Help! I am unable to locate and clear the errors found by Solid Inspector. When I import the model into Bambu Labs it return non-manifold edge error.
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Help! I am unable to locate and clear the errors found by Solid Inspector. When I import the model into Bambu Labs it return non-manifold edge error. EarProtection_mod~.skp (107.8 KB)
Try this.
EarProtection_mod~box.skp (62.8 KB)
Also, the ~ means you’re working on your backup file, not on your main one. Just sayin.
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Thank you for the help Box. The errors are all cleared and I’m printing it now. Any thoughts on what I should do differently next time? I’m new to sketchup/CAD and appreciate any tips/videos/tutorials I should learn from. I suspect there are features that I don’t yet know.
Appreciate the pointer ateliernab: new info for me.
These extensions can help clean up your models:
Solid inspector2
Cleanup3
Fixit 101
It would probably help to understand what consitutes a manifold or solid object. The keys are that every edge must be shared by exactly two faces. No fewer and no more. So that means no stray edges (zero faces), no holes in surfaces (one face), and no internal faces (three or more faces sharing an edge. And you need to have the faces correctly oriented. The white front faces are oriented toward air and the blue back faces toward the print media. In your model you have internal faces and incorrect face orientation.
If I were modeling this part I would start at the ground plane and work up in much the same way as an FDM printer would print it. Start by modeling only the features that would appear on the print bed with the first layer and work up from there. Actually a small exception to that would be the radiused edges at the ends of the block shape at the bottom. I would add those roundovers after getting the rest of the model complete.
Another thing I find useful when modeling for 3D printing is to set the units to meters and model as if millimieters are meters. I would model your object at 65 meters tall. Export the .stl with Model Units or Meters in the export options and import into the slicer as millimeters. Working large like that allows you to create smoother curved surfaces and tends to avoid issues with missing faces. No need to scale the model down before export. This is a thing I modeled for 3D printing. Note the units.
Footplate Skid for 3D Print
And the printed object.
3D Printed Wheelchair Footplate Skids
Best practice is to clean up as you go. Then you’ll have less fixing to do later and you’ll have less reliance on extensions to fix the model. They are quite useful but clean modeling will reduce the times you need to call on them.
FWIW, I modeled it using the steps I would take. Note that the step before the first extrude shows what the first layer would look like on the build plate. I copied the portions of the arcs up to the height of the block so I wouldn’t need to redraw them. The counterbores aren’t outlined until the thing is thick enough for the counterbores to show. The printer wouldn’t print those until it gets to that height, either.
EarProtection_mod steps.skp (658.7 KB)
Thank you - super helpful DaveR
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