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Web-based dental STL repair software
MeshRepair is an STL surface check and repair tool that opens in your web browser with your DentMesher account. It finds holes, inverted triangles, non-manifold edges and other surface errors in intraoral scans and design files, highlights them in red on the 3D model, repairs what it can and checks the result again. No installation required. The check and the repair run on the DentMesher server; a file you select on the tool page is processed only temporarily, for the duration of the operation, and is not stored.
- Used from your web browser
- No installation required
- Binary and ASCII STL
- Automatic checks on orders
STL error check: what does MeshRepair find?
Every file is checked against the same list of issues. Errors are shown in red on the 3D model; click a red area to see which error is there and what the repair will do about it.
The open base of an intraoral scan is not counted as an error
An intraoral scanner records only what it sees, so the bottom of the model is open.
In an intraoral scan, MeshRepair treats the scan base as normal and does not close it during repair; other holes are shown as areas that were not scanned. In a design file (CAD output), small holes count as errors; large openings such as the crown opening that seats on the preparation, a margin opening or a screw channel are reported as structural openings.
- You choose the file type or leave it on Automatic; in Automatic mode the type is estimated from the hole structure.
- Only holes whose widest opening (the distance between the two farthest rim points; for a round rim, the diameter of the circle) is smaller than 2 mm are closed; openings of 2 mm or more at their widest point are not closed for any file type. The crown opening that seats on the preparation therefore stays open. The measurement is taken from the rim points: an opening very close to the limit, such as a Ø2.0 mm screw channel, can measure slightly below 2 mm depending on how its rim points are arranged and be closed; check these openings in the repaired file.
- If one file contains two scans, both scan bases are left open.
- The edges of two surfaces that are not stitched together are not filled for any file type; the two surfaces need to be joined in your design software.
How do you repair an STL file?
Drop the file
Drag your STL file onto the tool page or select it; binary and ASCII STL are accepted. Choose the file type or leave it on Automatic.
Review the errors
The evaluation and the list of issues appear alongside, and errors show in red on the 3D model. Click a red area to see what the error is and what the repair will do.
Repair
The Repair button applies the selected repair steps; the repaired file is read again and checked, and the result is compared with the previous report.
Download the repaired file
Download the repaired STL file. If the repair did not improve the file or changed nothing, MeshRepair says so clearly and asks before you download.
Self-intersections are not repaired automatically; they need to be fixed in your design software. Issues that remain after repair appear in the new report.
Mesh repair: which steps are applied?
Each repair step can be switched on or off on the tool page. Only holes smaller than 2 mm at their widest point are patched; openings of 2 mm or more at their widest point (the crown opening that seats on the preparation, margin openings, screw channels, the scan base) are not closed for any file type.
Small holes are patched
Holes smaller than 2 mm at their widest point are patched; you can lower the limit on the tool page. The patch uses the hole’s rim points and follows the surrounding surface on curved surfaces. A hole that wraps an edge or a corner, whose patch would deviate from the surrounding surface by more than an estimated 0.02 mm, or whose patch would cut through the surface is left open; the other holes are still patched.
Orientation is corrected
Inverted triangles are flipped to match their neighbors; inward-facing closed parts are turned outward.
Topology is cleaned up and excess removed
Only exactly coincident vertices are merged. At non-manifold edges the two triangles best connected to the surface are kept; bowtie vertices are only reported. Invalid and duplicate triangles, small detached parts and degenerate triangles are deleted; a degenerate triangle that closes a slit in a closed surface, however, is kept and only reported, because deleting it would open a slit that cannot be closed.
The repaired file is read again the way another program would read it, and checked. If the repair made the file worse or found nothing it could fix, MeshRepair tells you; on orders such a repair is not applied and your file stays unchanged.
The repair does not move existing surface points. Every triangle in the repaired file is compared with the original file; if even one point has shifted, the repaired file is not provided and not added to the order. A patch added to a small hole, however, is new surface; check patches on the surface that seats on the preparation.
STL files uploaded to orders are checked too
MeshRepair is built into DentMesher’s order screens on the web. The check is for information only; it does not stop an order from being sent.
Result on the file card
STL files uploaded to an order are checked in the background; the result appears on the file card in the order screen. From the card you can open the model and review the errors in the 3D viewer. Files over the size limit are not checked; the card says so. Older files uploaded before MeshRepair was introduced may show no result.
On a new order, before sending
On the new order screen, the STL file you upload is checked before the order is sent. You can repair it if you wish; the repaired file replaces the file you selected.
On a saved order, the original is kept
On a saved order, the repaired copy is added as a separate file; the original file is kept. The repair is done by the side that uploaded the file: the clinic for files the clinic uploaded, the assigned designer for files the designer uploaded. The designer can repair only while the job is with them: their own files during the design stage, and only revision files during a revision.
On the tool page, your file is not stored
The STL file you select on the tool page is processed on the server only temporarily, for the duration of the operation, and is not stored; the repaired file comes straight back to your browser. The file name is not sent to the server.
Files you upload to an order, by contrast, are stored as the order’s files. On a saved order, a repaired copy is added to the order as a separate file; on the new order screen, the repaired file replaces the file you selected.
Who can use it, and what do you need?
MeshRepair opens with DentMesher clinic and laboratory, approved dental designer and expert accounts. It is used from the web browser and is not part of the DentMesher Android app.
- An up-to-date web browser with WebGL support for 3D viewing
- A DentMesher clinic/laboratory, approved designer or expert account
- A binary or ASCII STL file; the tool page shows the file size limit
- Interface in Turkish, English, German and French
Design service details Details for laboratories Become a dental designer
What does MeshRepair not do?
MeshRepair finds surface errors and repairs the ones it can. What it deliberately does not do:
- It does not repair self-intersecting surfaces; it only reports them.
- It does not fill open edge chains or the edges of two surfaces that are not stitched together.
- It does not close openings of 2 mm or more at their widest point (the crown opening that seats on the preparation, margin openings, screw channels); it only reports them.
- It does not move existing surface points; it does not split bowtie vertices but only reports them.
- It does not close small holes that wrap a sharp edge or a corner, such as the crown margin, or holes whose patch would deviate from the surrounding surface by more than an estimated 0.02 mm; it only reports them.
- It does not create a model base or plinth, and does not add thickness to surfaces.
- It does not assess the design: it does not measure anatomy, occlusion or wall thickness. Whether a design is clinically suitable is for the dentist and the designer to decide.
- For very large files, the self-intersection scan is skipped; the report says so.
Check the report and the 3D view before using the repaired file.
Frequently asked questions
Which files does MeshRepair check?
It checks STL files only; binary and ASCII STL are accepted. Other formats such as PLY, OBJ or DCM do not open in MeshRepair. The tool page shows the file size limit, and the same limit applies on orders. On orders, too, only STL files are checked; a file over the limit is not checked, and its file card says so.
Is the open base of an intraoral scan counted as an error?
No. An intraoral scanner records only what it sees, so the base of the scan is open; MeshRepair shows it as the scan base and does not close it during repair. Other holes are listed as warnings. In a design file (CAD output), small holes count as errors; openings of 2 mm or more at their widest point, such as the crown opening that seats on the preparation or a screw channel, are reported as structural openings and are not closed during repair.
Is my file stored on the server?
Not on the tool page: the file is processed on the server only temporarily, for the duration of the operation, it is not stored and its name is not sent to the server; the repaired file comes back to your browser. Files you upload to an order, by contrast, are stored as the order’s files.
Does the repair fix every issue?
No. Self-intersections and bowtie vertices are only reported, not repaired automatically. Only holes smaller than 2 mm at their widest point are patched; openings of 2 mm or more are not closed. A hole that wraps an edge or a corner, whose patch would deviate from the surrounding surface by more than an estimated 0.02 mm, or whose patch would cut through the surface is left open, and the other holes are still patched. If the repair would make the file worse or there is nothing it can fix, MeshRepair tells you; on orders such a repair is not applied.
Does the repair change the dimensions of the design?
Existing surface points do not change: vertices are merged only if they coincide exactly, and no point is moved. A patch added to a small hole, however, is new surface: it uses the hole’s rim points, and on curved surfaces new points that follow the surrounding surface are added. MeshRepair estimates how far the patch would deviate from the surrounding surface; if the deviation would exceed 0.02 mm, or if the hole wraps a sharp edge such as the crown margin, it does not close that hole. Openings such as the crown opening that seats on the preparation, margin openings and screw channels stay as they are when they are 2 mm or more at their widest point. Still check patches on the surface that seats on the preparation. Every triangle in the repaired file is compared with the original file; if even one point has shifted, the repaired file is not provided and not added to the order. In an ASCII STL file the coordinates are rounded to binary STL precision.
What happens to the original when I repair a file on an order?
On a saved order, the repaired copy is added to the order as a separate file; the original file is neither deleted nor changed. On the new order screen, because the order has not been sent yet, the repaired file replaces the file you selected.
Does the check on an order block the order?
No. The check is for information only: the result appears on the file card and the order can still be sent. You decide whether to repair the file.
Who can use MeshRepair?
On DentMesher, clinic and laboratory, approved dental designer and expert accounts can open MeshRepair in the web browser. MeshRepair is not part of the DentMesher Android app.
