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Import huge or large STL or obj hires scans from CT, Laser- or Lightstripescanners

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hi,

I was very happy to have 4R7 64bit to import hires scan data… I need to import STL (also OBJ) filesets up to 5 GB - but it does not work.
(I need to deform or manipulate the complete objects - cutting in another application and work on part in ZB is extremely work intensive and you can do a lot of errors)

ZB crushes with:

If I am right, Pixologic says, that the polygonsize is limited by the system…

I have an Dell Laptop M6800 Proc:i7/32GB Ram/4GBGraphic/256GB SSD/Win764bit

Is there anything I can optimize to import such hires-files ???

Klaus

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#2

5 GB

That’s HUGE. In the past version of Z; I had opened a .zpr of ~2 or less GB. I personally don’t see it happening anytime soon.

#3

Hi,

in the 4R6 it was possible to import 1,4 GB STL - in 4R7 64bit I can import 2,1 GB - far away from my goal.

Any suggestions ???

Klaus

#4

Did you crank up Max polys in the Preferences? Can you bring it in as a smaller file(less data)? That’s an insane amount…

#5

What software are you using for your scan data?

Which scanning are you using CT, Lazer, or Lightstripe?

If it’s lazer and light then those files are way too big. If it’s CT you need to separate the scanned components and export as different objects and bring them into Zbrush as separate subtools.

What kind of objects are you scanning? What’s it for, medical, games, etc.?

#6

Try optimize it in Meshlab (it’s free) before importing to Zbrush.
In my case importing to Meshlab and OBJ then without any decimation export back to obj without any additional options like Vert Color / Vert Normal / Face Color leaving only TexCoord reduce file size for about 30 to 40%

You can Decimate mesh over there as well if still needed or just simply cut it in to parts and export as few obj’s/stl’s

#7

Hi,

I am scanning artwork from 20mm (point distance 0,01mm) up to 1,5 m (point distance 0,05 mm) - often 50mio Polys. The task is to get a 3D Model as original as possible to machine things like skin, folds, seams… as a perfect copy to create a 3D CAD. Often I have to modify the global shape without loosing details and - if possible I have to work on original STL - no remesh or zremesher and project and so on.

What I am looking for is a solution to import such huge files and modify them in ZB (3, 4 better 5GB) - if it´s not possible with ZB64bit I have to look for another soft - for example Geomagic Freeform.

#8

If you could open it you could at least hide parts of it and or use groups.
Deep pockets may be necessary for specific software if you can’t do it in ZBrush.

#9

I am scanning artwork from 20mm (point distance 0,01mm) up to 1,5 m (point distance 0,05 mm) - often 50mio Polys.

What scanner hardware and software are you currently using? What are the dimensions of the physical objects you’re scanning and how many points are in the cloud data (scan data) and then how many points in the converted stl data? Are you pulling color info or just the physical scan data?

The task is to get a 3D Model as original as possible to machine things like skin, folds, seams… as a perfect copy to create a 3D CAD.

Do you need CAD or STL data as your final output? There is a big difference and is the primary one that determines the workflow here.

Often I have to modify the global shape without loosing details and - if possible I have to work on original STL - no remesh or zremesher and project and so on.
No you don’t have to work on the original STL. You can remesh (Zremesh) with a projection (and I usually recommend it). I do this all the time with scan data and my clients cannot tell the difference between the stl and remeshed Zbrush file. I get all the original data with the benefits of Zbrush tools for modification/detailing.

What I am looking for is a solution to import such huge files and modify them in ZB (3, 4 better 5GB) - if it´s not possible with ZB64bit I have to look for another soft - for example Geomagic Freeform.

Geomagic Freeform isn’t going to give you what you’re looking for here. And that’s an expensive tool that will probably cost you a minimum of $5,000. No offense but what you’re looking for may be the wrong idea. The thing you should be looking for is an overall proper workflow. If your scanning hardware/software isn’t set up right it could be gathering redundant information and easily bloating your file size.

If I could look at your scan data file (stl) I could probably give you better information that would help and point you in the right direction.

#10

Scannersystems: GOM ATOS, Steinbichler Comet, ComputerTomograph LG

At first step I model STL with all details, in second step I create a CAD with Rhino, Rapidform, Geomagic Studio, Imageware Surfacer to get a perfect, machinable CAD model.

This moring I found a “solution”:

  • Cut a 3.5GB Model in 3 parts in GOM
  • Import two parts in ZB64bit
  • Merge them with “subtoolmaster”
  • WELDpoints to get a really connected mesh (that was the thing I missed)
  • Import third part, merge…weld…
  • …

Weld takes a lot of time, but worked.

With that workflow I made a Subtool with about 30mio points, about 60mio Polygons. Modelling and smoothing across the boundaries is no problem now. I will try to import larger files in that way.

#11

Glad to hear you got it worked out. :slight_smile:

Your scanner software might need some adjustments as well. We had a new employee run a scan and it got really big in file size and very slow, very quickly. He forgot to check the overlap filter in the scanning software. Basically it’s a filter that removes points within a very small range of already existing points in the data. This means when you do another scan pass at different angle or where some of the passes overlap it doesn’t put points in where there is already data as it would be redundant. For some lower quality scanning it’s not a big deal but our high precision laser scanner can easily get 1-5 million points in a single short pass. That redundant data can add up very quickly.

From what you’re describing it sounds like it might be more of a file size issue than the actual number of points.

#12

Thats right…

It seems that ZB is not able to import files bigger than 1.4 GB STL or 2 GB obj. It crashes with that memory error shown at the beginning of this thread.

If imported, handling seems not to be the problem.