5 Replies Latest reply on Jul 18, 2014 2:47 PM by Chris Dordoni

Export .WRL with UV mapping for Multicolour printing

Charles Fried Jul 14, 2014 4:41 PM

Hi there,

Has anyone managed to export in a .WRL format with a UV map for colour printing?

It only seem to export properly when using preset colours from photoview but not a .jpg or .png.

I've openened the file as a .txt and I can't see any link to the image.

I've been using Rhino to do so but I'm not as proficient with it than I am with SW thus taking me much longer to model anything.

Thanks,

Charles

Re: Export .WRL with UV mapping for Multicolour printing

Chris Dordoni Jul 16, 2014 12:23 PM (in response to Charles Fried)

Charles,

Did you post this over in the Photoview forum?

I don't have Photoview with my license, but I could suggest some ways to do this outside of SolidWorks, if you find that you can't get a UV map from Photoview or other SolidWorks tool.
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- Re: Export .WRL with UV mapping for Multicolour printing
  
  Charles Fried Jul 17, 2014 7:27 AM (in response to Chris Dordoni)
  
  No I didn't, please tell me though .
  
  Would your technique allow me to place several UV maps on different parts of my model?
  
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  - Re: Export .WRL with UV mapping for Multicolour printing
    
    Chris Dordoni Jul 17, 2014 10:33 AM (in response to Charles Fried)
    
    Most apps that do UV mapping allow use of multiple images on different areas of a model.
    
    If you have Rhino, but would prefer to model in SolidWorks, you could export the model from SolidWorks and do the UV mapping in Rhino.
    
    There are many 3d polygon modeling apps that will do UV mapping as well. Blender is free and has lots of docs and tutorials that would show you how to do it.
    
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    - Re: Export .WRL with UV mapping for Multicolour printing
      
      Charles Fried Jul 18, 2014 7:05 AM (in response to Chris Dordoni)
      
      When I tried to map with several images I exported the model from Solidworks into Rhino as an Stl, is that where I went wrong?
      Or am I just not looking deep enough into Rhino's mapping abilities?
      
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      - Re: Export .WRL with UV mapping for Multicolour printing
        
        Chris Dordoni Jul 18, 2014 2:47 PM (in response to Charles Fried)
        
        Charles,
        
        I looked for some info on whether Photoview will export an object with UV mapping in the forums and in the product information and it seems like it cannot do that. Hopefully someone will have some definitive onfo on that as I cannot test Photoview myself.
        
        You indicated you tried WRL format without success. Are there other formats available to export to? (OBJ and 3DS also support UV maps)
        
        FYI - STL format does not support UV mapping, although you could use it to transfer the model and UV map it in Rhino.
        
        If you already have Rhino and use it for modeling, that probably will be your best option for making a UV mapped object since you would not have to look for another application.
        
        Rhino has a huge following, so I'm sure you could find a tutorial or documentation on how to UV map in Rhino. Here'e on I just came across:
        http://tips.rhino3d.com/2013/01/uv-mapping-in-v5-rhino.html
        
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