows a user to send a machine code file
from the computer to the 3D printer, change some parameters on run time
(e.g. speed, flow and temperature), and move the print head manually
around the x/y/z axis.

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3D Printing interfaces
 Slicer Software
Current low-end 3D printers extrude plastic like ABS or PLA from filament. The
filament is pulled into the extruder and heated in its nozzle (hot end) and finally
deposited. The extruder (also called print-head) will move while extruding, or move (or
jump) without extruding.
A slicer program allows to calibrate printer settings for various types of "areas to print"
like:
1. extrusion speed (rotations / minute)
2. head speed
3. temperature
4. Fan on/off
Furthermore, the program allows to define:
1. wall thickness
2. fill patterns
3. extrusion speed, head speed and temperature per type of area
4. Deposited filament for a layer or a section of a layer depends on extrusion speed,
head movement speed, and temperature.
5. In addition, factors like movement patterns, plastic brand, fan on/off etc. also have
an influence on the design. 27
3D Printing interfaces

Slicer Software Interface

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3D Printing interfaces

3D Printer Control software Interface

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3D Printing interfaces

small on-board control screen

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3D Printing interfaces

Built Bed

Parameters for
printing

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3D Printing interfaces Open the STL
File

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3D Printing interfaces

Material Selection Support Type Selection

Extruder Mapping Printing Style Selection

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3D Printing interfaces

MATERIAL G Code Token Printer G Code

Printer Selection Miscellaneous

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3D Printing interfaces Slice the STL File after
setting of parameters
and orientation of
sample on build area

During Slicing
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3D Printing interfaces

After Slicing Save the file

in G Code Format

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 3D Printing interfaces

Upload
the
previously
saved G
Code File
After Slicing Save the file in G Code
Format

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3D Printing interfaces

Click here for start

printing the object after
heating of bed and
nozzle at adequate
temp

After Slicing Save the file in G Code

Format

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Thank you