How to export a 3D surface (gyroid) as an stl file

Hi,

I'm a final year Mechanical Engineering student and for my final year project I'm studying the deformational behaviour of gyroids under several loading conditions. Currently I have managed to create a the gyroid's surface but I'm struggling to export the surface as an stl file. I've tried using the stlwrite function but it gives an error message saying "Input argument must be a triangulation object". I then tried to triangulate the gyroid surface using several methods but was unsuccessful. Here is the code:

clear all
close all
clc

x_period = 4;
y_period = 4;
z_period = 4;

% Setting meshgrid
[x, y, z] = meshgrid(0:0.1:x_period*pi, 0:0.1:y_period*pi, 0:0.1:z_period*pi)

% Gyroid equation
v = cos(x).*sin(y) + cos(y).*sin(z) + cos(z).*sin(x);

figure(1)
isosurface(x,y,z,v)
axis equal
xlabel ('X')
ylabel ('Y')
zlabel ('Z')

hold on

Any idea how I could save this figure as an stl file?

Thanks

[darova]

Read how to use isosurface (extract faces and nodes)

[迪迪 赵]

I have the same problem. Have you solved it? Can you tell me how to solve it? thank you!

Answer 1

[Henrique Ramos]

Dear Daniel

Use the stlwrite export (file exchange), find for download at,

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/20922-stlwrite-write-ascii-or-binary-stl-files

set the .m file at the same path, and run this code, at the your .m (gyroid)

fv = isosurface(x,y,z,v);

stlwrite('Gyroid.stl',fv)

[Oguzhan Arslan]

Can you explain with video or document?

I can't work systematic of matlab code.

Thanks

[MITHILESH KURUP]

Hello Henrique

I have tried to the same as you have suggested above. But no luck, I'm getting an error as below:

Unable to write to Gyroid.stl

Could you please let me know what might be the issue?

Thanks

[Henrique Ramos]

The code is simple like that, and the main thing is the file stlwrite from the link, as I mentioned, should be in the same folder.

Use the stlwrite export (file exchange), find for download at,

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/20922-stlwrite-write-ascii-or-binary-stl-files

% Number of cells
x_period = 4;
y_period = 4;
z_period = 4;

% Mesh grid
[x,y,z] = meshgrid(0:0.1:x_period*pi, 0:0.1:y_period*pi, 0:0.1:z_period*pi);

% Gyroid Isosurface
f = ((cos(x).*sin(y))) + ((cos(y).*sin(z))) + ((cos(z).*sin(x)));

% PLot Figure 
figure(1)
isosurface(x,y,z,f)
axis equal
xlabel('X')
ylabel('Y')
zlabel('Z')

% Name STL and write
stlwrite('Gyroid.stl',isosurface(x,y,z,f))

[MITHILESH KURUP]

Hello Henrique,

The file stlwrite from the link and the main code, both are in the same folder only.

But, unfortunately it is still giving the same error as before:

Unable to write to Gyroid.stl

The version that I'm using is MATLAB R 2021 b. Could it be due to the current version that I'm using?

Thanks