Exporting surface model to stl

The following will describe a workflow that was used to create a 3D model ready for printing on a 3D printer. The input data can be points (x,y,z values), lines (contours) or a digital elevation model (DEM). DEMs can come in various formats.

In this example, the first step we’ll be doing is creating our raster surface from a point file.

  1. Take a x,y,z csv file and display it in a GIS. You can either do this in ArcMap, QGIS, Global Mapper or any other GIS. In this particular case, I used ArcMap since I’m most familiar with it. In this particular case, I was looking to create a 3D model from data of images of bone trade - hue (x), brightness (y), saturation (z). x y z data

  2. This is what the display of points looks like in QGIS. QGIS asked which coordinate system to display the data, so I chose WGS84. Points Data

  3. For some odd reason, I couldn’t properly convert the points to a raster surface in Global Mapper. As this is a new software version for me, I hope to find out if its doable. So, I decided to create the surface model using ArcMap. In the near future, I hope to figure how to do this in Global Mapper properly.

  4. In ArcMap, I went to ArcToolbox > Spatial Analyst Tools > Interpolation > Natural Neighbor. Keep in mind that any of the interpolation tools could be used (IDW, Kriging, Spline). For this particular test, I used Natural Neighbor. Save this file as a .bil file.

  5. Once the raster surface was created, I opened it in Global Mapper. This is what it looked like in 2D view and then in 3D view. 2D & 3D View

  6. Once it’s opened, go to File > Export > Export 3D format… Export

  7. Then choose stl format and fill in the proper fields for printing. Export Options

  8. The exported model was then opened in Makerbot software where it was re-scaled and then sent to the printer. It is now sitting in the queue waiting to be printed. Once its printed, I can update these notes describing the final product.
Written on April 7, 2016