Generation of computational surface meshes of STL models

The stereolithography (STL) file format, developed for rapid prototyping industry, became an attractive alternative for surface representation in solid modeling. In this paper, an algorithm for the surface discretization of 3D models in STL format is presented. Initially, a boundary representation is reconstructed from the STL file format using feature recognition. Then a smooth surface is recovered over the original STL grid by adopting the interpolating subdivision procedure. And finally, the recovered surface is subjected to the triangulation accomplished using the advancing front technique operating directly on the surface.