I received a file to print but the STL has some errors in it. The file is build as several squares and triangles placed close together to form a letter (‘E’). because the squares are place at an angle of 90 degrees, there is a small gap between them at the corners. when slicing, the slicer sees the squares as separate pieces and makes the inside outer perimeters, this is correct because it is in fact the outside, but it should be the outside. because there are other triangles on top, the letter should be filled with infill, but since it is sliced as outside, no infill or support is placed and holes appear in the model.
I tried 16 different slicers and all possible settings but none of them seems to work right. I also tried to fix the files with netfab and meshlab, these programs removed some errors but didn’t fix the real problems.
What I’m looking for is something to only take the outside of the model and weld the small gaps together to get a solid model.
I already asked for a new model without the errors but the new one has the same errors, he said the letter has been printed before multiple times and I have seen pictures of the result. it’s so frustrating to know it is possible to print the file but it just fails.
Repairing at cost isn’t really an option because the customer says it is printable so I guess he won’t pay for a repair
I fixed the problem :), downloading an older version of Cura and selecting Ultimaker as printer and than changing it back to my own printer gave me a list of options. Including the option to ignore errors and fix the file.
Sometimes it also helps to ask what program they used to design it. I typically get a response that Rhino or sketchup was used. I then point them to guides on how to prep files from those programs for 3d printing and they are then able to provide a good file for printing.
