Editor’s Note:

No file – no print. We all know that.

All 3D printers need a CAD file to start from. There are several forums and discussions about 3D printing, but rarely about the source.

It is complicated to understand 3D printing if its origin is not clear. Knowing the concept, principle, advantages and limitations of an STL encoded file helps anyone involved into 3D printing one way or another; from engineers and designers to operators and manufacturers.

3D print is all about layers. We can say that 3D printing (or Additive Manufacturing) is the progression of two dimensions stacked or added one after other to create three dimensional objects. Therefore, a layer as the first step is virtually 2D information.

During my almost 10 years involved in 3D printing and 20+ years in CAD, manufacturing and engineering, I have helped people to get immerse into the fascinating world of the art and technique of stacking thin layers of material, that we call 3D printing. Coded tessellated triangles will be simply explained.

1. What is an STL File?

In a nutshell, an STL file stores information about 3D models. This format describes only the surface geometry of a three-dimensional object without any representation of color, texture or other common model attributes.

These files are usually generated by a computer-aided design (CAD) program, as an end product of the 3D modeling process. “.STL” is the file extension of the STL file format.

The STL file format is the most commonly used file format for 3D printing. When used in conjunction with a 3D slicer, it allows a computer to communicate with 3D printer hardware.

Since its humble beginnings, the STL file format has been adopted and supported by many other CAD software packages, and today is widely used for rapid prototyping, 3D printing, and computer-aided manufacturing. Hobbyists and professionals use it alike.

2. What does the file extension .STL stand for?

The true meaning of the file extension .STL has been lost to the mists of time. It’s widely believed to be an abbreviation of the word STereoLithography, though sometimes it is also referred to as “Standard Triangle Language” or “Standard Tessellation Language”.

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