New to FreeCad

[vencislav]

hi everyone,i am new to using the program and i am sorry if this is the worng place for this place.i am trying to convert the file below into a solid so that i can edit it and add material to fill out the middle hole but when i try to do it i get a message saying:,,part is not a shell" and i don't know how to fix it.this is a modified version with a smaller amount of faces,i tried doing it with the original which had over 300 000 faces but the program would crash when i was trying to create shape from mesh and i can't upload the origianal since it's too big but if it's needed i will try to upload it another way.i wold be very happy if someone can help me.

Edit:Sorry i forgot about the version,i am using version 0.18.

[jmaustpc]

i am sorry if this is the worng place for this place

you want help and this is the Help forum... all is OK!

Welcome to FreeCAD.

One tip, you are expected to post your version data from the Help menu as explained in the forum rules link above. With all the variables and versions out there it is almost always useful either at the time or in the future.

The message sounds like you STL mesh does not describe a "water tight" surface, there is likely some holes in it, I have downloaded it and I'll have a look.....I have to go in a minute so if any of you others out there can see the problem please don't wait for me...I have to go down my driveway and open the gate for my wife in a few minutes, I live on a farm in the Australian outback so the gate is some distance away.

[jmaustpc]

I'm on the phone now at my front gate.

I have had a look at your file, the problem is that your mesh file has some self-intersections. If you go to the mesh workbench and run inspection and repair tool you will see these two intersections. It is possible that you might be able to repair the mesh either in freecad or perhaps a proper mesh modelling application. But if you do that all you were going to end up with his another mesh file not a proper CAD solid. I'm not sure how accurate your STL file is the shape of it looks strange it may well be correct but I wonder. It may be better to just simply start all over again and model it in freecad if you know what the dimensions are. So mother's here might be able to help I tested it in the latest freecad built from Master yesterday which is freecad 0.19. I have to go now good luck with it. Jim

[vencislav]

I'm on the phone now at my front gate.

I have had a look at your file, the problem is that your mesh file has some self-intersections. If you go to the mesh workbench and run inspection and repair tool you will see these two intersections. It is possible that you might be able to repair the mesh either in freecad or perhaps a proper mesh modelling application. But if you do that all you were going to end up with his another mesh file not a proper CAD solid. I'm not sure how accurate your STL file is the shape of it looks strange it may well be correct but I wonder. It may be better to just simply start all over again and model it in freecad if you know what the dimensions are. So mother's here might be able to help I tested it in the latest freecad built from Master yesterday which is freecad 0.19. I have to go now good luck with it. Jim

thanks Jim.i tried with the mesh analyze and repair but it didn't work.unfortunately i don't know the dimensions.the file was sent to me a proffessor so i can analyze the lattice in another program and told me to edit in the middle hole.i tried to make it but the corners are very hard for me and because of that i am trying to convert the file to solid so i can edit it in. https://drive.google.com/file/d/189nuEZ ... sp=sharing This is the original file with the original amount of faces if you want to take a look at it.i tried opening it but after clicking on create shape from mesh the program stops responding and closes.In my opinion either the program can't handle the aount of faces(over 300 000) or my laptop is very bad.thanks again for the help.

[bejant]

Hi vencislav, and welcome!

There are some unwanted holes in your mesh but I did get a result and am hoping it is good enough for you.

I tried File > New,
File > Import your mesh,
Change to Part WB,
Select the mesh in the history tree (left side of the FreeCAD window),
From the pull-down menu Part > Create Shape From Mesh and accepted the default value.

The result is a Shell of your mesh.

From there you can use a Part WB > Cube and change the size and position of the Cube to fill in the hole.
From here you can try Part > Compound > Make Compound to join the Cube and the shell.

20190828a.png (91.43 KiB) Viewed 1049 times

OS: Ubuntu 18.04.3 LTS (ubuntu:GNOME/ubuntu)
Word size of OS: 64-bit
Word size of FreeCAD: 64-bit
Version: 0.19. (dated 2019-08-21)
Build type: Release
Python version: 3.6.8
Qt version: 5.9.5
Coin version: 4.0.0a
OCC version: 7.3.0
Locale: English/UnitedStates (en_US)

[bejant]

unfortunately i don't know the dimensions.

After Importing your mesh from the first post, selecting it in the history tree, and from the View tab (lower left corner of the FreeCAD window) tick the Property > Bounding Box from False to True.

Left to right = 374.31 mm
Top to bottom = 252.92 mm
Front to back = 71.16 mm.

What is you model? Depending on your needs it might be worthwhile for you to use the mesh as a visual guide and make a proper model of it in FreeCAD.

[bejant]

I have to go down my driveway and open the gate for my wife in a few minutes,

Just wondering Jim, is the gate to keep her in, or to keep her out?

So mother's here might be able to help

Funny typo there

[bejant]

vencislav, I just saw the announcement for TheMarkster's Mesh Remodel WB, which might be another option for you:
https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=38670

[TheMarkster]

vencislav, I just saw the announcement for TheMarkster's Mesh Remodel WB, which might be another option for you:
https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=38670

I added a new command to the Part workbench menu to create the points object from there. It has been merged, but I don't know if it's in any of the latest builds yet.

[bejant]

Thanks, I'll probably update over the weekend and hope to give it a try.