Building Rapid Prototype 3D Models from Zbrush Files Tutorial

[Lee Kiff]

Most 3D printers have no problems with models made from intersecting meshes. Just make sure each mesh is watertight, and is clean of non-manifold edges, and other junk.

Have you got any tips for fixing meshes which aren't watertight? I've got a model that is composed of multiple subtools. There are open / bad edges contained "within" the model and the various subtools overlap and cover these areas. I assumed that by performing boolean operations within somethig like modo I could eliminate the unwanted bad internal gemometry leaving me with a watertight external mesh. I'm not having any luck though........Any advise / workflow / suggestions would be greatly appriciated

[GROWit]

We have software that fixes the the files in a fairly automated process. If our software doesn't fix it, our engineer will fix it piece by piece. Typically, as long as it doesn't take longer than 15 minutes (it rarely does) we'll fix the parts for free.

I wish I had better advice, but I doubt our software is worth the investment for you guys as it's specific to our industry.

[fork]

Growit, Is your program Geomagic, Rapidform or Polyworks?

We finally got a copy of Geomagic along with our 3d scanner. Geo will clean up point cload data and stl mesh, I assume it will work with Zbrush obj's too. Anyway when I try this I'll post my results. The drag is that geo is incredibly expensive.

fork

[GROWit]

The program we choose to use will vary based on what exactly is wrong with the file.

[shadow0000]

shhark, thank you for sharing this kind of knowledge...




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Rapid Prototyping

[Steely_340]

Quick question for you all . . .

If I were to insert a mesh on an existing subTool and then with the clay brush blend the two objects, would or could I experience problems in the printing process?

The two objects would be over lapping . . .

Thanks for the great thread.

Steely

[Pigumon]

This is a most amazing thread and I'm really upset I didn't see it when it started.

Things have certainly changed since this was started, better resolution printers for one, but not much info about prices coming down, or if any of the "gang print" scenarios ever worked out.

I noticed almost all of the problems mentioned in this thread have pretty much been solved thanks to the new zbrush plugins Decimation Master and 3D Print Exporter.

I'm curious if any of the companies listed here have tested files using the new plugins.

[shhark]

Steely_340:
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "insert a mesh" but within what I know about what you can do with ZB it shouldn't be a problem. Depending on what you're trying to do, you'll probably need to your bake your 3D layer or merge your subtools by using the "Insert Mesh" function in the Geometry palette. As long as the meshes intersect & your "shell" is watertight it should work out .

Pigumon:
Things really have moved fast since I started the thread. It would be great to get back on subject & keep tabs on the direction of 3D printing & how ZB interfaces. The "gang print" scenario is the way to go but somebody needs to start the club. I proposed it but really got very little organized response. I'm not with Paradigm anymore but if anyone wants to still try this I'd be happy to manage it. Drop me a PM & I'll start a queue. If we get enough models together I'll get some quotes & see if we can't figure a way to get some prints done at a reasonable price .

Fork:
I know this is going back in time a bit...You can merge subtools by cloning each on them then adding them with the "insert mesh" function in the Geometry palette. This is covered in the tutorial. I think the new STL Export plugin has the ability to take care of that for you now though. I think most of my tutorial is no longer necessary with the Decimation & STL plugins. Thanks to Pixologic all this just got a lot easier !

[Pigumon]

The Print:

AWESOME design, awesome print

he reminds me of a buffed version of Tingle from Zelda: Wind Waker

@Josh

I didn't see your reply until just now, it's really great to see how things are advancing so quickly especially in the past year. It seems Envisiontec has just released a new machine that claims to have perfectly smooth surfaces with no need for post work, stuff you can make a mold directly from!!!

I'm working on getting a blog going for this, I don't see why we couldn't incorporate a place where people could pick a "space" and it would update in a table so people could see if their items are close to being printed or not. I think you mentioned you'd have to pre-pay for such a scheme which makes sense to me. Maybe with a time-limited refund.. say if all the spaces aren't filled within 8 weeks, then the money is refunded, or with the option of paying slightly more to compensate for the few empty spaces?

I have some large pieces I'd like printed, so it doesn't really work for me in this case, but I have a ton of smaller ideas I could work on just to see.

[GROWit]

Pigumon-

Just wanted to let you (and others) know that have been using the Decimation Master and 3D print exporter now for a number of prints and worked through some issues during beta testing. Everything seems to be working great in the oficial release. Now you can send us your polypainted ZTools in VRML form and we can produce some full color models directly from Zbrush! The Decimation Master is going to be very helpful to us and has made preparing Ztools for printing much easier. We produce Zbrush models primarily using Objet's Connex (in fact the print posted by MouthforWar was printed by GROWit using the Connex), although Zcorp models are great if you want color at a great price. We have a few different colors to choose from as well as rubber parts. The Connex lays down 16micron layers (~.0006") which means highly accurate models right out of the machine.

GROWit has worked with many artists from a number of forums from around the world. Please contact us directly if you have specific questions, and we will try our best to keep an eye on the threads!

[Pigumon]

That sounds great! I assume an uncolored print is still more accurate and detailed than a colored print (because of the different process?).

I'll have to contact you through your site. Thanks!

Pigumon-

Just wanted to let you (and others) know that have been using the Decimation Master and 3D print exporter now for a number of prints and worked through some issues during beta testing. Everything seems to be working great in the oficial release. Now you can send us your polypainted ZTools in VRML form and we can produce some full color models directly from Zbrush! The Decimation Master is going to be very helpful to us and has made preparing Ztools for printing much easier. We produce Zbrush models primarily using Objet's Connex (in fact the print posted by MouthforWar was printed by GROWit using the Connex), although Zcorp models are great if you want color at a great price. We have a few different colors to choose from as well as rubber parts. The Connex lays down 16micron layers (~.0006") which means highly accurate models right out of the machine.

GROWit has worked with many artists from a number of forums from around the world. Please contact us directly if you have specific questions, and we will try our best to keep an eye on the threads!

[Arsyn]

For 3d prints, is it best to sculpt with or without perspective on? Which will look more accurate to the actual 3d print? If with perspective, what focal length?

thanks

[jymster]

-All parts need to be “closed”. There can be no open holes or gaps in meshes. The .ZTL “Demo Head” for instance is not buildable as is. The bottom is completely open and the printers cannot read a zero thickness open skin. I had to close the bottom in another program and create an .STL from that.

shhark,

Can you please explain this a little further? I would like to know how to "close" the model, e.g. the "demo head" model. Preferably I would like to know how to create a shell with thickness, rather than just a zero thickness surface, but a solid model would also be good.

I want to print the model on a ZCorp 3D printer. Please help.

Thanks, James.

[Ustos]

ye... me too.


At work i've had this trouble and was deciding it for a day.. All my results is not good.

[shhark]

To close your model (solid geometry): Short of capping the model in another program you will need to close the model using the retopology tools. A quick search should get you all the info you need to figure out how to do it.

To create a shell thickness: You can try a couple approaches depending on what stage you're at in your sculpture. You can try the "Extract" function in the Subtool palette. Even though you have some control over the thickness of the extraction, you unfortunately do not have control over the direction of extraction (it extracts in both directions) so this is only good if you're in early stages of model development. It's a nice tool since you can easily mask any shape you want off your surface (i.e. holes, filigree, etc.) & translate that into a subtool. Hopefully Pixologic will add directional control to this feature which will make it more useful at any stage in your model.

The other option is to store a Morph Target, then scale your model down. I use the "Size" slider in the Deformation Palette with XYZ all turned on and type in the amount of scaling I want for best control. I suppose you could use the scale handles also. Then hit "Create Difference Mesh" and you'll have you're shelled model. Again check the forum for more details on how to do this if you're having problems.

As for sculpting with perspective, I have always sculpted with it off. It's a camera effect to help show proximity to the model or depth of field. If it somehow helps you to use it then by all means do it but I haven't found a need for it. It seems that if you were to use it at all the largest focal length (150mm) would be most appropriate. Really the only way to tell if it works for you is to do some comparison tests between a printed model and your virtual model.

Hope this helps-