How to read a .DAE (Collada)/.OBJ 3d mesh file and triangulate it?

Question

I have an object in a .DAE (Collada) format. It is a mesh that is just a closed surface. I wonder how to bring it into Fenics and make it a solid object ready for FEM operations?

1. Is there any API for this inside Fenics or its component library
   already?
2. How to do Triangulations of such mesh using Fenics?
3. How to turn it into solvable via FEM utils 3d Mesh?

Answer 1

You might want to try triangulate it using an external tool such as tetgen or gmsh. The result can then be converted to a dolfin mesh file using dolfin-convert.