Hi
I’ve been modeling a locomotive with the intention of having it 3d printed, given Im a beginner with blender and 3d modeling its been a long process with a steep learning curve! It’s just about finished, I’ve applied a solidify modifier but it probably comes as no surprize the model lights up like a christmas tree when I show non-manifold edges and I can’t work out how to fix them.
So I’m wondering if someone could tell me how or even if its possible to fix this, I’m willing to put in the time as I’ve already spent ages so would be a waste not to try and finish.
Heres a link to the blend file any help much appreciated
cheers
I gave a quick look and from what i see the solidify modifier had made a real mess of faces intersecting and being way too close to each other (several parts have only 1 mm of depth by example) .
Applying the solidify modifier with those many problems was a mistake.
Do you have a blend from before you applied that solidify modifier ?
even if you thought you hadn’t saved a backup ! so long as you hit save every now and then
blender makes a backup called “filename.blend1” then blend2 etc
take the 1 (woteva) off the blend and add to filename
eg change to filename1.blend [in windoze NOT in blender] then you can open it in blender without worries
Thanks for the reply, heres a link to a pre apply modifiers blend but I think I should probably apply everything except solidify then post it, I’ll do that after dropping kids at school later. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/30911260/Loco%2018.blend
ok here is a blend without solidify applied, also given the final model should be 80mm long when I scale it correctly 1mm hopefully wont be a problem thats the thickness I set in solidify, the wall thickness can go down to .7mm with shapeways printers I read on their website, having said that 2mm would be fine if it works better. Thanks again for help its much appreciated.
cheers https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/30911260/Loco%2019.blend
Are you trying to print a body for a model train? Just wondering! Anyway, my experience with shapeways is that, for some materials, it will still light up like a christmas tree with any thing less than 3 mm wall thickness! And another friendly tip: NEVER apply any modifiers unless you have to. and if you have to, save a different file just before you do. There is an option to export with modifiers applied but it sometimes doesn’t work as intended.
anyway, try that blend file upload again in an actual downloadable format and i’ll take a looksee sometime tomorrow =)
Been about 12 hours since I posted updated model still nothing on here, pretty flawed way to welcome new users!
Again sorry this was meant to be directed at the site policy of moderating the first 10 posts for new users, it was NOT meant to be a demand for help I was just getting frustrated. Just checked my link seems to work fine for me but here it is again and a google drive link https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/30911260/Loco%2019.blend
cant get the uploader to work for some reason.
Thanks so much for looking and sorry again for that post I can see how it came accross
First, let me say, for a new user, you have some level of skill! This is a very nice locomotive body!
Couple things i notice right off the bat are all the sub-panels joined into a single object. which is perfectly fine for animation, and even for some game engines, but will make things very difficult for you when trying to 3d print. Intersections are bad, especially for shapeways automatic detection software. the number one thing you could probably do to solve your problem is to go in and weld those sub panels into the main body so that its all one continuous mesh before applying the solidify… Of course judging from the complexity, thats not going to be a simple thing to do. But i agree with your earlier assessment that it is indeed worth the time for a model of this quality.
However, before you start, I’ll ask again, Is this a body that needs to fit a model train chassis? From your size you stated earlier of 80 mm it sounds like an N-scale model, and many of those fine details will not make it through the printing process (the rivets for example, will probably not show up in the print at that size due to minimum resolution of the printer.) also, you may need to set your solidify up to 2-3mm thick, which will eat into the cavity space inside the body and may create a Dremel nightmare for you later!
If it was me, i would remove the rivet detail pieces and just paint or glue on some small bumps later on, just to make your life easier in the modeling phase. also consider perhaps taking some of the more detailed panels as separate objects and make a flat area for them to be glued on later, you will get better results from the printer this way. However it will eat into your interior space, so do with that advice what you want =).
Thanks heaps for the advice and for the compliments on my model it means a lot given the amount of time I’ve put into it! I worked though most of a book called Blender Foundations at the start of the year which taught me heaps.
You are correct it is for an N scale model so the space inside is paramount, I don’t fancy welding the loose parts it just looks like a near impossible task, so I’m thinking I like your idea about making separate flat panels with details on them.
Maybe I could make separate side panels with all details, then on the body I could create a lip on each end vertically which the sides would glue into.
I’ll try and get it done over the weekend then I’ll repost it here.
Thanks so much for your help been melting my brain trying to work this out!
not a problem. and yeah, 3d printing is fun to work with. I have a Solidoodle3 living in my indoor workshop, learned most of my 3d printing design from making stuff for it to print! haha. Good news is that on a project of this scale, you will learn the hard way what to do and not do, and will never make the same mistakes again! Looking forward to your updated file. If it looks manifold i’ll try running through my slicer and see what the resulting CNC path looks like.
Had a good go at it this weekend managed to 90% redraw the sides with door and windows as one mesh, still got work to do on it, Will hopefully repost in a day or two
