inp2stl's Introduction

inp2stl

Python script to convert a file in Abacus' INP format into the STL (STereoLithography) file format

Requirements

Install the requirements if needed using:

$ python3 -m pip install --user numpy

Usage

inp2stl.py [-h] --input INPUT --output OUTPUT [--flip [FLIP]]

Detect peas.

optional arguments:
  -h, --help       show this help message and exit
  --input INPUT    Name of the input INP file.
  --output OUTPUT  Name of the output STL file.
  --flip [FLIP]    Flip normal vectors.

Example

Download an INP file, e.g. the male_model from Harsha Teja Garimella (2018) available on figshare at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.5808792.v1:

$ wget https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/10269141
$ mv 10269141 male_model.inp

Convert the INP file into an STL file:

$ ./inp2stl.py --input male_model.inp --output male_model.stl

Check the direction of the normal vectors, e.g. using MeshLab

It's not pretty, isn't it?

I've seen vertex ordering using left-hand rule and right-hand rule. It's why we can flip the normals, e.g.:

$ ./inp2stl.py --flip --input male_model.inp --output male_model.stl

Case study: X-ray simulation using gVirtualXRay

In MeshLab, export the mesh as a binary STL file.

Use a different filename, e.g. I added -bin at the end of the filename.

Make sure the format is binary

The file name should be much smaller than the ASCII file

$ ls -l male_model*.stl
-rw-r--r-- 1 franck users  5738284 Aug 19 16:29 male_model-bin.stl
-rw-r--r-- 1 franck users 27048282 Aug 19 16:28 male_model.stl

Install gvxrPython3

See...

The Python wrapper is installed in ``/home/franck/gvxrWrapper-1.0.1/python3` on my computer.

$ cd /home/franck/gvxrWrapper-1.0.1/python3
$ ls
gvxrPython3.py  _gvxrPython3.so  test.py

I add this path in PYTHONPATH in my .bashrc file with:

$ echo "" >> ~/.bashrc
$ echo "# Install of gvxrPython3" >> ~/.bashrc
$ echo "export PYTHONPATH=/home/franck/gvxrWrapper-1.0.1/python3:$PYTHONPATH" >> ~/.bashrc