STL (.stl)
Background & Context
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- MIME type: application/sla
- STL computer-aided design and manufacturing format.
- 3D geometry format.
- Commonly used for representing solid models in rapid prototyping systems.
- Native format of the 3D Systems stereolithography CAD software.
- Developed in 1989 by 3D Systems, Inc.
- STL is an acronym derived from stereolithography.
- ASCII or binary format.
- Stores a 3D object, including solid, as a surface formed by a collection of adjacent triangles.
Import & Export
- Import ["file.stl"] imports an STL file as a MeshRegion object representing the surface.
- Import ["file.stl",elem] imports the specified element from an STL file.
- The import format can be specified with Import ["file","STL"] or Import ["file",{"STL",elem,…}].
- Export ["file.stl",expr] exports a 3D mesh-based geometric region to a binary STL file. The expr can be any region that is ConstantRegionQ or a Graphics3D object.
- The export format can be specified with Export ["file",expr,"STL" ] or Export ["file",expr,{"STL" ,opt1->val1,…}].
- See the following reference pages for full general information:
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CloudImport , CloudExport import from or export to a cloud objectImportString , ExportString import from or export to a stringImportByteArray , ExportByteArray import from or export to a byte array
Import Elements
- General Import elements:
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"Elements" list of elements and options available in this file"Rules" list of rules for all available elements"Summary" summary of the file"CoordinateTransform" transformation function from DAE format
- Data format representation elements:
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"BinaryFormat" whether the file is a binary or ASCII STL"Comments" comments"VertexData" list of vertex coordinates"PolygonData" list of polygon elements in indexed form"PolygonCount" number of polygons
- Geometry representation elements:
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"BoundaryMeshRegion" boundary mesh representation of a solid"MeshRegion" mesh representation of a surface"Region" region representation of a surface
- Graphics representation elements:
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"Graphics3D" STL file represented as a Graphics3D object"GraphicsComplex" STL file as a GraphicsComplex object"PolygonObjects" list of polygon primitives in absolute coordinates
- Import and Export use the "MeshRegion" element by default for STL files.
Examples
open all close allBasic Examples (2)
Import a 3D model from STL as a MeshRegion object:
Summary properties of the solid model:
Export a 3D model to an ASCII STL file:
Print the raw textual contents of the file:
Scope (13)
Import (7)
Export (6)
Export works on 3D graphics:
Special regions:
Formula regions:
Mesh regions:
Export to a binary STL file:
ASCII STL file:
Import Elements (12)
"BinaryFormat" (1)
Test whether this file is a binary or ASCII STL:
"BoundaryMeshRegion" (1)
Give a boundary mesh region:
"Comments" (1)
Give the comments in the STL file:
"CoordinateTransform" (1)
The coordinate system used by the STL format is identical to the Wolfram Language:
"Graphics3D" (1)
Give the Graphics3D object:
"GraphicsComplex" (1)
Give the GraphicsComplex object:
"MeshRegion" (1)
Give a mesh region:
"PolygonData" (1)
Give the polygon elements in indexed form:
"PolygonObjects" (1)
Give the list of Triangle primitives given in absolute coordinates:
"PolygonCount" (1)
Give the number of triangles:
"Summary" (1)
Give the summary of properties:
File size:
"VertexData" (1)
Give the vertex coordinates:
Export Options (2)
By default, a binary file is generated when exporting:
Print the raw textual contents of the file:
Use "BinaryFormat" False to generate an ASCII file:
Print the raw textual contents of the file:
Tech Notes
History
Introduced in 2000 (4.1) | Updated in 2019 (12.0)