Preform .form to .stl export

Feature Requests & Ideas
21

I have bought a multi piece mold into preform and have scaled it (i sized it based on the build plate squares), i then printed all the pieces. I need to make changes to one of the pieces and need to export that piece out of preform as an stl so i can import it into blender to make the changes. How do i export the part as stl so i can bring it into blender?

22

Formlabs could make a mandatory check to see if you have an actual Formlabs printer before it would allow you to export .STL from .FORM file. That way they could somewhat limit the use of that feature so that non-formlabs users could not use formlabs software with other printers (unless someone who actually owns formlabs printer does the export for them).

23

The new replace function in Preform 2.18.0 will scale an imported STL to the same dimensions as the part being replaced. So if you are only changing details there is no need to export a part to modify it.

24

Hi biilb how does the replace function work please? Have you used it before?

25

You right-click on the part you want to change and choose Replace from the contextual menu.

Iā€™ve used it a number of times and it works well.

26

Regardless of how someone uses it would be a nice feature to have. Almost every other printer slicing software offers stl export (CURA, Simplify3d, even MakerBot slicer) as a standard feature. Why would we not expect it to be part of the feature set in preform.

27

Because itā€™s a free software, so you could use itā€™s features and then export to STL to use on another printer.

Theyā€™d have to make you buy Preform. But then Form2 users should not have to buy it since it should come with the Printer, but then again if Form2 users have 3 other printers and want to use their ā€œfreeā€ Preform to generate supports for their other less supported printerā€¦ you see the issue.

Yes they could be nice and allow us to export. But business is business, Formlabs isnā€™t an open-source company :wink:

28

Here is a use caseā€¦Iā€™m wresting with an STL file that crashes every ā€œrepairā€ function that I have: my FDM slicer, meshmixer, etc. The only program that correctly repairs the model is Preform. But then I canā€™t get it back out. Iā€™m trying to print it on an FDM printer.