Help with creating a file

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1

Hi all, Ive found myself in a bit of a pickle.

My wife has found a vase she really likes but wants it cut in half so she can wall mount it.

Im struggling with sealing the rear after i have cut the model in half, as its a strange shape its not as simple as just fitting a flat panel to the back.

Could anyone advise me on how and please keep in mind my editing skills are near zero. I have meshmixer and blender but ive spent an age with both along with google but im getting zero results.

thanks in advance.

2

Are you able to upload the vase in a .3mf file?

3

Try to cut it in the slicer. It is quite good at sealing holes . Asssuming your original model has no errors.

4

Hi ive tried but its over 500mb it says

5

I did try this, but no luck :expressionless_face:

6

TinkerCAD might be the tool for this:

As a rough outline of the process:

  1. Start with a new/blank project
  2. Import vase STL file (this can take a minute or two for complex models)
  3. Chop the vase in half:
    • Add a negative block to the model, resize and reposition to overlap half the vase
    • Join the block and vase (TinkerCad calls this a “union group”) (icon in the toolbar)
  4. Make a back panel:
    • Add a sketch object (look for the fancy fountain pen icon). Place the drawing start position on the back of the vase you’ve just chopped in half
    • Use the curve tool to race the outline. When you’re done click Finish sketch and it will turn into a custom panel.
  5. Adjust the thickness of the new panel, join it with the chopped vase with the union group tool, and export as STL for printing!

TinkerCad is one of the easiest of the CAD tools. Not the most versatile, but that’s a good thing: what it does, it does pretty well. Still, using the drawing/pen/sketch tool takes some getting used to, so plan to spend some time figuring out how to use it.

EDIT/UPDATE: I just saw that the model file is 500 MB. TinkerCad might not handle something that large and complex. I’m not sure, I’ve never thrown anything much larger than 20-30 MB at it.

7

Yeah tinkercad wont open this file.

When you say SVG, did you mean stl?

8

Are you able to share the link to the file?

9

I did mean STL, sorry! I edited my comment to fix it.

10

People tend to think they need to crank the quality of STLs all the way up - I promise that your printer can’t even come close to printing that level of detail.

For most cases, the stock settings are more than sufficient.

If the source file happens to just be that big, start by making sure your units are correct - and it’s not multiplying by 25.4 incorrectly.

If the units are right, you’ll want to open it up in 3D studio or autodesk Meshlab and turn down the resolution.

11

Perfect, thanks for the advice

12

if the file for a vase is 500mb and the op does not know how to cut it in half, it’s likely a 3d scan (or possibly a bad AI, the good ones can produce smaller files)

Tinkercad probably wont help if the OP can’t sculpt.

Scaling shouldn’t matter for a file slze, an STL is a set of co-ordinates, scaling it will just move them further apart, unless you doing something else like subdivide the mesh.

FOR OP: OP, I suggest that you put the vase in a box and pour in some kind of castable resin; it will fill half half way up perfectly.

edit or re-scan at a lower resolution, if it is indeed scanned. Blender also has a “decimate” function to reduce the number of polygons.

13

Hi and thanks for your advice.

I’m not wanting to go down that route of placing it in a box, I just wondered if there was a perhaps a simple way I couldn’t figure out myself.

Appreciate all the advice but if it’s to complicated for me to do it’s no big deal.

Thank you all :raising_hands:t2:

14

Hey, just wanted to drop you a quick message to say thanks.

I managed to create the panel for the rear through your instructions :grin:

15

Awesome! Achievement unlocked! :grin: