I am just finishing up a contract at Google working in the Geo HW division. Google, like most tech companies, is constantly innovating and improving their products. I was tasked with developing some of the hardware that supports the platforms mounted on top of vehicles used to create StreetView images. While other engineers were focused on camera image quality, I was doing a deep dive into 3D scans of the vehicles that travel on public by-ways and highways to verify that the hardware would mount properly and survive potholes and other obstacles.
The process involved Google borrowing or purchasing vehicles that aligned with the fleet that would be used and then using a large scanning device. A technician would walk around the vehicle touching the vehicle at points an inch or so apart to capture the shape and features of the vehicle’s exterior.
After a couple of days of processing, I would receive an .STL file to verify and use for my work. This is where the fun truly began.
A high-resolution scan can contain millions of triangles (facets). Because the technician was manually touching the vehicle surface, this meant there were gaps where points were missed, as well as overlaps where the technician accidentally touched multiple times.
Before I even attempted to bring the .STL file into SOLIDWORKS, I used Blendr (blendr.org) to clean it up. If you haven’t heard of Blendr, today is your lucky day. Blendr is a free, open-source software popular with 3D printing hobbyists, and perfect for cleaning up .STL files. By using Blendr to fill in the missing points, smooth out my surface, and delete overlapping faces, I could create a file that was less likely to crash SOLIDWORKSs from jump.
Bringing in my .STL scan, my first step is to convert to a Mesh Body using the Mesh Modeling ribbon.
If you don’t see the Mesh Modeling ribbon, right click on the ribbon and select Tabs → Mesh Modeling.
This will add the Mesh Modeling ribbon to your interface.
Before even attempting to create surfaces, it’s a good idea to try using the Mesh Decimation tool. This tool reduces the polycount for the model to a manageable level without losing critical details.
This is a scan of the locations on a vehicle used for mounting a roof rack system.
The Decimate Mesh Body reduces the mesh by 20%. Using this tool speeds up processing and lag time, so I can move forward with my work.
You can then select the mesh, right-click and select Convert to a Mesh Body.
Give SOLIDWORKS a few minutes to work its magic. How much time it takes depends on how complex the mesh is.
I now have a selection of surfaces that have been derived from the mesh.
Once you have successfully used the Convert to Mesh Body tool, you are left with a collection of surfaces that mirror the original scan’s geometry. While these surfaces are far more manageable than a raw .STL file, they will still require manual refinement before they can be used for precise engineering tasks like mounting hardware or verifying clearances.
I can use surface tools to fill in holes, delete unwanted faces and advance to solids using Thicken, or just keep it as a collection of surfaces.
Many of the same tools used for editing and creating surfaces are available on the Mesh Modeling ribbon.
I attempted to use the Surface from Mesh tool on my scan, but SOLIDWORKS crashed. The software couldn’t handle the complexity and size of the scan. However, the Convert to Mesh Body tool worked fine. Once I had surfaces to work with, I was able to move forward with my design.
High-resolution scans frequently contain “noise” or small gaps where the technician’s manual touch-points missed a detail.
Delete Face can be used to remove overlapping or redundant facets that survived the initial Blender cleanup.
Use Extend or Trim Surface to close large gaps or clean up ragged edges.
Use Filled Surface to fill in gaps or holes. Simply select the boundaries and SOLIDWORKS will extrapolate the best fill for the opening. This works best for small openings. If you have a larger gap, you are better off using a sweep, extrude or lofted surface to control the appearance of your model.
By following this workflow — pre-cleaning in Blendr, decimating in SOLIDWORKS, and converting to a Mesh Body — you bypass the stability issues that often cause the software to crash when handling complex STL data. With a stable, surface-based model, you can confidently design something that will survive real-world conditions.
While Blendr is an excellent free tool for the initial “dirty” cleanup — filling gaps and deleting overlapping faces — SOLIDWORKS is where the raw data truly transforms into a functional engineering asset. The superiority of SOLIDWORKS lies in its ability to bridge the gap between a disorganized cloud of triangles and a precise, parametric environment.
One of the most significant advantages is the Mesh Modeling ribbon, which provides a streamlined interface for handling complex geometry. Tools like Decimate Mesh Body allow you to strategically reduce polycounts by 20% or more, significantly speeding up processing time and reducing lag without sacrificing the critical details needed for hardware mounting verification. Unlike hobbyist software, SOLIDWORKS’ Convert to Mesh Body tool is designed to turn graphic bodies into selectable, workable faces.
Once you have transitioned from a mesh to a selection of surfaces, you gain access to a professional-grade suite of surface tools. You can use Knit, Trim, and Extend to perfect the geometry, or use the Thicken command to advance your scan to a solid body. This capability is vital for real-world applications.
Ultimately, SOLIDWORKS provides the stability and mathematical precision required for industrial design. While other tools might handle the “fun” of the mesh, SOLIDWORKS handles the “work” of the engineering, ensuring that your final file doesn’t just look like a bunch of triangles, but like a real-world model.
Elise Moss has worked in Silicon Valley for the past thirty years as a designer and mechanical engineer. She is currently working as a contractor at Google, designing the next release of the street view cameras used to create the images in Google Maps. Her professional website is mossdesigns.com.