Monthly Tech-Tip | No tracking! No ads! |
STL (Stereolithography) files were developed in 1987 by 3D Systems. An STL file stores only surface geometry as interconnected triangles. It is like a photograph - useful for replication but not easily editable. STLs permit only one object and are unitless, assuming mm.
OBJ files are also unitless but add surface, color and texture info.
3MF (3D Manufacturing Format) files were introduced in 2015 specifically for 3D printing. They are XML-encoded and zip compressed. To OBJ they add object orientation, units, printing instructions and meta information. These enable bundling design, materials, and print settings in one file.
All three formats are generated by modern CAD software and most slicers can read them - but 3MF is the preferred one. Shown here are Creality slicer, Prusa slicer and Simplify 3D. Each of these can import STL, OBJ and 3MF files. Each permits size, rotating and duplicating individual items and can efficiently place and space items and groups. Each saves or exports as 3MF files.
Glossary |
3D Design
3D Design software is used to create dimensionally accurate objects by sketching 2D geometry and transforming it using tools to rotate, extrude, sweep, etc. The software generates the polygon surface. |
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Glossary |
3D Slicer
3D printing is very important in ceramics, hobby and industry. A slicer is software that slices up an STL file 3D model and runs the printer to lay down each layer. |
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