Import a 2D STL File

Hey everyone!

I would like to import a 3D STL file as 2D geometry.

I found something in the MATLAB documentation (https://de.mathworks.com/help/pde/ug/stl-file-import.html) that says "When you import a planar STL geometry, the toolbox converts it to a 2-D geometry by mapping it to the X-Y plane.", but if i create a plot, it is still in 3D.

Here is the code i tried:

model = createpde;

importGeometry(model,'Insole.stl');

pdegplot(model,'EdgeLabels','on')

The 3D Part is an insole which contains several splines, could that be a problem?

I would be happy if someone could help me!

Kind regards,

Matthias

Answer 1

[Ravi Kumar]

Hi Matthias,

Your geometry in the STL file is indeed 3-D. I am assuming you want just the one of the flat faces for two 2-D analysis. To do this you need to export just that face as STL. I do not know the option in Autodesk to do so, but typically if you have the CAD in STEP format then you can select a particular face and save just that into to STL file.

Regards,

Ravi

Answer 2

[Ravi Kumar]

The keyword here is "planar". Is your geomtry planar?

Regards,

Ravi

Answer 3

[Matthias Wölfleder]

Thank you for your answer!

Maybe i misinterpreted the word planar. My geometry is a simple flat extrusion from a draft as you can see in the attachment. I used Autodesk Inventor to create this, but there seems no opportunity to create a planar surface .stl in Inventor. Is there any other way to import just the 2D draft into Matlab?

Regards,

Matthias