Exporting stl file to dxf

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vparthas
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2019 4:17 pm

Exporting stl file to dxf

Post by vparthas »

I was using a free drawing tool (emachineshop) to create files and then exporting to dxf for laser cutting. Now the software only exports to sti files. So I am stuck with a bunch of proprietary files (I know it is my bad).
To recover from some of this I want to convert the sti files to dxf using free cad. I tried looking through all the forum posts on how to do this, but am totally unsuccesful. I get a dxf file that is empty. Someone please please help. I am very desperate. I have attached the emachineshop generated stl file which may be the culprit.
Thanks.




OS: Windows 10
Word size of OS: 64-bit
Word size of FreeCAD: 64-bit
Version: 0.18.16117 (Git)
Build type: Release
Branch: releases/FreeCAD-0-18
Hash: dbb4cc6415bac848a294f03b80f65e888d531742
Python version: 3.6.6
Qt version: 5.6.2
Coin version: 4.0.0a
OCC version: 7.3.0
Locale: English/Canada (en_CA)
Attachments
E105-2.stl
(273.32 KiB) Downloaded 63 times
openBrain
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Re: Exporting stl file to dxf

Post by openBrain »

Hi vparthas, Welcome,

Are you the same as here : https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=37902 :?:
Anyway, looking at the pointed thread should help. ;)
vparthas
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2019 4:17 pm

Re: Exporting stl file to dxf

Post by vparthas »

I am not that guy, but your solution worked for me!!!!
Sending millions of positive thoughts your way, thank you so much for your help!
emachineshop has a very simple interface that I was using to make my part drawings, which I would convert to dxf to get my local laser guy to cut. I guess this is not the intended use of the product because they want you to use their services to fabricate the parts, which I understand. But this sudden yanking out of the support for conversion to dxf, left me with a bunch of files in a proprietary format with no way of using them, so I was really freaking out.
Thanks again for your help.
openBrain
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Re: Exporting stl file to dxf

Post by openBrain »

vparthas wrote: Mon Jul 22, 2019 8:21 pm I am not that guy, but your solution worked for me!!!!
So it should work for the other guy too. Glad it did the job. ;)
emachineshop has a very simple interface that I was using to make my part drawings, which I would convert to dxf to get my local laser guy to cut. I guess this is not the intended use of the product because they want you to use their services to fabricate the parts, which I understand. But this sudden yanking out of the support for conversion to dxf, left me with a bunch of files in a proprietary format with no way of using them, so I was really freaking out.
I don't know this brand. Probably they are aiming at the North American (Canadian ?) market. If they switched off suddenly their DXF exporting feature (which indeed is commercially understandable), we can expect to have some similar help request is the soon future. :P
Their is definitely some time to spend learning FreeCAD, but free software (as in freedom) is almost priceless in such situations. :)
TheMarkster
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Re: Exporting stl file to dxf

Post by TheMarkster »

Maybe it's commercially understandable or maybe it's not. They have an opportunity to create a relationship with a potential customer by having this software he can use even if he doesn't currently use their service. What is the cost to them of providing this service? I don't know, but if it was already there and already working it probably cost them more to remove it than just leave it in. Now potential customers go somewhere else, like to FreeCAD.
vparthas
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2019 4:17 pm

Re: Exporting stl file to dxf

Post by vparthas »

I used the method suggested here -
Open Part->Create Shape from Mesh->Refine Shape->Export to dxf
I get a dxf file that I can look at but it is all one big block. The individual entities (circles, lines, etc.) can not be selected.

My laser guys says he can not use the dxf file produced :cry: :cry: :cry:

I feel I am very close to the solution and there is something simple in the parameters I am specifying wrong. Someone please help!!!

I have attached the STL and DXF files.
Attachments
EF-002 CANOPY.stl
(746.57 KiB) Downloaded 42 times
111.dxf
(537.5 KiB) Downloaded 39 times
TheMarkster
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Re: Exporting stl file to dxf

Post by TheMarkster »

I have good news and bad news. The good news is this is very easy to remodel. The bad news is this is very tedious to do. I'll show you how to do it, then you can take it the rest of the way.

phpBB [video]


Are these circles supposed to be in a polar pattern evenly divided from each other? Because if so, they're not. I thought at first glance maybe this was a dividing head.
Attachments
111(v2).FCStd
(211.05 KiB) Downloaded 33 times
openBrain
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Re: Exporting stl file to dxf

Post by openBrain »

vparthas wrote: Wed Jul 24, 2019 1:16 am I get a dxf file that I can look at but it is all one big block. The individual entities (circles, lines, etc.) can not be selected.

My laser guys says he can not use the dxf file produced :cry: :cry: :cry:

I feel I am very close to the solution and there is something simple in the parameters I am specifying wrong. Someone please help!!!
I'm sorry but there are sensitively no simple solution just to convert from STL to a nice looking DXF. :?
Indeed STL is a mesh format, which means that all nicely defined curves (including circles and arcs) are approximated and converted to a network of more or less small faces. And this is a definitive loss conversion...
When you convert STL to solid, FreeCAD sews the faces to get a shell, then fill it.
You could try to find some function to interpolate back the edges to arcs/circles/BSplines but that would probably be an endless task.
To second TheMarkster, I also think that redoing the model from scratch in FreeCAD is the way to go. ;)
Side note : not reading EULA can lead to future pain. :)
vparthas
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2019 4:17 pm

Re: Exporting stl file to dxf

Post by vparthas »

TheMarkster wrote: Wed Jul 24, 2019 6:18 am I have good news and bad news. The good news is this is very easy to remodel. The bad news is this is very tedious to do. I'll show you how to do it, then you can take it the rest of the way.

phpBB [video]


Are these circles supposed to be in a polar pattern evenly divided from each other? Because if so, they're not. I thought at first glance maybe this was a dividing head.
Sorry Mark, I am stupider than you assumed! Can you show me the steps from when you open the file to how you got to where your video starts. I want to get to the part of the screen where I start to model the circles, etc. but my options are grayed out. You have a couple of blocks in your Application Tree that I don't know how you got - do I start a new part/sketch etc. once I open?

I am committing to learning FreeCad and using it going forwards, but I am under tremendous time pressure to get this existing part drawings converted.
TheMarkster
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Re: Exporting stl file to dxf

Post by TheMarkster »

vparthas wrote: Wed Jul 24, 2019 12:20 pm
Sorry Mark, I am stupider than you assumed! Can you show me the steps from when you open the file to how you got to where your video starts. I want to get to the part of the screen where I start to model the circles, etc. but my options are grayed out. You have a couple of blocks in your Application Tree that I don't know how you got - do I start a new part/sketch etc. once I open?

I am committing to learning FreeCad and using it going forwards, but I am under tremendous time pressure to get this existing part drawings converted.
I just opened the dxf file to get to that point. If your options are grayed out it's probably because you need to create a new document first. Create a new document, then File -> Import -> select the dxf file you uploaded. You can also drag and drop the dxf file into FreeCAD.
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