Michael,
Keep in mind that there's alot of information lost in the translation from
IGES to STL that will greatly affect the type of machining you can do. For
example, a hole is no longer a hole and a fillet is no longer a fillet.
Tool paths generated on on STL files are restricted to 2 1/2-D
contouring, from what I've seen. This is the tip of the iceberg for NC
machining. It's the easy part. Writing code for creating a fillet at the
intersection of 2 surfaces or for a threaded hole becomes very difficult.
The same goes for dirlling, counter-boring, chamfering, iso-curve
contouring.
In addition, it's much easier to make changes to IGES than to STL, as you
know. And there's almost always something to change; draft andgles,
parting line location, hold-down lugs, etc.
I do think machining on STL files is a nice option. We've been looking at
a few programs. I downloaded the demo version of Deskproto. It's
impressive and the cost is reasonable.
Steve
michael rees wrote:
> How many CAM programs are going to the .stl file as an option for
> import?
>
> What are the major drawbacks of using STL instead of Iges?
>
> I would assume that an iges file, with the nurbs information, would make
> a smoother finish on the part. The part made from STL would be as
> faceted as the original stl file, unless further operations were applied
> to the file.
>
> Does using an STL file solve more problems than it creates?
>
> best,
> --
> michael rees SCULPTOR http://www.sound.net/~zedand00/
> 1212 w 8th St. Bldg B #2, 816 753 3020 voice zedand00@sound.net
> KC, Mo 64101 816 753 1542 fax
>
> For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/
-- Steve Farentinos PML, Inc. 201 W. Beach Ave. Inglewood, CA 90302 310 671-4345 310 671-0858 Fax 310 671-1862 BBSFor more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/
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