I own Zip Kit Homes (zipkithomes.com). We build kit homes, and part of that is wood framed wall panels. We have an automated saw that cut’s each 2x6 and 2x4 stud. We use Sketchup for design. Our automated saw reads XML files, so we need to find a software developer that can write a Sketchup plugin that creates a cut list and puts it into an XML format our saw can read. We currently have to draw the house in sketchup then draw it again in a different software (no bueno).
Just had to respond to say that your work is impressive. Have spoken at length with a friend about the very model you have employed. Very good to see this workflow getting traction.
@others: xml is not a geometric file, like STL. XML will contain data (whatever the data is). You cannot translate STL into XML as you would translate from one geometric format to another. A .xml file only tells you that the data in that file is xml formatted, like this:
Given that Collada is an XML file, would opening the STL in SketchUp and exporting as Collada solve the problem? At least the conversion from Collada to the custom automated saw file should be easier than going from STL.
Makes me assume that the saw is not really looking for polygons (in a collada file), but data about which timber section to cut at which lengths, serialized as XML.