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Hey there all,
I need to find a program if one exists that will allow me to transfer .STL files to a format that will allow a CAD software program to read them. I need it to be IGES, STEP, , etc so I can machine the part that has been converted.
Anyone know of such a program?
Any help would be appreciated
Turbocad or
Mastercam.
Usually your CAM program can import an STL. pretty common format.
If you are looking to convert the .stl into a solid or surface model, you really can't.Even if you could, it wouldn't be any better than the .stl. That's like turning a pencil drawing into a photo.
like Gerry said an STL file is not really a solid. it is made from triangles, it is machinable but won't be smooth
You can machine directly from a STL mesh file, if you use a CAM program that can deal with them - DeskProto is one. If it is tessellated too coarsely, you'll see faceting in your machined parts, but if the triangles are small enough you won't. There are "surfacing" programs that let you construct different kinds of geometry over the top of your mesh files, if you really need NURBS or parametric formats, but you'll usually lose some detail when you do that. On the other hand, the new surfaces will be smoother. But if all you want to do is machine the parts, you don't really need to do that.
As mentioned previously, TurboCAD (and possibly many other CAD programs) can import STL files. The scale may be off it it was drawn in mm and loaded in with inches. That is easy to fix. If the object is not smooth enough, then you may have to re-draw all of the surfaces to create a new 3D object that matches the outline of the STL object.
Steve