Emendo, a STL file repair utility from Avante Technology, boasts a dramatic processing speed up of ten times over the previous version.
Emendo addresses a persistent problem in the 3D printing world: crappy STL 3D models. Usually these are created accidentally by 3D CAD programs that can’t handle a complex 3D design element or maneuver, but don’t say so when the file is exported. I always check my STL files before sending them to a 3D printer because, well, you just don’t know. Very often the files are slightly corrupt – and sometimes catastrophically so.
These bad files can confuse a 3D printer slicing system such that you actually waste a print before you detect that something’s amiss. The best thing to do is always check your files with an appropriate STL repair utility. Or two.
There are several STL repair utilities on the market, one of which is Emendo. It’s been out for a couple of years now, but recently they released a new version that has a critically important improvement.
It’s apparently at least ten times faster to process.
Why is this so critical? Avante Technology CEO Bob Zollo explains:
The value to users is that this version addresses the classic tradeoff that users face when using conventional file repair.
Repair at high resolution can take forever vs lower resolution in a shorter time. Our app’s use of discreet math to calculate precise repairs has always provided more accurate results, but at the cost of slow processing. Now we are seeing speed improvements from 10x to many times that depending on the specific file and types of errors encountered.
Combine this with the secondary repair mode that is designed to deal with the complexities of mashup files. As you know, no software application can repair 100% of mashup files, but we added a second set of repair algorithms designed for this kind of heavy number crunching. If it still takes too long, you can adjust the resolution to meet the tolerances of your printer.
How does it work? Pretty simply:
Open the application and double click on the file to be epaired. Emendo automatically checks and validates the STL file. Errors are identified, listed and displayed in colors on a rotatable 3D rendering of the object. Click on the Repair button and Emendo does the rest.
Some problem 3D geometries are better handled by different repair utilities, so it’s advisable to have a few of these repair systems at hand. If you’re looking for a competent STL repair tool, consider Emendo. It’s available for Windows (inc. Windows 10) and Mac at only USD$80 per license.
