solidifying a non watertight model?

[myxpykalix]

I bought this model off ebay and was hoping for a faster answer then waiting for the guy in russia to respond. I want to set this model up for rotational cutting on my indexer.

I want to start with material 36 long by 6"x6". The problem i'm getting weird results and i believe it is because if you look at the pics you will see this doesn't look like a watertight solid model. The column is not attached to the base, the wreath is not attached to the column.

I want to lay this out for unwrapping making my X36" my Y 18.8496"(6"x3.14pi) and my Z 3"

Before i go back down to work on this again in AC I don't recall off the top of my head if there is a way to merge these parts prior to unwrapping?

[willnewton]

Try this. https://modelrepair.azurewebsites.net It will repair most stuff, just check to make sure it doesn't do anything weird.

You can make great repairs with Meshmixer, but there is a learning curve.

You have to look out with downloadable models. Many are designed to look pretty, but were never intended to be "off the screen".

If it is giving you a fit, I can take a look at it and try to get it together for you. I do a lot of 3D printing, so watertight is my middle name. :)

[myxpykalix]

I will check it out. Is there a charge for this service? Thanks for the tip. I'd like to find out more about 3D printing. I have access to The University of Virginia 3d printer labs which i haven't used yet but would like to go in with more knowledge so i will send you a PM so we could chat. Thanks for the tip...

[willnewton]

That Microsoft/Netfabb site and repair service is free and is just an upload and download button, so you have no control over the results. It generally does a good job, but can get silly sometimes. I use it for patching other folks designs.

Meshmixer is also free. It has LOTS of tools for working on meshes. A bit funky of an interface, but once you get it, you can get crazy with sculpting organic shapes.

I use Rhino3d for my CAD software. It does great with hard surface meshing and has some limited mesh repair tools. It also has a free trial.

All of them are Mac/PC compatible. I design a lot for 3D printing and use my Makergear printer on a nearly daily basis. My poor SB doesn't see near as much action. Recently, I used the probe to digitize some parts to be 3D printed. :)

[coryatjohn]

That Microsoft/Netfabb site and repair service is free and is just an upload and download button, so you have no control over the results. It generally does a good job, but can get silly sometimes. I use it for patching other folks designs.

Meshmixer is also free. It has LOTS of tools for working on meshes. A bit funky of an interface, but once you get it, you can get crazy with sculpting organic shapes.

I use Rhino3d for my CAD software. It does great with hard surface meshing and has some limited mesh repair tools. It also has a free trial.

All of them are Mac/PC compatible. I design a lot for 3D printing and use my Makergear printer on a nearly daily basis. My poor SB doesn't see near as much action. Recently, I used the probe to digitize some parts to be 3D printed. :)

Have you used the Rhino Mac version yet? I was thinking about purchasing that but since there's a notice that says "Not the same as the windows version" I've been reluctant. I use Rhino on Windoze now. So far, everything I've wanted to do I could do with Rhino or Aspire.

[myxpykalix]

Willie I tried the netfab site but it said it couldn't repair it. I have a demo copy of rhino and loaded it up in that and was able to break the model into componnents but it is very similar to Lightwave which i used for years but couldn't figure out all the controls so i couldn't do much. Did you get my PM? Email me because i want to ask about some 3d printer info, ect

[willnewton]

@myx I haven't gotten a PM from you. Give it another try.

@cory I started with Rhino on PC, but once the Rhino 5 Mac beta was stable and useful, I switched over to that. On final release, I gladly ponied up the cash for the Mac version and use it exclusively. The statement about it not being same as Windows is true, but only because it is adapted to the Mac user interface. Certain keystroke shortcuts are different. Some window layouts and preferences are different. For most users, there is not going to be much actual difference.

One thing that IS different are the plug-ins. PC plug-ins for Rhino won't work on the Mac. There are some developers switching them over, but not many. I have a jewelry design software package that works on top of Rhino 5 for PC only. So it may be a dealbreaker. There are a few other things, but there is nothing that affects my daily use.

A HUGE difference in favor of the Mac is being able to open multiple drawings, which you can't do on the PC version.

McNeel has been very good about supporting the Mac release and each update gets the versions closer to each other. I have been very happy with Rhino 5 for Mac.

[coryatjohn]

@will - Thanks! I don't use any plugins at the moment. Opening multiple documents would be quite a time saver. Copying elements from one document to another is quite tedious when they can't both be opened.

[myxpykalix]

Willie email me myxpykalix@hotmail.com or post your email so i can email you