I made a boat in SketchUp and I need to 3D print it a class. I converted it to an STL with the program extension for it and I opened the STL in the MakerBot software to load into a 3D printer. It looks fine but shows some of the walls invisible when I move it around and when I do the verify task to show me the steps in printing it makes the entire body of the boat solid and closes the top but the STL in Windows 10 3D builder shows the boat with an open hull like in Sketchup. I have 3D walls, not paper thin, and the bottom of the hull is also not paper thin. I am new to Sketchup and 3D printing and Makerbot. The boat is supposed to have a hull like a little paper boat but the walls are thick. I uploaded the file if anyone can look at it. Also, there are two holes and I need them there to hold straws for a mini engine.
Here is the model in the Makerbot software after being converted to an STL:
As you can see, the entire body is filled. If you check it in Sketchup, the hull is depressed inward and not a complete solid. I can only upload one image so I can not compare both.
Two main problems prevent your boat from being printable. First, reversed faces, you should only see white front faces. Second the bottom of the boat is made of two groups while the rest is loose geometry. The geometry should all be in a single solid group or component.
After exploding the bottom groups and correcting the face orientation, there’ll be an internal face at the bottom of the hull sides that needs to be deleted. Then it’ll make a solid and should be printable.
Since this is for a class you should learn to do it yourself. Try this. Select and explode the two bottom groups. Right click on the blue faces and choose Reverse Faces. To get rid of the internal face at the bottom of the sides, right click on one side of the bottom and choose Hide. Select and delete the narrow face at the bottom of the sides. Then use Edit>Unhide>All to restore the hidden face. Select all and make it a component or group.
Thank you so much. It works. I was wondering if you know as well why when I import the STL into Makerbot the model is tiny? To clarify, the class isn’t asking for a model specifically, but I just have to make a small boat and I wanted to print it out.
What units are you using for the STL export? Is there an option during import to the Makerbot software to select units? If so, make sure they are the same. My guess is you are exporting in model units which is inches and importing in millimeters. That would result in a boat that is only about 8mm long.
