I had mentioned this in a vaguely-related post, but here is my current issue:
I have a lot of multi-component parts comprised of multiple adjacent (and topologically complex) smaller parts. I wish to export them as a joined part (no internal surfaces on shared/"joined" faces).
However, adding a "Join objects" command severely increases computation time for my part. From like 5-6 seconds of computation to 30-50 seconds. It really makes adjusting the parameters a major PITA.
So for the time being, I simply use an Std Part container for all of the sub-components, select the entire container, and export the mesh of the part that way. The final exported STL looks okay on the outside, but there are a lot of redundant interior surfaces which show up as errors on multiple 3D printing slicers.
I want to make a plugin which either triggers a temporary "Join objects" command on a cached/buffered copy of the to-be-exported selection, right before export (during the actual export process), or add it as an option to my fork of FreeCAD.
Where in the code-base should I inject this kind of process? I got a good explanation of how to hook into the export process here (https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=64225) with a plugin, but being able to cache a selected object/part and apply an arbitrary set of temporary commands to it before exporting seems a bit more complex.
Where to start to add option to trigger "Join objects" before mesh export?
Forum rules
Be nice to others! Respect the FreeCAD code of conduct!
Be nice to others! Respect the FreeCAD code of conduct!