.stl in Estlcam?

If you open an .stl in Estlcam that’s really a 2D shape it asks if you really want to use 3D machining, answering NO leads nowhere, not giving you any options to cut as a 2D shape even though it’s told you 0% of the surfaces are curved. Is there any option within Estlcam or must you convert it to an .svg before loading?

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Ooh, yes. I also would like to know how to do this!

Yeah, it seems to be one of the quirks that keeps me looking for a CAM alternative. I see no logic in allowing you to choose not to use 3D machining but giving you no apparent path to 2D. Glad to see I’m not the only one with this isuue.

Where are you getting a 2D .stl ? Your trying to cut the face of the 3D object? Estlcam does not do any CAD at all that I know of so does not fusion360 give you a svg of a face or extrude for depth

It’s not that it’s a 2D .stl but that Estlcam tells you there is 0% curved surfaces you want to cut and it asks you yes or no if you’re sure you want to use 3D machining. When you answer no it leads nowhere when silly duck that I am I expect it to take me to a 2D machining page and let me choose my tool paths. I just don’t see the logic in asking the question when either answer yields the same result.

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@christian-knuell, Do you have any help for this?

It would be a good application of kiri:moto, or else, you could import it to CAD, and trace it onto a sketch. I wouldn’t want to do that with a complicated shape though.

It just seems when I think I’m beginning to come to terms with Estlcam it throws me a knuckleball. I’m 3D printing the file I was fooling with and it actually has more texture to it than enlarging it in Cura or Estlcam telling me it had 0% curved surface led me to believe. I quickly Tinkered a piece with only flat-topped shapes and got the same result in Estlcam, it asks if I’m sure I want to use 3D machining. I just find it confusing being asked yes/no? when both yield the same result. And it seems you can’t activate the grid with the screen it gives you which I’d kinda like to have to double check my sizing.

I thought Christian was ESTLCam, and @stewart was kiri:moto…

Nevermind. This is ESTLCam-related. You just mentioned kiri:moto as well. Move along, brain-fog generated by a day full of mostly useless conference calls…

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I was wondering where Christian came from.

I get confused at times.
Consistency? :grinning:

I was on tinkercad today for the first time in a while, and it had the option to export an stl I imported as an svg for laser cutting.

Hello,

the message it is just a hint that machining a certain file in 3d mode is most likely unnecessary as there have been no features detected that need 3d machining. In this case doing it from a “flat” drawing would be both faster and more precise.

Best practise is to convert the project into a 2d dxf drawing from the original CAD design files with the CAD Program that was used.

Converting from STL is only a last resort option as STL files are by far not as precise as dxf files (STL consists only of triangles - there are no circles or arcs, therefore round features are always just a more or less precise approximation by line segments)
If you want to do this conversion in Estlcam click “yes”, then select menu “extract outline”.

Christian

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Thanks for this! I think due to my own inexperience I’m still coming to terms with the characteristics of different file formats and the fact there are underlying elements that may not be visible in what appears on screen. That and I seem to have the ability to find things I want in formats not useful to me. :woozy_face:

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My old version of netfabb can convert slice-countours to dxf files. Very handy…

What if you answer ‘yes’?
Generally, this is not what Estlcam is made for or aiming at.

It gives you the screen to select your choices for ‘normal’ 3D machining.