SL Tools¶
SL Tools (sltools.exe
) is a utility included in SIMION 8.0 and previously
included in the SIMION SL Toolkit. It is intended for viewing,
manipulating, and converting to/from PA files. Conversions include
importing/exporting PAs to/from CAD (STL), bitmap, and ASCII text
formats:
- Convert 3D CAD (STL) files from your favorite CAD package to/from 3D SIMION PA files.
- Convert 2D bitmap images to/from 2D SIMION PA files.
- Extract/Import potential and potential gradient (i.e. field) maps as ASCII text files to/from refined PA files.
- Quickly view PA and STL files from Windows Explorer (OpenGL viewer).

Fig. 21 Figure: 3D cut-away view of ion-trap PA file.

Fig. 22 Figure: Conversion of STL file to PA file.
Tutorial¶
- SL Tools Tutorial
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Installation
- Converting from 3D CAD (STL) Format to PA format
- Converting from a 2D Bitmap (BMP/PNG/JPEG/PNM) to PA Format
- Converting a PA File to ASCII Text
- Converting from ASCII Text to a PA File
- Converting a PA File to STL
- The Quick Viewer
- Advanced: Command-line Usage
- Conclusion
- Converting from 3D CAD (STL) Format to PA Format