When the size was scaled down, the same number of triangles remained, resulting in the “tiny globs of filament” dotting the print’s surface. In Hamel’s case, a very large (443.13 x 503.32 x 434.38 mm) file was scaled down by 25% and the original large file had 103,970 triangles in it. But this also means that the file size will be larger, and slicing and build times will be longer. If a part has fewer triangles it will slice and print faster, but the curves will not have that smooth quality.Īre you following so far? More triangles = smoother surface.

The more triangles in a part determine that the surface’s curves will be smoother.

The surface geometry of an object is noted in the new file by all of those little triangles. When you convert a CAD file to an STL file, this is exactly what is happening. These files break a 3D object’s surface into many little triangles that constitute the object’s surface geometry. This file stores the essential 3D design data that will be sent to your 3D printer. This is also a nice little review of 3D printing 101: STL file basics for anyone just getting started with the technology. Many scaled-down objects don’t print well, and in Morgan Hamel’s case, there was a problem with “tiny globs of filament dotting the surface of the print.” Thankfully, Hamel figured out how to rectify the problem in Autodesk Meshmixer, and has decided to share this with us so we can have better quality scaled-down prints that are closer to emulating the larger design. One of these issues is how to improve print quality when you plan to test print a large design at a much scaled-down size. Some of the most helpful 3D printing information can seem boring, but keep in mind that this kind of information may greatly benefit your own 3D printing experimentation.

Autodesk mesh mixer