STL

Reference

Category:

Import-Export

Menu:

File ‣ Import/Export ‣ Stl (.stl)

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

General

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.

Options

Facet Normals

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

Validate Mesh

Check the imported mesh for corrupt data and fix it if necessary. When disabled, erroneous data may cause crashes displaying or editing the meshes. This option will make the importing slower but is recommended, as data errors are not always obvious.

Exporting

General

Format: ASCII

Exports the stl-file in ASCII format rather than as a binary format

Batch

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.

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

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.