If the element in Inventor is not a solid, the 3D Print Preview won’t allow us to export the model and will produce this message: stl file or if surfaces are created directly in Inventor. That type of problem can occur if a model is imported from another software, and then its converted to a. It’s easy to recognize when your imported model is made of a solid or multiple surfaces because multiple surfaces do not look the same – they have a slightly transparent shade by default. A solid in Inventor always produces this type of mesh if it doesn’t, that means your current model is not yet a solid but a group of surfaces.

Manifold essentially means that your mesh needs to be completely closed (Or ‘watertight’) and that each of its edges needs to be shared with two polygons. We recommend modeling with Autodesk Inventor as these characteristics are easily attainable. The most important characteristics for a 3D printing mesh (also the most common errors for non-printable meshes) are that must be manifold, oriented, and made of single shell parts. Mesh files are not necessarily used for 3D printing, so it is important to use characteristics that function with the program you plan on using it for, whether that be rendering, animation, or 3D printing. If your plan is to get your hands on an object you designed through Sculpteo’s 3d printing program, you need to produce a 3D mesh file and export it in any of the acceptable formats, usually a.

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