Easy SolidWorks Editing of STL Files with the help of ScanTo3D

[@missklynn10]

This was super informative! I hope to attend your presentation tomorrow!

[@DWorkshop]

Thank you! Hope to see you tomorrow then 😊

[@sethonyono3297]

Is there a way I can follow the presentation? Seems to be quite resourceful.

[@ParadoxeParadoxe-tm5xw]

Hello, Thank you, your video was very helpful! But when I open my STL file, the mesh preparation assistant does not activate. Do you know why this might be happening? Thank you in advance for your help :)

[@DWorkshop]

Hi, you should open as ScanTo3D file. Also it's not available with SolidWorks Standard. You can check also this videokzbin.info/www/bejne/qJmVlKianZuqkMksi=ZSK0W7ZkPXCiZ8T2

[@arthurny3914]

Mesh data is never this clean. Also Scanto3D hasn't been updated in over 15 years, there is so much that needs to be updated about the plug-in. Definitely some of the Gold Partner plug-ins like Geomagic or Power Surfacing offer areas that DSS needs to take a look at updating around handling and working with meshes.

[@DWorkshop]

Let's not forget that mesh data doesn't solely come from scans; there are numerous free STL files available thanks to the 3D printing community, and they are often very clean. Many SolidWorks users may find it difficult to afford $6.6k plug-ins, and for them, ScanTo3D is at least functional to some extent. If you primarily work with scan data, I wouldn't claim that SolidWorks is the best software for that purpose. However, if you occasionally need to import meshes, then ScanTo3D is a valuable tool to have. It's worth noting that ScanTo3D was introduced in SolidWorks in 2010, so it's unlikely that it hasn't been updated in more than 15 years, given that it has only been in existence for 14.

[@arthurny3914]

@@DWorkshop Scanto3D was around before 2010. Closer to 2005 where it was only available in the Premium version. It quite literally has not changed in over 15 years, like no progress at all. Yes .stl can come from websites like GrabCad or Thingiverse. You don't need a $6.6K plug in to start to mesh data in Solldworks. Power Surfacing starts at around $2K and it a Gold Partner solution and does way more than Scanto3D ever has. There are many areas that it's lacking in which have been devoid of updates for far too long.