3D models?

General Discussions
1

Hi all, just joined the forum (please be gentle :slight_smile: ).

I finally got my GF Pro set up and running this past weekend (after multiple years of waiting, followed by DOA on arrival needing to be replaced – sigh). Still under warranty so I probably won’t be too adventurous in the near term, but it doesn’t hurt to learn more about it early on!

I’ve waded through most of the content at Scott’s GF-Hardware repo (all excellent stuff!), and I was wondering… does anyone have any 3D model files for (parts of) the GF in a format other than 3D-PDF? I use SolidWorks, and haven’t really found a way to convert from the 3D-PDF I found in the GH repo, or even extract the 3D “file” embedded in the PDF. I noticed that the object breakdown of the 3D node tree seems to be using (what looks like) SolidWorks terminology for the solid bodies in the assembly (e.g. CutExtrude43, Fillet1, Revolve1, etc), and that got me thinking that the models may already exist somewhere in another format.

I did some searching online, and couldn’t find much that would help with conversion:

  • Photoshop’s 3D PDF opener said it couldn’t recognize the 3D format of the embedded content (I’m using CC 2019)
  • Acrobat let me examine the 3D and even the node tree, but the only export options I could find were CSV and XML [I haven’t tried those yet]
  • Blender doesn’t seem to have the capability either (or any plugins I was able to find)

In any case, it looks like there’s a lot of great content here, I’m looking forward to poking around the site!

EDIT: After some more searching I found the “Tetra4D Converter” that sounds like it would do the trick, however the price point is a bit steep (they do have a free trial, but that’s not really a lasting solution); also I don’t know to what extent the conversion would be “lossy” compared to the original files.

Best,
– Paul T.

2

I seem to be answering my own questions today :slight_smile:

So I cracked open the PDF and found the 3D data section, turns out it’s encoded in PRC format (ISO 14739-1). As far as I can tell, there’s no available documentation on this format except the standard itself (published in 2014, USD$232) and some really old archived (and outdated) pages originally from Adobe’s site.

Hopefully someone has the models in some other format already.

PS: I was also able to confirm, from the PDF itself, that it was saved from SOLIDWORKS 2017 SP2.0,

Thanks and best,
– Paul T.

3

My biggest suggestion? As soon as you’re out of warranty, or are comfortable popping the left top, get rid of the tabs holding the left top down. Take a dremel, or similar grinding tool, and grind off the 3 little plastic bits.

I went through 3 cleanings before I figured out that I didn’t need to hold the top down that tightly. The screws that you have to take out hold it well enough. Now, there’s no more poking rather blindly, and using my good tools to try and pry the tabs loose.

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4

Ask and you shall receive…
GF-3D-MODELS.zip (7.0 MB)

My SolidWorks skills are ‘meh’, so I make no claims about their quality. :wink:

Would much appreciate any additions being shared back.

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5

Thanks @Crickett, I’ll definitely keep this in mind.

6

Many thanks @ScottW514. I’ll take a look later today, and I’m definitely open to sharing anything else I’m able to model.

Out of curiosity, did you create the model based on your own measurements, or was there a reference for (some of) the parts?

Thanks,
– Paul T.

7

Where off the shelf parts were used, I pulled measurements from datasheets. Everything else, I measured as best as I could. Don’t take it for gospel, but they should be close enough for most purposes.

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