Corrupted 3D models for printing

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You’d be surprised how many 3D models you can find on the internet are broken in some way. Modern slicers are pretty good at repairing the models without you even noticing. However, not all of the corrupted 3D models can be repaired automatically. Therefore, we would like to give you some tips on how to repair these. 

Repair using PrusaSlicer

PrusaSlicer will automatically repair models to a certain degree, but it may be necessary to fix the model using a dedicated service. If you are using PrusaSlicer under Windows 10, it will have access to Microsoft's APIs for repairing 3D models through Netfabb. 

You can either right-click on the warning symbol found by the name of the model in question (left picture green arrow) or right-click on the model itself and select "Fix by the Netfabb" (right picture red square).

External tools for repairing 3D models

There are several ways to repair a 3D model. You’ll find that sometimes one solution works and another doesn’t, depending on the specific model. We’ll only focus on solutions that are free and easy to use:

• Aspose Free Online Repair
• Formware Online STL repair
• Meshmixer
  • Auto-repair – easy to use, but doesn’t always work
  • Make solid – that almost always works, but has its downsides (resolution loss)
• 3D Builder – really easy to use and a great tool, but only for Windows