As I check again, if that is the function of the area select (which I tried and see it is) I apologize for calling it buggy. I did miss that in the manual. Just because I am trying to use Aspire to do something it is not intended for does not mean my expectations for an STL file import is necessarily ignorant. I do not own the machine, a friend does, and he has owned it for a number of years, but he and his 80 year old father (the actual owner) use simply Partworks. Have not even opened Aspire to experiment.
While expecting an STL file to accurate might be ridiculous, I understand the differences in parametric and mesh construction, at least at a basic measure somewhat consistent if it was actually using the STL. We all know now it converts it (I did contact Vectric, after contacting Shopbot support, who's response was "I don't know how the STL and autopathing works, I only know the results of using them". Vectric answered my basic question on the import of the STL, but kindly refused to do any more due to my email address not being a 'registered' owner of the software), to begin with I did not know it was converted at all.
As many times happens on the internet, my post was to understand better from the experts, what and how the STL import AND Autopathing worked so I could determine if what I was experiencing would be expected or I was missing something. I will re-read my original to post to see how I communicated and what I can improve in the future. By many times on the internet, I mean, I didn't ask if I should be using 3D autopathing or do it in 2D pathing, I knew that coming in that I could do 2D. I was checking out the 3D capabilities and looking for expert knowledge, not a solution to how to do my project or if I was stupid or idiotic for using 3D when it was a simple 2D (or 2.5D, no, I haven't actually looked up the precise definition of that terminology, but I suspect it is as it is really two-sided 2D with height, which is what I suspect 2.5D will turn out to be). And yes, I am sure I have been guilty more than I would care to admit to doing the same thing in forums which to the experienced people seems like someone trying to use a stick when they should be using a stone.
With that in mind, I sincerely apologize for and offense to anyone including Vectric and Aspire and I will leave my posts as they are above simply to make all the comments make sense, including this one. It is very easy online to inadvertently be unkind, misunderstood and or villify someone unjustly, I certainly have in my posts above with respect to my expectations coming into using Aspire's STL import, and the results I expected. Clearly, my expectations were WRONG. That is not intended to bash Aspire since it functions as designed, not to my expectations. I hope to utilize the knowledge in the individuals on this board.
I am truly sorry for creating any issue, as the title of the post indicates, I am new and was particularly interested in 3D STL imports. I'm not a bible carryer, but crushing someone for not knowing a book of the bible (tutorial), or a verse of the bible (perhaps that setting that stops the bitmap image that I am trying to use as a guide from disappearing) doesn't always mean they're a bad person. I hope you can forgive me for my faults and I will try to do better. Quite a warm welcome I created for myself.
Rcnewcomb, those are absolutely stunning, the kind of examples I very much enjoy seeing. Are those your own created 3D features? Did you make them in Aspire?
(edited to change experience to experienced and exception to expectations. Gotta love some autocorrect.)
