MarcusWatt Posted August 27, 2018 Share Posted August 27, 2018 Long time reader, first time poster... I am currently doing a proof of concept for a client, with the end goal to create a replica of an antique ceremonial mace. The mace can't be touched, so I am modelling it (as best I can) from photos, etc. The mace is quite detailed with inscriptions, engravings, etc. I am hoping to recreate these using bump textures and/or displacment mapping of textures I am creating from photos. Detail doesn't have to be precise but it needs to look like the real thing from a distance. Can I get these textures printed in the 3d printing process? Every time I export to an .stl file, the surfaces are 'clean' with no textures... I have never 3d printed before so not even sure if this is possible! Cheers 1 Quote Link to comment
Vectorworks, Inc Employee PVA - Admin Posted August 27, 2018 Vectorworks, Inc Employee Share Posted August 27, 2018 No texture information is stored in STL unfortunately and there's no way to extract displaced geometry from a render. The changes have to actually be made to the surface of the model itself in order to 3D print them: Quote Link to comment
MarcusWatt Posted February 14, 2019 Author Share Posted February 14, 2019 Thanks Jim. I'm having another crack at this project and I was wondering if you (or anyone) knows if Cinema 4D will enable me to get displacement textures into an STL model to enable them to be 3d printed? Quote Link to comment
Gaspar Potocnik Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 Has anybody been able to get a bump on to a stl file? Just trying to get something like a voronoi displacement on on face of a model I have. Cheers Quote Link to comment
jbtroost Posted May 5, 2021 Share Posted May 5, 2021 (edited) On 1/30/2021 at 9:11 PM, Gaspar Potocnik said: Has anybody been able to get a bump on to a stl file? Just trying to get something like a voronoi displacement on on face of a model I have. Cheers You will not be able to print images, because an stl-model has to have physical lines or patterns. Textures are flat (or virtually distorted and bumped) and therefor cannot be seen on a 3d print… Edited May 5, 2021 by Jan-Burger TROOST Typo Quote Link to comment
Claes Lundstrom Posted May 6, 2021 Share Posted May 6, 2021 STL does not support textures, but OBJ does. Many printer drivers also support OBJ for importing. It may not be of any use if the 3D printer does not support color printing though. Personally, I work with printed textures on flat printable materials such as cardboard, fabrics and sheets of plastic instead to simulate and give a illusion of a more complex shape. There is of course a limit to how far you can stretch that in terms of complexity of the shape, but probably more than you think. Quote Link to comment
jbtroost Posted May 6, 2021 Share Posted May 6, 2021 13 hours ago, Claes Lundstrom said: STL does not support textures, but OBJ does. Many printer drivers also support OBJ for importing. It may not be of any use if the 3D printer does not support color printing though. Personally, I work with printed textures on flat printable materials such as cardboard, fabrics and sheets of plastic instead to simulate and give a illusion of a more complex shape. There is of course a limit to how far you can stretch that in terms of complexity of the shape, but probably more than you think. I read the TS post as a question how to convert images to real structures when exporting to stl, like using the bumping on a texture of a brique to actually print that in 3D. Not as the ability to print images on a model. Quote Link to comment
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