Pleasant3D v2.0

I frequently had the problem that downloaded STL files needed some minor editing in order to be printable on my MakerBot. Most of the time it was just a simple move to the center of the build platform or a resize.

In addition to that, I already wrote OpenGL code to visualize STL and GCode files a couple of months ago for another larger project.

Finally I had sometimes the problem that I downloaded a ASCII encoded STL file and wanted to open the file in my 3D/CAD application. Since this application can only read binary STL files I needed an easy way to convert ASCII STL to binary STL.

So I wrote Pleasant3D, a small utility which solves these problems and uses the above mentioned visualization code to display STL and GCode files:

The “build platform” is fixed to 10×10cm (i.e. MakerBot’s build platform). I wrote the code in a way you’ll can choose different build platforms (e.g. RepRap Darwin, Mendel and so on) for visualization and adjustments in future revisions of the application. Any feedback on your needs is appreciated.

What's new in version 2.0:

• More intuitive (trackball) view rotation.
• Panning views with right mouse button drags.
• Initial release of "the real Pleasant3D" (click here for more information)

What's new in version 1.2:

• Fixed a nasty bug in the STL editor which caused wrong positioning of STL objects in some cases.
• Fixed some remaining issues with the 64-bit version: Pleasant3D runs now as 64-bit application (if supported by the computer).
• Automatic check for updates (Sparkle).
• Some minor UI changes.
• Cleaned up the code (now ready to implement more features. :)

What's new in version 1.1:

• Pleasant3D now includes QuickLook plugins for STL and GCode files!
• Zooming of STL and GCode previews:
  Use the scroll wheel on your mouse to zoom in/out. Optionally, hold the command key and drag the mouse horizontally. Pan the view by holding the Option key and dragging with the mouse.
  Since there's no rotating in the GCode 2D view, you don't need to hold the Option key to pan there.
• New "Rotate" section in STL documents. You can now rotate objects by arbitrary angles.
• Additional "Factor" field in the "Dimension" section. This might be helpful when resizing multiple files.
• Keyboard shortcuts for changing the current layer in GCode documents. Press the up arrow key to increase, or the down arrow key to decrease the current layer. Press Option-up arrow to jump to the last layer or Option-down arrow to jump to the first layer.
• The last known state for "Autorotate", "Show Arrows", "Alpha" etc. are now saved in the preferences.

Here's a 5 minute video, showing off the new features in Pleasant3D v1.1:

You can watch a short screencast of Pleasant3D (v1.0) here:

Pleasant3D requires Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or newer.

You can download Pleasant3D here for free:

If you like Pleasant3d, please support its future development and donate:

Thank you!

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