STL

Reference

Category:

Import-Export

Menu:

File ‣ Import/Export ‣ Stl (.stl) (experimental)

Note

This is the experimental STL importer designed to replace the much slower STL Importer Add-on

The STL-file format is useful if you intend to import/export the files for CAD software. It is also commonly used for loading into 3D printing software.

Importing

Properties

Scale

Value by which to scale the imported objects in relation to the world’s origin.

Scene Unit

Apply current scene’s unit (as defined by unit scale) to imported data.

Facet Normals

Use (import) facet normals (note that this will still give flat shading).

Forward / Up Axis

Since many applications use a different axis for pointing upwards, these are axis conversion for these settings, Forward and up axes – By mapping these to different axes you can convert rotations between applications default up and forward axes.

Blender uses Y forward, Z up (since the front view looks along the +Y direction). For example, it is common for applications to use Y as the up axis, in that case -Z forward, Y up is needed.

Validate Mesh

Check the imported mesh for corrupt data and fix it if necessary. This option will make the importing slower but is often not necessary.

Exporting

In order to export STL-files you must currently use the STL Add-on.