RE: Core Cavity Creation From STL

From: giorgos (giorgos@mindspring.com)
Date: Fri Mar 23 2001 - 19:06:02 EET


Oliver,

Paraform's Re-Engineering software "CIP Engineer" is designed to work with
polygonal data.
It has some powerful Design for Manufacturing tools, all designed to work
directly with a
polymesh (ie: an STL, a digitized scan...) to turn it into a truely
optimized manufacturable part:

These features all using your STL (you don't even have to go to NURBS or
CAD)
2D planar parting
3D parting (with fully editable parting curves!)
automatic undercut removal
shelling/offsetting (hard, soft, advanced)

In answer to your question: " Is it realistic to use STL data ?"
Yes! It is actually in most cases to your advantage!

When working with a polygonal mesh, you can have very localized control over
the specific areas that are problems for manufacturing. For example, when
dealing with undercuts in a polymesh, you can easily fix the problem
triangles without interfering with the rest of the surrounding surface
topology which is more difficult in a traditional CAD environment. Similarly
when offsetting in a traditional CAD environment, eventually your surfaces
start self intersecting and "fishtailing". When this starts to occur in CIP
Engineer while working with a polymesh, the software can easily
automatically correct the self intersections with precise local control,
without interfering with the rest of the surface. You can do an exact
thickness or 'hard' offset, a 'soft' offset in which the thickness can
rounded to within a specified range, or even more advanced offsetting. Thus
Paraform's CIP Enginer will allow you to offset much more complicated parts
much further, where traditional CAD systems fail.

Paraform's 'CIP Engineer' software actually started out as a tool for
reverse engineering (from scanned points to NURBS) , and has now evolved
into more of a "Re-Engineering" application in which you work with multiple
formats of 3D data to process it and turn it into manufacturable products.
So wether you are RPing, milling, or even taking them to CAD for further
refinement, these are just some of the downstream applications you can now
quickly and easily do in minutes.

Thanks,

Giorgos (George) Hatzilias
Application Engineer, Paraform, Inc.
1010 Huntcliff, Suite 1350, Atlanta GA 30350
Phone: 770-518-2451 Fax: 770-518-2452
Mobile: 770-330-3526
http://www.paraform.com

===============
Hi RP'ers
 I have an application where I want to create cavities, cores and split
lines from STL data quickly and easily.
What software should I be looking to buy? I want to RP the cavities not
mill them.
 Is it realistic to use STL data or should I be using something else?
As usual all responses gratefully recieved.
 Oliver Cole
RP Solutions
Unit 20 Coventry Canal Warehouse
 Leicester Row, Coventry CV1 4LH
 Tel: 02476 632 120
Fax: 02476 632 131
          www:rp-solutions.co.uk

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