Forgot to reply to list as well.
-------- Original Message --------
On 11/25/2010 06:29 PM, Dennis Kolva wrote:
> I have been using Chimera to export .stl files of proteins and
RNA for 3D printing. The surface models print OK, but sticks or
ribbons choke the printer. I looked close at the output meshes, and
they have many extra surfaces which should be removed to make
"legal" .stl format.
>
> Is that portion of the code open source? I'd like to take a
closer look and see if it's possible to fix. It would be much easier
to rectify the bad surfaces upon creation, rather than trying to
remove them by post-processing.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Dennis Kolva
> Cornell U.
Presumably , you don't have a Z-Corp printer and their ZPrint
software,
otherwise you would output VRML from chimera and have ZPrint do the
proper conversion to STL.
So yes, the source code is available at
http://plato.cgl.ucsf.edu/trac/chimera/browser/trunk/apps/x3d2/stl,
and
we would welcome improvements. I believe that the problem is that
chimera does not output manifold geometry and that the X3D to STL
converter would need to perform CSG operations on all of the
geometry,
especially the spheres and cylinders, to eliminate interpenetrating
surfaces. Another issue to consider is what to do about ribbons and
cylinders that are too thin for the printer you're using.
Feel free to contact me directly with questions about the code or
use
the chimera developers mailing list, chimera-dev@cgl.ucsf.edu,
Greg