1 Topic by Rocketman

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Topic: Photo2Mesh Printing

I purchased the software and wanted to create a lithoplane of a photo of my niece. Problem being the STL file doesn't show any details when I try to load it into Repetier. Just an empty block. So I loaded it into Mesh Mixer and resaved it. The new file does show all the details in Repetier, but the file is like 300 to 500MB large, and doesn't slice after 90 minutes (I've not kept it running long enough to find out if it would ever finish). Any better way to do this? Anyway to reduce a large file to the basic details that a Solidoodle will print?

2 Reply by Tomek (edited by Tomek 2013-08-16 04:55:57)

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Re: Photo2Mesh Printing

In print settings on slic3r, in the advanced tab, there is a resolution setting you can use to simplify input files. I've never used it though, but it might help you if you look up how to set that setting (by default slic3r doesn't use it.)

Also, whenever I have very long to slic3r files, I run the file through cloud.netfabb.com. Actually to clarify whenever I have *any* stl problems, I try to run it through cloud first, because it can fix problems that might be causing extra long slices. But, in this case it sounds like we know the cause of the extra long slice is the resolution of the file.

Final note, before Slic3r got into the 8.xx series of releases, it wouldn't properly utilize my laptop's resources. Back then *any* slice would take 30 minutes to an hour, and an extremely complicated slice would take 5-12 hours, but I'd know there were file problems if it took longer than that. As a general note, I doubt that's a problem for most people anymore, since it seems slic3r has improved it's computer usage since then.

3 Reply by 2n2r5

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Re: Photo2Mesh Printing

Does the software look like this free thing --> http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:74322 that is for making lithopanes from photos?

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4 Reply by Skyblue

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Re: Photo2Mesh Printing

Rocketman wrote:

I purchased the software and wanted to create a lithoplane of a photo of my niece. Problem being the STL file doesn't show any details when I try to load it into Repetier. Just an empty block. So I loaded it into Mesh Mixer and resaved it. The new file does show all the details in Repetier, but the file is like 300 to 500MB large, and doesn't slice after 90 minutes (I've not kept it running long enough to find out if it would ever finish). Any better way to do this? Anyway to reduce a large file to the basic details that a Solidoodle will print?

 

You might try a free German software package (in english), its free and called BMP2IGES.
You can use Meshlab (free) to deciminate mesh size, under filter, remeshing, quadric edge decimination.  Apparently I can't spell decimination, but it means to reduce the size of the mesh.  The picture you use in this software must be reduced to get a smaller STL output.  If you use a large photo, your stl will be large.  There is no loss of information in using a smaller file size to make your STL, as it is going to be printed anyway.  Check it out.

5 Reply by RavensCrest

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Re: Photo2Mesh Printing

for slic3r, did you set how many process thread you will be using to slice your object?!
I have quad core, so I increased it to 3, so i can still browse while it is slicing.

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6 Reply by cmetzel

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Re: Photo2Mesh Printing

Check out this thread it should help you out

http://www.soliforum.com/topic/800/phot … portraits/

7 Reply by Rocketman

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Re: Photo2Mesh Printing

2n2r5 wrote:

Does the software look like this free thing --> http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:74322 that is for making lithopanes from photos?

Yes, that is exactly the type of thing it does.

8 Reply by Rocketman

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Re: Photo2Mesh Printing

RavensCrest wrote:

for slic3r, did you set how many process thread you will be using to slice your object?!
I have quad core, so I increased it to 3, so i can still browse while it is slicing.

I'm not sure what that is.

9 Reply by Rocketman

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Re: Photo2Mesh Printing

cmetzel wrote:

Check out this thread it should help you out

http://www.soliforum.com/topic/800/phot … portraits/


Thanks for the link. I think I've seen it before, which might have been how I learned of the software to start with. lol. Apparently lithoplanes are some sort of wood and film technique that people once used?

10 Reply by ronsii

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Re: Photo2Mesh Printing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithophane

I tried making some with my router a couple times but had too much slop in the Z axis so they weren't quite up to par wink

11 Reply by RavensCrest

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Re: Photo2Mesh Printing

Rocketman wrote:
RavensCrest wrote:

for slic3r, did you set how many process thread you will be using to slice your object?!
I have quad core, so I increased it to 3, so i can still browse while it is slicing.

I'm not sure what that is.

If you are using Repetier Host, it's under Slic3r->configure->print Settings tab->advance , and "threads"
to check how many cores you have.. just open Task Manager, it should tell you how many core you have from the cpu usage graph.

Solidoodle2 with Ceramic tile heated bed http://www.soliforum.com/topic/2544/my- … eated-bed/
"1kg should last for an while" is a lie!

12 Reply by Rocketman

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Re: Photo2Mesh Printing

Is there a way to make STL files created with Photo2Mesh valid in Repetier? No matter what I do in the Photo2Mesh software the object only appears as a retangle with no details from the photo. And http://cloud.netfabb.com/ is unable to fix it either.

13 Reply by IanJohnson

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Re: Photo2Mesh Printing

Sometimes the detail doesn't show up in Repetier because of the way it does light and shadow.  Try playing around with the lighting settings in the 3D visualization settings.  Also look at it an an extreme angle and see if you can start to see some of the shape.   Any photo2mesh model will need some decimation to reduce the polygons, which you can do in Meshlab.  Also run it through Netfabb before trying to slice it.  Even after taking those steps it will probably take longer than usual to slice because there are so many line segments to calculate

14 Reply by Rocketman

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Re: Photo2Mesh Printing

IanJohnson wrote:

Sometimes the detail doesn't show up in Repetier because of the way it does light and shadow.  Try playing around with the lighting settings in the 3D visualization settings.  Also look at it an an extreme angle and see if you can start to see some of the shape.   Any photo2mesh model will need some decimation to reduce the polygons, which you can do in Meshlab.  Also run it through Netfabb before trying to slice it.  Even after taking those steps it will probably take longer than usual to slice because there are so many line segments to calculate

I already tried netfab online without success. But I will try messing with the lights a bit. Thanks.

15 Reply by Rocketman

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Re: Photo2Mesh Printing

If i were to slic a really large file (say 100MB and up) and it takes however long it takes (say 60 minutes and up), will it in a sense reduce the file down to what the printer can in fact produce? Meaning many details will be lost, but nothing more than what is needed to print at the highest possible detail?

16 Reply by adrian

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Re: Photo2Mesh Printing

Only in latter versions of Slic3r if you configure the Resolution setting in Advanced.

17 Reply by Rocketman

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Re: Photo2Mesh Printing

adrian wrote:

Only in latter versions of Slic3r if you configure the Resolution setting in Advanced.

No matter the size, should the slicer eventually complete slicing a file? Maybe 100 minutes per 100MB or whatever? Even if longer it would not continue working if it was hopelessly too large? And afterwards can the G-Code be saved in case I slice one day, and print the next?

18 Reply by ronsii

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Re: Photo2Mesh Printing

Unless the slicer hangs it will slice til done

once the slicer is done and put the gcode out you can do whatever you want with the gcode.

19 Reply by IanJohnson

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Re: Photo2Mesh Printing

Repetier always saves the  gcode in the working directory as composition.gcode.  So if you don't save it right away, it will still be there so long as you don't slice something else.  If the file is really large, it could run out of memory before it gets all the way though.  I usually end up with something like 3 million polygons coming out of photo2mesh, and try to decimate it down to 500k or 250k.  It will still take longer than usual to slice, but not hours.  I tend to have more confidence in KISSlicer when doing those, and KS is faster than Slic3r.

20 Reply by Rocketman

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Re: Photo2Mesh Printing

IanJohnson wrote:

Repetier always saves the  gcode in the working directory as composition.gcode.  So if you don't save it right away, it will still be there so long as you don't slice something else.  If the file is really large, it could run out of memory before it gets all the way though.  I usually end up with something like 3 million polygons coming out of photo2mesh, and try to decimate it down to 500k or 250k.  It will still take longer than usual to slice, but not hours.  I tend to have more confidence in KISSlicer when doing those, and KS is faster than Slic3r.

Cool. Thanks.