Hello,

a bit of a rambling post

curious if other people have attempted to improve the quality of the ldraw meshes through mesh processing.

Several meshes suffer from these:
* non-manifold edges & vertices (triangle edges share more than one neighbor)

* self-intersection
* disjoint surfaces. Sometimes triangles/quads are not sharing the same positions along edges, when they should. Often when triangle segments were stitched together to appear to be curved.
* t-junctions (because there is no proper ngon support)

As the tools back in the day weren't exactly great and hardware was limited by other means, it's understandable that the basic definition of the content today feels a bit dated. One alternative is to "properly" create the models through CAD or subdivision-surfaces as true solids. 

Which some people have done see https://grabcad.com/dk/models 
However that doesn't play nice with the ldraw ecosystem and accessibility. Mecabricks exported parts are not allowed to be redistributed, which also doesn't make them a solution.

It seems the typical approach in some ldraw apps and importers is to detect a few primitives and replace them with higher resolutions (cylinders, discs, etc.). However that may not always work well with adjoint surfaces that share spatial edges, but are not a primitive. Furthermore it doesn't cover other smooth surfaces.

Fixing things up in blender or other 3d tools after something has been converted to 3d meshes, seems like some key information is lost. Furthermore, 3d packages generalized solutions may not be the best fit to address the mesh problems.


My thinking is that one nice thing about ldraw is that it's fairly low-resolution, meaning on todays hardware one can brute force certain things to clean up the meshes. And tessellation algorithms can make use of the "edges" etc. to detect the intent. Some fixes could be done on the .ldr directly, like certain vertices snapped to other positions etc.

Compared to past
* there are robust open-source (no GPL etc.) mesh processing (booleans etc.), polygon triangulation... algorithms out there today
* due to 3d printing in general also more research in mesh cleanup for solids
* rendering hardware is a lot more capable
* much more CPU cores for processing... (and this has to happen only once).


so my question: has this been attempted before? how do others see the future of ldraw's mesh quality for rendering (maybe what I am describing isn't perceived as that desirable)? Is there interest among the programmers of importers/exporters/tools in the ldraw community to go in such a direction?

There seem to have been some threads on "modernizing" the spec and such, but they seem like decades ago, so I guess we can assume things stay as is and so the kind of automated processing is the only realistic option?

Hello there,

I'm currently working on a new project and I'm quite new to all of this LEGO data. I was wondering if there is some way to download the LDraw's database of files and export them to .png's of .jpeg's. The thing here is, I would like to be able to link all parts to my rebrickable data.

Does anyone have any experience in this process?

me want part 40250\41383, Body Giant, Hagrid\HAGRIDS UPPER PART\Body Giant, HP Hagrid

the arms and hands are the same i think as 2003 jabba which are the same as jack stone\4+ junior figures

since its a complex part i would hopefully be patient 

as a side note the hair piece that goes over the piece (40238) is in ldd and could be used to sketch the top of the torso
and the top has a portion rounded off so a 3626 can rotate in it
and this version of hagrid appears in the Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 game but since mesh cant be used due to copyright issues
could be used as reference in modelling it

bye

https://rebrickable.com/parts/40250pr000...and-hands/
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/cat...P=40250cx1

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Hi folks,

I realize this might be considered heresy among true LEGO purists, but has anyone experimented with 3D printing LEGO elements, using an LDraw part file
(Or Stud.io part file for that matter)

For a very special project for a friend, I want to make a Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #7 - 168.75 degrees in green.

So far, this part only comes in Reddish Orange from 5 sets.

Could someone provide me with a file format for a 3D printer?

Help or tips are much appreciated.

Jaco

P.S. Hoping some future botanical sets might ever use this part in green for plant stems... ;-)

Wanted to eventually be able to 3D print the minifig at 500% scale. Mainly interested in head piece.

Minifigure, Headgear Hood with 5 Large Petals with Dark Red Mouth Opening with Black Center and Tan Sharp Teeth Pattern

Item No: 54001pb01

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/cat...9#T=C&C=69

Hey there everyone! Could someone get the formed version of this kama piece for me please? I only managed to get the basic spread out version
Bricklink Code: 74664

WHY LIKE THIS




HOW STOP GRID SNAP

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Does anyone know if this piece 79687 is on here? it's called  Black Minifigure, Hair Male, Just on Top and is seen on the Sam Wilson Captain America in 2021. If anyone has fount it can you send the link to the piece on here

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/cat...=5#T=C&C=5

I'm aware that currently making custom flexible parts is near impossible, really all I need is the claw itself. Thank you in advance!

Hi folks,

I just updated the MLCad.ini file accordingly to the latest LDraw.org parts update 2025-01. The .ini file defines (among other things) the parts available in MLCad's, LEOCad's and Bricksmith's minifigure generator.

Download the file from my website: http://www.holly-wood.it/mlcad/mlcad_ini-en.html

Bye, w.