Slicing 3d object into layers

General Forums Blender and CG Discussions
#1

Hi, I searched the site and did find some idea on how to slice a 3d object into layers by using camera clipping, but I would like to slice an object into layers of points, so I could, for example, save out the object as a whole bunch of STL files, which when pasted together on top of one another would form the 3d object.

I suppose maybe I could simply do the camera slicing trick (set lowest clipping for the camera, and then animate the camera into the object with orthoganal mode), and then batch convert my output images back into vector images…

Any other ideas out there?

-niko

#2

I took an irregular object (icosphere with some deforms), then subdivided until it was almost solid yellow (about 40,000 + vertices.) Then I deleted faces and edges, leaving a cloud of unconnected vertices in the same shape as the object. Box select in front view took a nice section of vertices. That’s as far as I got. Neither fill nor beauty fill connected the vertices back into edges and faces. Maybe there’s a python script that would “connect to closest unconnected vertex” out there? Unless a layer with just vertices is ok?

#3

knife tool is a good way to do such a thing, will take ages, but it will work.

someone may have a slice type python script for similar things, but i don’t know of one.

Alltaken

#4

Yes I think I’ll try to mod the python script from the knife tool, to walk the plane down the object, but the hard part is studying up on the new blender vertex info - I need to get the newly added vertexes only, and automatically seperate them into another object, and then do a SHIFT+F on them to fill in the faces. I’d like to do all this thru python, and basically just indicate a step size (how far to move the plane each time)

Yes it will take a while but I can just let it run on a different system.

If anyone has some good ideas on how to implement this the easiest way let me know. For know I thought I could start with the knife script and try to work my way up :slight_smile:

-niko

#5

Well I managed to hack up the knife script enough to cut an object into slices for me.

I’m still having some size issues but at least the slicing appears to work:

http://webpages.charter.net/nikolatesla20/slices.JPG

-nikolatesla

#6

A .blend would be nice.

#7

Well I’m still working on the script to get it to handle mesh positions, etc. properly. I fixed the sizing issues.

here’s a “MRI scan” of suzanne from a front view. This was generated with my script, which automatically slices the object, and then renders the slice. I don’t take the time to fill in the slice faces, since I plan on vectorizing them later outside of blender.

http://webpages.charter.net/nikolatesla20/SueMRI.GIFhttp://webpages.charter.net/nikolatesla20/SueMRI.gif

-niko

#8

Hi niko, would you post the knife2.py script? this is exactly what i’m looking for.

#9

nice that is good!!!

i can use that in many areas!

#10

How is this script comming along? My jaw has dropped to the ground just waiting… lol

#11

Hello, from the time Niko posted about slicing script, 13 years past but at 2020 I cant find a script for slicing 3D shapes , can someone post if during 13 years someone made a new script.

#12

i think you should make a new thread for that ,because this thread is kinda too old…