I’m using preform for making jewelry and I’m experiencing issues with importing files and keeping everything the ring size I import it as. if anyone knows the scale formula or tricks to make the ring the same size I need it to be I could use the help
PreForm doesn’t scale your artwork unless you tell it to. If you import and it’s at the wrong size, the problem is likely with the format of the exported file from your CAD software. Like if you do your design in Inches but the export doesn’t specify the scaling, so it’s importing as millimeters. Check the software you’re using to generate the file you’re importing in to PreForm for options related to the scale of the drawing it produces…
I would agree it was my program if it didn’t print all sizes I print to a size 6 ring no matter if I print a size 2 or a size 10
Yeah. But PreForm most definitely doesn’t know anything about ring sizes.
If the exported content is missing the data that specifies the scale of the drawing, PreForm will show it the same size no matter how big or small it was when exported.
I think it’s got to be the program that’s exporting the artwork.
Are you sure you are loading the right files? Sounds like you might be loading the same file over and over, rather than looking at your rings with other sizes.
What software are you using to export the file?
what file format are you using?
I’m using a program called 2shapes and it had a free trial for 30 days if anyone would like to load and see what I’m talking about and help me, it’s a browser program so no need to download it to computer I’m using the STL format when downloading and I open the files with the control+O keys or from the toolbar
As a sanity check, try creating something completely different from a ring. Say, a cube. See if you can load that.
Is this a ring of your own design, or something that came with 2Shapes? It looks like the ring-resize function only works with their artwork. If you want to resize something of your own design, there’s a “scale” function.
Yes I’m using basic bands provided for printing and the sizing tool that is given on the side using the US band sizes
Also I would totally use a cube to work from if this program could do anything other than the rings it gives you to work from it’s not that great a program
I’m having the same issue as well, and I’m using a program called MatrixGold which uses Rhino. I created a ring in the application and did an export to stl. When I printed it out, the ring ended up being a few sizes to small.
BTW, the program is using millimeters as the unit of measure.
I contacted MatrixGold support to see if there was any scaling options when doing an export and they said no.
Is there any tools that can be used to inspect stl files, or a way to measure object points to see if the correct measurements carried over to the exported stl file?
Pretty sure you’ll be able to do that with this: MeshMixer
Alternately, I’d be happy to bang out a few cylinders of varying diameters you could load in to PreForm with a ring model to see if it fits the cylinder, and then you could delete the cylinder prior to printing. Just say what diameters you want them to be. It’ll be like 5 minutes work.
For a size 6 ring, I would need a cylinder 16.5mm. Is there any way to then just scale up the ring object in PreForm?
Yeah. By using the “scale” function in Preform. 
This should load in to PreForm as a 16.5mm x 30mm cylinder.
cylinder 16.5mm.stl (64.6 KB)
Duh! Did not realize you can load and scale individual items. So I loaded the cylinder and then the ring and it fit perfectly. So not sure what is going on. Will try to print it again and see if it prints again. Looking like newbie user error…
Thanks for your help.
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