.stl files
.stl file
Stereolithography Model
The universal 3D printing format — a shell of triangles with no colour or units.
What opens a .stl file
- Windows
- Ultimaker Cura, PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio, Blender, MeshLab
- macOS
- Ultimaker Cura, PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio, Blender, MeshLab
- Linux
- Ultimaker Cura, PrusaSlicer, Blender, FreeCAD
- In a browser
- Autodesk Viewer
What a .stl file is
STL came out of 3D Systems in 1987 and describes an object as a mesh of triangles. It carries no colour, materials or scale information, which is the classic cause of a model printing at the wrong size. Slicers such as Cura, PrusaSlicer and Bambu Studio open one and turn it into printer instructions; nothing on Windows or macOS previews an STL out of the box, so you install one of those or Blender to look at it.
Converting it
A .stl file is commonly converted to .obj, .3mf, .gcode, .step or .fbx. It is a binary format, so a text editor will show unreadable characters rather than its contents.
Details
- Extension
- .stl
- Full name
- Stereolithography Model
- Category
- 3D and CAD
- MIME type
- model/stl
- Created by
- 3D Systems
- Format
- Binary
Common questions
- How do I open a .stl file?
- On Windows use Ultimaker Cura; on macOS use Ultimaker Cura; on Linux use Ultimaker Cura. The universal 3D printing format — a shell of triangles with no colour or units.
- What is a .stl file?
- Stereolithography Model. STL came out of 3D Systems in 1987 and describes an object as a mesh of triangles. It carries no colour, materials or scale information, which is the classic cause of a model printing at the wrong size.
- Can I convert a .stl file?
- Yes. It is usually converted to .obj, .3mf, .gcode, .step or .fbx, either by exporting from one of the programs listed above or with a format converter.
Related pages
- .obj — Wavefront OBJ Model A plain-text 3D mesh format that nearly every 3D program can import.
- .fbx — Filmbox 3D Scene The standard interchange format for 3D models with rigging, animation and materi
- .gcode — G-code Toolpath The line-by-line instructions a 3D printer or CNC machine actually executes.
- .blend — Blender Project Blender's own project file, holding an entire scene, its animation and its setti
- .3mf — 3D Manufacturing Format The modern replacement for STL, carrying colour, materials and units.
- .3ds — 3D Studio Model The legacy Autodesk 3D Studio mesh format from the DOS era.
Sources
- Media Types Registry — IANA
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place