[gypsycatfish]

I am not sure if I am in the right place for this question. I am trying to help a friend that has a stl file that he wants to slice every inch or so and print the shape in 2d on paper and then use the paper outline as a templiate on plywood. He will then cut out the shape and connect them to make a buck to form a sheet of aluminium over. I have access to Rhino 5 but after about 5 hours of reading and looking on line, no luck. I did get the slices to show on the file but did not know how to separate them for printing. Any advice or directions to the proper info would be helpful.
thanks

[Jefoni]

How big is the part?

Vectric's Cut 3D software has the ability to slice up .STL models. Depending on how big the part is, I am happy to slice it up, cut it out of ply wood and ship it to him. OR, I could draw the parts using my pen attachment on my cnc machine and send him the drawings.Other than actually machining it or drawing it ON an actual machine, I don't know how you could just print the pieces.

Again. depending on size, I am happy to help. ( I refer to size because my table is limited to 48x96 inches.)

Good luck, and let me know if I can help.

Jeff
email: [email protected]

[alan_3301]

What size are the parts?
I'm be suprised if one of the stl slicers doesnt have a jpg or eps output, then just print on a home printer, or if too large bring to a copy shop.

[gypsycatfish]

Alan and Jeff thanks for replying. The .stl file is from a 3 d scan of a part about 4 ft by 4 ft and 18 inches high. These are estimated measurements. He needs to know how to re slice if necessary so we were hoping to find a video or step by step instructions how to do it in Rhino 5 since that is what he has access to. Maybe there is a better program for doing this, but I had assumed Rhino 5 was capable of this function. He is very busy working on other things so I offered to see if I could figure out how to do it and teach him (he has done many, many favors for me). It is a big learning curve if you are just starting out and have no one to ask even a little question. He has found a print shop that will print full size for him if he can bring it print ready on a thumb drive. My problem is I have yet figured out more than a couple of steps. At this time all we need is to learn how to get each slice of
the file print ready and how to add or delete slices if needed. A video or list step by step should be enough to get me close and then maybe I could as a couple of intelligent questions to round it out. Rhino 5 is first choice but if we need another program and it is not outrageous in price would be second. Thanks for your time

[routalot]

Not too difficult to slice a solid,but if you are intending to print and cut the output you will consume a lot of paper.Try these steps:

Open the file in Rhino,it may need you to use the drop down menu to select .stl as the default is .3dm

Go to the viewport that best suits your purposes (left or front would work for horizontal slices) and create a line.

Offset the line in the required direction as many times as necessary for all your slices.

I recommend switching to a new layer,with different colours at this point.

Use the project command to project the lines onto your object.

Check that it has worked in the perspective view.

Save,Call the print shop and ask what file formats they can work with,if necessary save as one of those file types and take to the print shop.

[gypsycatfish]

Thanks for you reply routalat I will try your suggestion as soon as I can get back to the project, maybe even today. We may try routing the cunt line on a cnc router if the print and cut turns out not to work well enough by hand. We are just trying to avoid the high cost of gluing up a solid block of wood and the having it routed.