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FILE SPECS

Select your CAD program in the pulldown menu to view the recommended settings for exporting an STL file

IronCAD

Once the part or assembly is created in 3D and is in positive space:

  1. Right Click on the part
  2. Part properties > Rendering
  3. Set Facet Surface Smoothing to 150
  4. File > Export
  5. Choose .STL

For additional questions refer to your manual, MIS department or the Maker of the software: IronCAD

SolidWorks

Once the part or assembly is created in 3D and is in positive space:

  1. File > Save As
  2. Set Save As Type to STL
  3. Options > Fine > OK
  4. Save

For a custom high-res STL file see below.

  1. File > Save As
  2. STL > Options
  3. Change the resolution to Custom
  4. Change the deviation to 0.0005in (0.004 mm)
  5. Change the angle to 4.75

For additional questions refer to your manual, MIS department or the Maker of the software: SolidWorks

ProE Wildfire

Once the part or assembly is created in 3D and is in positive space:

  1. File > Save a Copy > Model
  2. Change type to STL (*.stl)
  3. Set Chord Height to 0. The field will be replaced by minimum acceptable value.
  4. Set Angle Control to 1
  5. OK

For additional questions refer to your manual, MIS department or the Maker of the software: PTC

Rhino

Once the part or assembly is created in 3D and is in positive space:

  1. File > Save As
  2. Select File Type > STL
  3. Enter a name for the STL file
  4. Save
  5. Select Binary STL Files

For additional questions refer to your manual, MIS department or the Maker of the software: McNeel

Inventor

Once the part or assembly is created in 3D and is in positive space:

  1. Save Copy As
  2. Select STL
  3. Choose Options > Set to High (for highest quality surface)
  4. Enter File Name
  5. Save

For additional questions refer to your manual, MIS department or the Maker of the software: Autodesk

CATIA

STL parts created as solids should be fine. If the part was created as volumes from surfaces, it may create problems. We recommend using the CATIA toolbox to analyze all STL’s once they have been generated.

  1. Select STL Command
  2. Maximum Sag = .0003″ or .0125 mm
  3. Select part(s) to be converted and Click YES
  4. Type filename and output the STL
  5. Save

For additional questions refer to your manual, MIS department or the Maker of the software: CATIA

CADKey

Once the part or assembly is created in 3D and is in positive space:

  1. Choose Stereolithography from Export options
  2. Enter the filename
  3. Click OK

For additional questions refer to your manual, MIS department or the Maker of the software: Kubotek

Alibre

Once the part or assembly is created in 3D and is in positive space:

  1. File
  2. Export
  3. Save As > STL
  4. Enter File Name
  5. Save

Please customize (shown below) for best results.

  • Tools > Options
  • File Types tab
  • Configure File Types: STL
  • Normal Deviation: 5 (Choose a lower deviation for a smoother file)

For additional questions refer to your manual, MIS department or the Maker of the software: Alibre

ProE

Once the part or assembly is created in 3D and is in positive space:

  1. File > Export > Model
  2. STL
  3. Set chord height to 0. The field will be replaced by minimum acceptable value.
  4. Set Angle Control to 1
  5. OK

For additional questions refer to your manual, MIS department or the Maker of the software: PTC

Mechanical Desktop

Once the part or assembly is created in 3D and is in positive space:

  1. Use the AMSTLOUT command to export your STL file.
  2. The following command line options affect the quality of the STL and should be adjusted to produce an acceptable file.
    • Angular Tolerance – The default setting is 15 degrees. Reduce the angle to increase the resolution of the STL file.
    • Aspect Ratio – The default setting is: 0
    • Surface Tolerance – A setting of 0.0000 causes this option to be ignored.
    • Vertex Spacing – The default setting is: 0.0000

For additional questions refer to your manual, MIS department or the Maker of the software: Autodesk

SolidEdge

Once the part or assembly is created in 3D and is in positive space:

  1. File > Save As
  2. Set Save As Type to STL
  3. Options
  4. Set Conversion Tolerance to Inches of Millimeters
  5. Save

For additional questions refer to your manual, MIS department or the Maker of the software: Siemens

SolidDESIGNER

Once the part or assembly is created in 3D and is in positive space:

  1. File / Save / STL
  2. Set to: Binary
  3. Select Part
  4. Set Max Deviation Distance to: .001 mm
  5. Select: OK

For additional questions refer to your manual, MIS department or the Maker of the software: SolidDESIGNER

3D Studio Max

Once the part or assembly is created in 3D and is in positive space:

  1. First check for errors
  2. An STL object must define a complete and closed surface. Use STL check modifier to test your geometry before export your object to STL.
  3. Select an object.
  4. Click <Modify>
  5. Click <More…>
  6. Select “STL-Check” under Object-Space Modifiers
  7. Select <Check>
  8. If there are no errors, continue to export the STL file by:
  9. <File> <Export>
  10. Select “StereoLitho [*.STL]” in <Save as type>
  11. Select location in <Save in>
  12. Enter a name in <File name>
  13. <Save>
  14. <OK>
  15. Export To STL dialog:
  16. Object Name: Enter a name for the object you want to save in STL format.
  17. Binary/ASCII: Choose whether the STL output file will be binary or ASCII (character) data. ASCII STL files are much larger than binary STL files.
  18. Selected Only: Exports only objects that you selected in the 3D Studio scene.

For additional questions refer to your manual, MIS department or the Maker of the software: Autodesk

I-DEAS

Once the part or assembly is created in 3D and is in positive space:

  1. File > Export > Rapid Prototype File > OK
  2. Select the part to be prototyped
  3. Select prototype device > SLA500.dat > OK
  4. Set absolute facet deviation to 0.00039
  5. Select Binary > OK

For additional questions refer to your manual, MIS department or the Maker of the software: Siemens

AutoCAD (Versions: R14-2000i)+

Once the part or assembly is created in 3D and is in positive space:

  1. At the command prompt type “FACETRES”
  2. Set FACETRES between 1 and 10. (1 is the lowest resolution and 10 is the highest)
  3. At the command prompt type “STLOUT”
  4. Select Objects
  5. Choose “Y” for Binary
  6. Choose Filename

For additional questions refer to your manual, MIS department or the Maker of the software: Autodesk

Unigraphics

Once the part or assembly is created in 3D and is in positive space:

  1. File > Export > Rapid Prototyping
  2. Set Output type to Binary
  3. Set Triangle Tolerance to 0.0025
  4. Set Adjacency Tolerance to 0.12
  5. Set Auto Normal Gen to On
  6. Set Normal Display to Off
  7. Set Triangle Display to On

For additional questions refer to your manual, MIS department or the Maker of the software: Siemens