Program Operation

The Define Slices Dialog Window

Z-Extent Information - the STL file's extents along Z are shown as an aid to the user so that he does not select a Z value outside of the body of the structure.

STL2GBR cuts across the body defined by the STL data at a user specified Z-value. This is called a slice. The user can define one or more slices and each slice produces a separate Gerber file.

The slice height is defined prior to any scaling of the input STL data.

In Manual Mapping Mode the user defines each Z height manually and assigns or reassigns the appropriate GDSII layer.

In Auto Mapping Mode the user defines a Z Start, Increment and Max Z value and the program will calculate the heights.

It is clear from this 3D perspsective view that the mask results depend on the Z-slice height. For slices from 0 to 1 mm the mask is identical. But once the Z value rises above 1.0 the mask will vary due to the taper of the top isohedron. The hole bored into the top (0.5 mm deep) will also affect any masks where Z > 1.5.