STL to solid - large filesize

[Koemi]

OS: Windows 10
Word size of OS: 64-bit
Word size of FreeCAD: 64-bit
Version: 0.16.6712 (Git)
Build type: Release
Branch: releases/FreeCAD-0-16
Hash: da2d364457257a7a8c6fb2137cea12c45becd71a
Python version: 2.7.8
Qt version: 4.8.7
Coin version: 4.0.0a
OCC version: 6.8.0.oce-0.17


Howdy!

I am trying to create a solid file from an STL file. This beauty: https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d ... unes-91847

Using this workaround: https://www.freecadweb.org/wiki/Import_from_STL_or_OBJ

The downloaded STL file is 30mb.

I did the repairs and closed some holes. Went ok.

Then I created a shape from the repaired mesh. Went ok. Created a shape of almost 250mb

Two different pc's (one using V0.16, specs shown above and one using the latest version, specs unknown because pc is not nearby) are now sweating for almost two days to refine this immense peace of CAD. Unfortunately it is impossible to see if there is any progress or not...

And if one pc gets the job done, there is still the need to get this refinement to a solid part

I definately need this final solid to blow it up to a larger physical size (±3m high). Then I have to chop it up in slices and bring it to the real world. This is done by projecting each slice to a styrofoam slice and cut it out. Finally glue all slices together and create the sculpture.

The reddish sphere in the picture below would be the final Yosemite Sam shape made out of styrofoam and wood. Could be a nice user showcase

Questions
1. Is this file too large to do what I want to do (from stl to solid)?
2. Maybe another workaround possible (maybe even without using the brilliant FreeCAD possibilities)?

[chrisb]

It is most probably too big. According to Werner an upper limit is around 100,000 on good hardware. FreeCAD is not optimized for meshes and transfers them into something much more complicated (and of course capable of much more, but that's not needed here), which needs much more resources.

[openBrain]

Out of curiosity, why don't you just scale then slice the STL directly with software like Blender ?

[Koemi]

Out of curiosity, why don't you just scale then slice the STL directly with software like Blender ?

Like I asked:

2. Maybe another workaround possible (maybe even without using the brilliant FreeCAD possibilities)?

Already trying to do something using Meshlab (it seems I am getting somewhere) but Blender has my attention now, thanks

[papyblaise]

Hello
after 3 h of calcul I can see the solid but the file size is 227Mo
I can evaluate it at 120mm higth , if you need a sculptur of 3m you have to scale it at 25 time
Maybe a good way is to cut some part like arms , legs , barbes , and the sommit of the hat ,
But when I tray to remove one arm , I crash at 40mn

[freedman]

I don't know anything about meshes. Does the file size really need to be that large? If you take Sam and lay him in a solid and do a subtraction here in FreeCAD could you make a mold and reduce the file size? Just throwing out ideas.

[Quaoar]

Out of curiosity, I laid it out with Coons patches after twice decimating the input mesh with VTK quadric decimation tool. To retopologize the model Instant Meshes is an awesome utility. Still, there is a lack of G1 continuity on edges, and this should somehow be worked out. Also, a couple of gaps is to be filled.

The output STEP file is 33.6 MiB: http://quaoar.su/tmp/yosemite-sam.zip

yosemite-sam_03.png (178.54 KiB) Viewed 384 times

The attachment yosemite-sam_04.png is no longer available

[Koemi]

Thanks gents, I appreciate your (computing) time and efforts very much. This could lead to something nice

[Koemi]

The output STEP file is 33.6 MiB: http://quaoar.su/tmp/yosemite-sam.zip

-Downloaded the STEP-file;
- Saved it as a FreeCAD file;
- Upscaled it to a ±3500mm wide giant;
- Convert it to a solid (hollow, not filled), filesize 7MB - check link: https://we.tl/t-wbIW6yHNcz

All fine, so it seams...

Now I am trying to make a filled solid, so that I can create slices (like described the first post) and make separate parts (arms, legs, head, etc). Also probably need to create a 'machine room' inside the figure to make movement of body parts possible.

But I fail in making a filled solid...

A cut of two shapes (Part WB) using the hollow part and a solid cube fails.

What to do?

[Quaoar]

The problem is likely that this reconstructed STEP file contains some holes:

sam01.png (236.18 KiB) Viewed 241 times

These zones are highly challenging for automatic quad layout, and the straightforward way to fix that is to use more quads:

sam02.png (265.49 KiB) Viewed 241 times

The file size grows but it becomes a watertight solid: http://quaoar.su/tmp/yosemite-sam-2000.zip