CAD file

[Sander Holthof]

Hi,

I'm planning on using the grand challenge implant design for my undergraduate research project.
The project is based on performing an FEA analysis of a knee implant and I'd like to use this design.
The problem I have is that the geometries are too complex to convert the stl files into a solid body or surface.
Would it be possible to provide me with a file format that is compatible with Solidworks (or something similar), since that is the program i was planning on using.

Kind regards,

Sander

[Ed Morra]

In my experience, if you want a clean solid model you will have to build it from scratch in SolidWorks,and use the STL files as a 3D reference to check your work.

Alternatively, you can use MeshLab to strip away the triangles from the STL file, leaving the vertices behind to form a cloud of points representing the component surfaces. SolidWorks will create a very patchy NURB surface to fit the points, it is not elegant but it often works. There are better point cloud to geometry packages out there though, but it is usually more fiddling around then just building models from scratch.

- Ed -

[Iliana Loi]

Hello,
I'm using the 6th competition data for my research and i would also like to produce nurbs models from the stl files of the knee implants. More specifically, i would like to "strip away the triangles" so as to leave only the "skeleton" of the geometry and then remesh it in some software (probably gmsh). May i ask, if something like this is possible, and if so, how could i be able to produce such a file?

Thank you for your time

[B.J. Fregly]

We were only allowed to release reverse-engineering CAD (i.e., STL) models of the implant components generated from laser scans, since companies guard their actual CAD geometry closely.

If you want to turn a .STL model into a NURBS model, I suggest using Geomagic Design X (formerly Geomagic Studio).