Phil hunt Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 morning I have been asked to build a model of an exhibition stand.....back in the days I used to do these with card and other materials....the old fashioned way!.....i was wondering if I build my model in vectorworks...it will have vehicles...trees furniture and other 3d entourage......can i export the file so i could have it 3d printed.....i have no experience in this field so any help or advice would be appreciated sorry one last thing the exhibit size will be modelled at 1:100 scale so this should fit on an A2 size paper......are their constraints on 3d printer outputs thanks all Quote Link to comment
AlanW Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 (edited) @Phil huntHi to quote Kevin McAllister Normally files for 3d printing are exported as STL files ( File>Export>Export Stereo Lithography ) from VW. An STL file is made up of polygons. The file you're exporting needs to contain closed 3d objects (ie. solids or closed meshes). STL files are then processed into a file the 3d printer can understand (varies by 3d printer). These files are usually created by software included with the printer. I 3d print VW files all the time so it is possible. If you continue to have trouble you could post an example file. Edited June 26, 2017 by Alan Woodwell Quote Link to comment
Phil hunt Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 Thanks so if I placed an entourage 3d tree could that be exported for print. Thanks alan Quote Link to comment
David Ormsby Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 @Phil hunt I've used Shapeways.com a couple of times for this process. The one thing that was a bit of a challenge is the "minimum wall thickness" required be the printers. Shapeways has really good info on what's required for the model to work - as well as a way to upload models and see a preview of how the print will come out (and locate problem areas). The minimum thickness is largely based on which type of material used, which also defines the resolution of the print. I ended up having to make a copy of the actual project file and exaggerating the thickness of some components, but the output was fantastic! There is no charge for testing a model, and while this process sent me back to modify/rescale the model a few times it resulted in a final print that was what I wanted. Best of luck! Quote Link to comment
Phil hunt Posted July 3, 2017 Author Share Posted July 3, 2017 Thanks David......great advice Quote Link to comment
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