STL#
Reference
- Category:
Import-Export
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This 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.
Warning
Currently the script does not handle importing or exporting of normals and does not handle endian-ness, there is nothing in the STL specification about it.
Importing#
Note
The STL importer Add-on is deprecated and being replaced with the much faster Integrated STL Importer.
Properties#
Transform#
- 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.
- 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.
Geometry#
- Facet Normals
Use (import) facet normals (note that this will still give flat shading).
Exporting#
Properties#
- ASCII
Exports the stl-file in ASCII format rather than as a binary format
- Batch Mode
Export each object as a separate STL file.
Include#
- Selection Only
When checked, only selected objects are exported. Instanced objects, for example collections that are instanced in the scene, are considered ‘selected’ when their instancer is selected.
Transform#
- Scale
Value by which to scale the exported objects in relation to the world’s origin.
- Scene Unit
Apply current scene’s unit (as defined by unit scale) to exported data.
- Forward / Up Axis
Since many applications use a different axis for ‘Up’, 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’s common for applications to use Y as the up axis, in that case -Z Forward, Y Up is needed.
Geometry#
- Apply Modifiers
Export objects using the evaluated mesh, meaning the resulting mesh after all Modifiers have been calculated.
Usage#
Use the operator to import ASCII or binary STL-files, you can select multiple files at once. For exporting you can select multiple objects and they will be exported as a single STL-file. You can select between ASCII/binary file format (binary is more compact). You can also choose to enable or disable the modifiers during the export.