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Having problems getting file ready for shapeways

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

I’m having some trouble getting my file ready for printing and was hoping someone here with experience with Shapeways could offer some advice?

I uploaded my file, which is 4.505 w x 8.481 d x 3.582 in inches, as one solid piece just to see what the price would be like and naturally it was very expensive. I followed a video tutorial on hollowing out the mesh using the insert cylinder tool and dynamesh’s create shell function. I left the hole created by the cylinder to hopefully act as a vent hole and submitted the stl to shapeways to find that the price was only 50 cents lower? I checked out the difference in volume and it’s only about a cm cubed which seems all wrong.

I’m assuming I’ve done something wrong since I can’t imagine that a solid vs hollow print would only amount to such a small difference in price and volume, Is there anyone out there who has any idea what I could be doing wrong? If it helps in the shapeways preview my vent hole appears to be “filled” in the preview but not in zbrush or any stl viewer I’ve opened it with.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I’m trying everything I can think of and getting rather frustrated.

Here is the preview image from shapeways that shows the cylinder vent hole now “closed”

Thanks again

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#2

I think unless you’re using certain software with them you’re not going to have much luck. I’ve submitted dozens of models and most have been rejected for various reasons, usually think walls in my case. I don’t think Shapeways plays nice with holes of any size. Good luck. Sorry I couldn’t offer an actual help.

#3

I’ve had lots of things printed from Shapeways, Zbrush will trick you sometimes even with its ‘fix mesh’ function, i suggest always checking your model in Netfabb basic (free) before uploading to shapeways.
For your model, in Zbrush try hitting the close holes button and see what happens, there could be other issues.
I’ve used the dynamesh shell function a bit too but lately have been using panel loops because i have more control over the thickness.

#4

Thanks a lot for the help guys.

Unfortunately I did open the files in netfabb and a few other programs before uploading. Shapeways doesn’t recognise any problems with the mesh, and I believe it does recognise the wall thickness from the way the preview renders. It just does not seem to have any impact on it’s perceived volume.

I will look into panel loops though, it sounds like a better system for the hollowing.

#5

Which material from Shapeways are you using?

Not all materials and printers are equal in pricing and application. In other words hollowing out a model will not always save money or at least not as much as you would think. It depends on the printing process and materials being used.