Hi everyone
So I am trying to get a 3d printed RC truck body for a gift. I found a model of the specific car online and I e-mailed someone asking if he could hollow it out(to put on top/fit components) and take the tires off. Then I would get it 3d printed. Unfortunately we ran into a snag and he was unable to hollow it out. He told me if I could get the model hollowed out he could do the printing so I am asking if anyone knows how to do this? this is the model:
Thanks
Leanne
My (un-tested) suggestion would be to export it as STL, load it into mesh editor of your choice (e.g. blender.)
Duplicate the object, reduce it by some small percentage. Make sure they’re still centred on each other.
Duplicate the shrunk object. Move it down a bit, so it’s just appearing out the bottom of the original (bigger) item.
Now boolean difference the smaller ones from the bigger one.
Blender may make this even easier: Making a Hollow in a mesh - Modeling - Blender Artists Community
Note that neither of these are likely to give you a perfectly even thickness wall. If there are any specific dimensions you need to clear (e.g. clips on the R/C base that this top needs to connect to), I’d suggest modelling the R/C base, scaling it up a bit (so you’ve got some tolerances) and then boolean subtracting this.
(I believe some of the professional 3d mesh tools have the ability to create uniform wall thicknesses from a solid model.)
Important addendum: make sure the model is watertight and all the polygons are oriented correctly. i.e. take the modified model from sketchup (wheels removed, etc), export it as stl, then run it through NetFab before trying to edit it.
Good luck!
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Hi Leanne,
I’ve had a quick look.
Although I can import the model in my professional 3D modelling software, it is not possible to stitch the mesh together and convert it to solid. See attached screen grabs.
The model is also very faceted, I don’t think it will give you a good final 3D print.
My suggestion would be to re-model the car and then hollow it. If you’d like help with this, please raise an enquiry via my hub https://www.3dhubs.com/leicester/hubs/designeering …we can discuss your project further there and give you a cost for the work.
Hope this helps.
Sébastien
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Hi Leanne,
I can definitely give it a try if you email me the model, however, depending on the scan and other factors it could be doable but is not for sure yet.
Cheers,
Xavier
