Export: Stereo-Lithography File

Description

Exports surfaces of beams, plates, brick faces and geometry faces as triangular plate elements in the STL (Stereo-lithography) format.

Dialog

Name

Opens the file dialog to specify the location and name of the file to be exported.

Format

• Text

  Text file format.

• Binary

  Binary file format.

Grouping

The grouping structure of the exported file.

Grouping is not available if the Binary export file format is selected.

• None

  No grouping.

• By Entity Type

  Groups are created based on entity types - beams, plates, bricks and faces.

• By Groups

  Groups are created based on the Strand7 group tree.

Export

Entities to be exported.

• Beams

  Faces of beam elements that have cross sections defined.

  Beams that do not have cross sections defined (i.e., spring-damper, point contacts and connections), are not exported.

• Plates

  Faces of plate elements.

• Brick Faces

  Faces of brick elements.

• Geometry Faces

  Geometry faces, exported as triangulated tessellations.

Beams as ...

Beams that do not have cross sections defined are not exported.

• Section

  Beam elements are exported as a thin surface representation of their cross sections, similarly to the beam Section display style (Entity Display Settings: Beam Display).

• Solid

  Beam elements are exported as a solid representation of their cross sections, similarly to the beam Solid display style (Entity Display Settings: Beam Display).

Export Beam Offsets

If set, offset beams are exported at their offset positions.

If not set, beam offsets, if applied, are ignored and beams are exported with nodes located at the centroid of the cross section.

Plates as ...

• Surface

  Plate elements are exported as a thin surface representation, similarly to the plate Surface display style (Entity Display Settings: Plate Display).

• Solid

  Plate elements are exported as a solid representation, similarly to the plate Solid display style (Entity Display Settings: Plate Display).

Export Plate Offsets

If set, offset plates are exported at their offset positions.

If not set, plate offsets, if applied, are ignored and plates are exported with nodes located at the mid-planes.

Bricks as...

• Free Faces

  Only surface (free) faces of the brick mesh are exported, similarly to those identified via Detect: Brick Faces.

• All Faces

  All faces of brick elements are exported, including internal faces.

See Also

• Import: Stereo-Lithography File
• Entity Display Settings: Beam Display
• Entity Display Settings: Plate Display