Cleaning and Repairing Scans for 3D Printing
Get a Handle On It! If you are scanning other people or things, a Kinect handle (like this) or a Kinect tripod mount (or such as this) can come in handy (see Figure 6-10).
However, analyzing STL files for errors and buildability has never been easier. Each of the following software packages has strengths that when used together, can make it easy to edit and print great looking scans. Tony Buser created the seminal video tutorial on cleaning and repairing 3D scans that deeply informed this chapter (you can watch here). Tony had also created an new updated video with a streamlined scanning cleanup workflow (here).
netfabb
Figure 6-10. Kinect on a handle
Cleaning and Repairing Scans for 3D Printing While it is becoming easier to create highquality scans, creating valid input files is sometimes difficult. Before you can print your 3D scans, you need to clean up, edit, and repair the files to make them printable.
netfabb (Figure 6-11) enables you to view and edit meshes and provides excellent repair and analysis capabilities for your STL files. netfabb makes it easy to slice off bits of jagged scans and quickly repair those scans. In most cases, you will want to slice off the bottom of your model to create a flat surface against the build platform.
The most common problems with 3D scans are: • Holes • Disconnected parts • “Junk” from the environment around the model or used to map the object in space that is not part of the model • Open objects with faces that are not closed
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Make: 3D Printing
Figure 6-11. 123D Catch scan of a stone face, shown in netfabb