A bit off topic but still 3D

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  • This topic has 6 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 5 years ago by Alan.
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  • #1730996
    Alan
    Participant
    Rank: Rank-1

    Having just got into 3D printing I was rather disappointed to discover it's very difficult to convert DAZ files into anything suitable for 3D printing (beyond my skills at least)

    Has anyone come across any sites similar to this one where you can find 3D printer files that you would normally have to pay for? I know there's plenty of free content available but It's rather limited and is usually low poly count and can't be scaled up.

    #1730998
    Frank21
    Participant
    Rank: Rank 5

    This one here. Slow downloads and sometimes only premium accounts but lots of stls.

    #1731026
    Abad
    Participant
    Rank: Rank 5

    Yuo need Rhino 7 or Blender(For cut the obj) and Autodesk Netfabb for print.

    Autodesk Netfabb Ultimate 2021 Free Download

    or this shit: https://www.daz3d.com/gameprint-3d-print-plugin

    #1731029
    SkippyTheMeh
    Participant
    Rank: Rank 3

    @Alan, It is possible to 3D print Daz characters, but it's a bit of a faff and you'll need some additional software (I use Blender and MeshMixer (Free) and NetFabb (Decidedly not free!), plus the 3D-Printing Add-on for Blender.

    The short version of the workflow is:

    Export character from D|S as .obJ using 2% scale with no materials.

    Import into Blender.

    For any clothing add the following modifiers: Solidify (change offset to 0), Subdivision (leave as default)

    For Hair (not Dforce), add the following modifiers: Solidify (change offset to 0), Remesh (Voxel size 0.002 or 0.001), Decimate (0.2 - 0.05, you're ideally looking at a face count of around 150,000 to 300,000), Subdivision (defaults). Remesh and Decimate operations can take a long time, so give it a few minutes.

    Dforce hair is doable and can look really but is a bit of a PITA, is time-consuming and unless you absolutely need it, I'd recommend getting to grips with the non-Dforce hair first.

    For the Figure add a Subdivision modifier with default settings.

    Select all meshes, right click in viewport and select 'Join'

    Open 3D Print Toolbox, Checks -> Check All, Clean Up -> Distorted, Make Manifold. Repeat until non-manifold edges are less than about 20.

    Export as .obj from Blender using scale 50.

    Option 1
    Import in MeshMixer and do Analysis -> Inspector (hole fill mode smooth) and Edit -> Make Solid (play around with Solid Accuracy and Mesh Density until the model looks good). Export as STL.

    Option 2
    Import in NetFabb, Run Script, Run Repair Script, Extended Repair. Export as STL.

    Personally I prefer using Netfabb as I can leave it to do it's thing while I go do something else for 10 minutes.

    That is the extremely short version and you'll need at least a little familiarity with Blender or be prepared to spend some time learning it. I've been using this process for just over a year and I'm still tweaking things to get the best quality prints.

    #1731643
    Alan
    Participant
    Rank: Rank-1

    Frank:
    Excellent, just what I was after, are you aware of any others?

    Abad/Paul:
    Thanks I was aware of those methods but as I said way beyond my skills, I have no doubt I could get my head round it given time but that's one thing I'm short of.

    #1731986
    SkippyTheMeh
    Participant
    Rank: Rank 3

    @Alan,

    Once you have the basic processes down, it's quite straightforward. The hardest part for me was learning Blender's UI and it's way of doing things. Most of the steps I listed are two or three mouse clicks and/or entering some numbers into a box, then waiting for Blender to calculate stuff. I'd estimate that I could go from a posed figure in Daz to a print-ready version in about 20-40 minutes and most of the time is waiting on Blender or Netfabb to do stuff.

    I'm full of cold and snot atm, but when I'm feeling well enough to sit at my desk without feeling like I'm on a storm-tossed fishing boat, I'll try and put together a proper guide with screenshots etc.

    #1732739
    Alan
    Participant
    Rank: Rank-1

    That would be brilliant Paul.

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