Convert .dae file to .stl file, any suggestion on how.

[lovebugjunkie]

The sketchup community has some very nice free 3d object. A really neat trick would be how to take the .dae file that sketchup creates and convert it to a .stl file without spending a few hundred $$. I have tried a few suggestions I found on the net without success.

[Tony Mac]

There's a thread on this in the Cut3D forum that might be helpful,

http://vectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=21426#p21426

Tony

[lovebugjunkie]

Thanks Tony.

edited: got it, went back and read the thread and found that the "explode" option that was mentioned did the trick.

thanks again.

[Tony Mac]

Excellent work!

Any chance of posting 'the process' so the rest of us can do this?

Thanks,

Tony

[bgriggs]

How about the free Sketchup to STL plugin......

http://www.cadspan.com/tools

Make Magazine had an article about it.

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/1 ... 6B48984890

Bill

[Turtle49]

How about the free Sketchup to STL plugin......
http://www.cadspan.com/tools
Make Magazine had an article about it.
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/1 ... 6B48984890
Bill

Thanks Bill,
That worked really well. I just installed it and output the stl file and it came right in to Aspire. Great tip!

Tim

[lovebugjunkie]

Thanks for the tip on cadspan Bill, works better than any other program I tried.

Also a lot of free 3d and low cost (and some not so low cost) items can be found at http://www.turbosquid.com/Search/Index.cfm

M16 is an example I dl’ed from them and the results in Aspire with no clean-up.

[Adrian]

The eDrawings Publisher free version from Solidworks integrates into Sketchup and gives you an STL export function.

As I've been a Sketchup Pro user for years I wasn't sure what the issue was until I realised that the free version doesn't have the full range of export functions that the Pro version does.