How to Convert STL to STEP using Free Software? (Short Tutorial)

Ғылым және технология

We show you how to convert an STL file to a STEP file. We reverse engineer an object using free software (FreeCAD & Nefabb). After conversion, modification is possible in a CAD software. Check out our blog to find a step-by-step picture guide: holocreators.com/blog/how-to-...
We have prepared a step-by-step guide for STL to STP conversion. Converting mesh files to solid models is a complex task, but in this tutorial, we will show you how. If you would like to watch our in-depth, 2-hour tutorial, we show you how to create the part in more detail: • How to Convert STL to ...
Software to do this tutorial:
Original 3D scan of the part (STL):
www.dropbox.com/s/2dkk6vczsj1...
Reverse engineered part with FreeCAD (STEP):
www.dropbox.com/s/1sl3f99dxh0...
Deviation analysis of 3D scan and reverse engineered part (PDF):
www.dropbox.com/s/h9etsqar4g6...
GOM Inspect Software (Software for the creation of a deviation analysis):
www.gom.com/3d-software/gom-i...
Netfabb (version 7.4.0) (Software for measuring the 3D scan):
github.com/3DprintFIT/netfabb...
Netfabb (current version) (Software for measuring the 3D scan):
www.autodesk.com/products/net...
FreeCAD (free CAD software):
www.freecadweb.org/downloads.php
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:18 Step 1: Measuring in Netfabb and Creating a sketch for reference in FreeCAD
02:09 Step 2: Correct placement of the 3D-scan in FreeCAD
02:57 Step 3. How to change the transparency of 3D-scan in FreeCAD and create a profile
04:00 Step 4: How to hide part of the 3D-scan to model on the cross-section
04:50 Step 5: Connecting the profile sketches with the loft command
05:15 Step 6: Connecting all the parts with the boolean operation and exporting the part
05:47 Step 7: Compare the new part (STEP) with the original 3D-scan (STL) and create a nominal/actual comparison report.
About Holocreators:
Holocreators is a 3D-Scanning and Reverse Engineering Company. We'd love to help you with your projects. Please call us +49 40 481133 or write to us an email.
Email: info@holocreators.com
Website: holocreators.com/
Subscribe to the Holocreators KZread Channel:
/ @holocreators
Connect with us:
Website: holocreators.com
KZread Channel (English): / holocreators
KZread Channel (German): / @holocreatorsde
Facebook: / holocreators
Twitter: / holocreators
Reddit: / holocreators
LinkedIn: / holocreators
Instagram: / holocreators
Hashtags:
#ReverseEngineering
#ReverseEngineeringProject
#3Dscanning
#3Dprinting
#3Dscan
#3DPrintingTechnology
#3DPrintingEducation
#CAD

Пікірлер: 62

  • @Holocreators
    @Holocreators3 жыл бұрын

    If you would like to learn more about converting STL to STEP, check out our website: holocreators.com/blog/how-to-convert-stl-to-step/ Holocreators is a 3D-scanning and reverse engineering company. We'd love to help you with your projects. Please call us +49 40 481133 or write us an email: info@holocreators.com

  • @stevesloan6775
    @stevesloan67754 жыл бұрын

    “New subscriber here” So glad I stumbled across your channel. I really love how you zoom in on the buttons being used in the tutorials. Awesome for vision impaired and watching on phone screens. Love your work and please keep your informative videos coming! 🇦🇺🤜🏼🤛🏼😎🍀🍀🍀

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    4 жыл бұрын

    Good Morning Steve, thank you very much. Yes, sometimes I do the Zoom in, but sometimes I also forget :-). With such a big UI and all these small buttons it only makes sense. Have a wonderful day.

  • @Rycamcam
    @Rycamcam2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you! You actually linked the scan files. Took me a while to find a tutorial that has files so that we can learn along with the tutorial. Subscribed!

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    2 жыл бұрын

    Hi, happy they were helpful.

  • @bilaldjilali8447
    @bilaldjilali84473 жыл бұрын

    I subscribed cuz you realy look like someone who want to help others and share knowledge.

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you, sharing knowledge, that's what I am always trying to do.

  • @user-td3ek2pj4h
    @user-td3ek2pj4h3 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for this video. It helped me a lot.

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    3 жыл бұрын

    happy to hear that, kind regards.Swann

  • @alvaroperdigao
    @alvaroperdigao Жыл бұрын

    Congratulation! Great video! Thanks a lot!

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    Жыл бұрын

    Thank you Alvaro.

  • @DeltaOps3
    @DeltaOps33 жыл бұрын

    thank you very much for these

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thanks!

  • @dodobarbar
    @dodobarbar4 жыл бұрын

    Just a comment... This is not CONVERTING but starting from scratch. You are using a 3D file for reference only. It is even easier doing some 2D measuring with a caliper directly on the original piece and than model a 3D part. Though the GOM is a good point! I owe you a beer ;-)

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    4 жыл бұрын

    Thanks Abraka, correct this is a reconstruction with solid modeling based on a 3D scan.

  • @tessmac44
    @tessmac443 жыл бұрын

    Excellent thanks :)

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    2 жыл бұрын

    You're welcome!

  • @adrianpetrescu8583
    @adrianpetrescu85834 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for sharing

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    2 жыл бұрын

    My pleasure

  • @diegoandrade3912
    @diegoandrade39122 жыл бұрын

    excellent job

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you very much Diego.

  • @manelaero7709
    @manelaero77092 жыл бұрын

    Excellent thank you

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thanks Manel

  • @dewexdewex
    @dewexdewex4 жыл бұрын

    Great video. It may be worth pointing out that Autodesk Fusion 360 is also free to use for SMEs. Fusion 360 is now the staple of the 3D printing community, and has been since Autodesk decided this policy a couple of years ago. Keep up the good work.

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    4 жыл бұрын

    Thank you Dewex, I agree Fusion is a great tool. Have a wonderful day.

  • @ninjaabcde
    @ninjaabcde4 жыл бұрын

    Hi there! love your video, could you please add the list of software you used in this video? particularly the inspection software you used in the end, also is it opensource? again, thanks a lot for such great quality content.

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    4 жыл бұрын

    hi, the software is freecad. and for the deviation analysis i used gom inspect. also a free software

  • @Jim-ei2iv
    @Jim-ei2iv4 жыл бұрын

    This is very interesting. Can I use this method to scan a large object, something about 49 inches (125 cm) long by 12 inches (31 cm) wide? Its very high but I just need the bottom several inches. I looked at a handheld 3D scanner, but this seems to be too big to use one. Thanks!

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    4 жыл бұрын

    yes you can, photogrammetry can scan everything, from a mouse to the size of a planet :-)

  • @emalannaidoo6187
    @emalannaidoo61875 жыл бұрын

    I have a model of a boat that I need to make into a solid for a university project , do you think this method would work nicely for a model of that complexity? Just don't want to waste more time on the model part, I've basically used a iges file for my model and modeling on it on fusion 360 I know iges files are outdated but only way I was able to reduce the faces so I have flat surfaces to draw on any help will be much appreciated

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    5 жыл бұрын

    Hello Emalan, boats are not easy. You basically have a lot of ribs which are solid geometry and then you have the hull which is a NURBS surface "wrapped" around those ribs. It is definitely possible to create such a model in FreeCAD. But it will not be easy and take a lot of time. Even with professional Reverse Engineering Software, boats are challenging. But how about you send me the file, then I could give you a better advice: info@holocreators.com

  • @emalannaidoo6187

    @emalannaidoo6187

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@Holocreators thank you so much I will send you the STL file and iges file

  • @josephquinn6060
    @josephquinn60602 жыл бұрын

    What would be the benefits of using a scan as a reference, the way you showed here, as opposed to just using the physical part for reference? For me, it doesn't really make sense to add the extra step of making a scan, when the steps to model the part (creating sketches, lofts, etc..) are the same.

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    2 жыл бұрын

    Depends on the part. With a lot of Freeform Surfaces, Scanning is sometimes the only way.

  • @benoymathew5593
    @benoymathew55933 жыл бұрын

    Hi Happy to have come to your channel. Do you have an option to convert a freeform object from .stl format to .step?

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    3 жыл бұрын

    i think fusion 360 has some automated functionality for that.

  • @jongz
    @jongz2 жыл бұрын

    How can I download the GOM software. There's no download link on their site. Thanks!

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    2 жыл бұрын

    Seems like they moved the download link. Search for gom inspect free on google.

  • @visaginas360
    @visaginas3602 жыл бұрын

    Ačiū

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thanks!

  • @cyber4joy
    @cyber4joy4 жыл бұрын

    This was pretty much a manual construction with no automation.

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    4 жыл бұрын

    Yes. Freecad doesn't have a dedicated Reverse Engineering toolset yet. This is therefore a reconstruction. A conversion to NURBs surfaces could have been more automated with different software.

  • @lookingforfreewifi
    @lookingforfreewifi4 жыл бұрын

    Bei mir startet Freecad nicht. Es öffnet sich kurz und crasht dann direkt beim Start, richtig frustrierend.

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    4 жыл бұрын

    Da würde ich gern helfen, aber ich weiß auch nicht was da der Grund sein kann. Bei mir läuft es auf Windows und Mac.

  • @lookingforfreewifi

    @lookingforfreewifi

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@Holocreators Danke, habe eine Lösung gefunden! So dumm es klingt, es lag daran, dass ich einen Umlaut in meinem Nachnamen habe und es FreeCAD die Daten unter dem Userverzeichnis sichert 🙄 danke dir trotzdem!

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@lookingforfreewifi Super, dass Du es lösen konntest. Ein ähnliches Problem habe ich mit Meshlab. Wenn die Datei Umlaute drin hat, dann kann ich sie dort nicht öffnen.

  • @mjktrash
    @mjktrash Жыл бұрын

    We previously paid a great deal of money to have professional point clouds (NOT from this vendor) made of very precise and complex parts with high tolerances. Trying to create and define high tolerance geometry with MANY point clouds that are patched together and then defining precision geometry, and complex surfaces was futile at best. Combine this fact with the idea that you're scanning a manufactured part, (and rarely fresh from manufacturing and therefor deformed in various ways) but what you really want is the nominal or "Basic" dimension from the drawing and the process fails. We determined that there was little value in reverse engineering complex parts with this or similar methods if the expectation is getting accurate geometry/models from the effort.

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    Жыл бұрын

    okay thanks for your insight.

  • @xyr1nge
    @xyr1nge Жыл бұрын

    It's not converting to STEP I think? I cannot find the converted file.

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    Жыл бұрын

    Once you have converted it in Freecad you can export it from there.

  • @geraldrodriguez5739
    @geraldrodriguez57395 жыл бұрын

    Netfabb is not free

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    5 жыл бұрын

    Download the old version 5.2 thats the one I am using

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    5 жыл бұрын

    An older free Version of Netfabb I am using in the Video can downloaded here: github.com/3DprintFIT/netfabb-basic-download/releases

  • @stevesloan6775
    @stevesloan67754 жыл бұрын

    What thev:::::!!!

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    4 жыл бұрын

    :-)

  • @broderp
    @broderp Жыл бұрын

    I feel cheated. This is not converting anything. This is redrawing it the hard way.

  • @trexinvert

    @trexinvert

    Жыл бұрын

    yes, 3d "tracing". so crude. easiest if done in 2d. one view or plane at a time.

  • @Holocreators

    @Holocreators

    Жыл бұрын

    Hi, yes we have redrawn the part. If you are looking at free software there is nothing out there that could do a better job then freecad.

Келесі