Geometry by STL file

Loading of STL file

STL-files created by CAD software (binary or ASCII-format) or from manual entering (ASCII-format) can be loaded.

The STL-solid is provided made up of triangles which are connected at the corners.

Each edge of each triangle must have one, and only one adjacent triangle. This requirement is always checked by b4cast.

To check the consistency of the input data in general it is necessary to indicate the coordinates of a point which is expected clearly inside the volume.

When having STL files with more than one solid, this check also automatically points out the relevant solid/volume.

If more STL-solids are represented in the same file, the solid in question should be appointed.

Triangles with the same attributes in binary files, are considered as belonging to the same solid.

When loading STL files, a factor for converting the data to the length unit used in the b4cast model, is required.

It is possible to limit the number of decimals. This option is useful if problems occur with geometry.

The coordinate system of the STL-Data is considered as the (r, s, t) system.

After loading of STL-Data, the minimum and maximum values of the (r, s, t)-coordinates of the volume are shown as perceived by b4cast.

It is possible to position the (r, s, t) system in the global b4cast system (x, y, z) as follows:

a) The (r, s, t) and the (x, y, z) systems are identical (use the coordinates as they are).

b) The (r, s, t) system is translated to the position where minimum(r, s, t) = origin(x, y, z)

c) Define a manual transformation. This can be copied from an earlier defined volume.

If the (r, s, t)-coordinates are representing geographical data with very high values, it may result in loss of accuracy of the calculation results. Option b is useful for reducing the coordinates.

If several volumes are referring to the same geographical origin, the Copy-feature in option c makes it easy to position the volumes following a volume placed by option b.

The general manual transformation is described in EditVolume.

The STL geometry can be copied to a Surface or Edge Model which allows you to customize the model. This is especially useful if the STL model contains geometric details that are irrelevant to the analysis. E.g., smaller recesses can locally result in an unnecessarily fine element mesh.