Efficient Topological Reconstruction of Solids in STL Format
Liu Jin-yi · Journal of Engineering Graphics · 2003
The STL(Stereolithography) file represent a solid model as a collection of triangular facets. Because of simplicity in format, it has become one of de facto standards for B-rep solid model exchange. Many modern CAD systems have the ability to export this kind of files. In STL files, the triangular facets are listed with no order, and no topological information is provided. However, in most STL-based applications, it is needed to establish the topological relations. This paper presents a fast algorithm for reconstruct solid models from STL files. With this algorithm, a complex solid with thousands of triangular facets can be reconstructed within several seconds in popular microcomputers.