Large meshes yield smaller file sizes that process faster, but create parts that can be faceted and inaccurate. ‍ Mesh quality vs file size: When exporting STLs, CAD programs allow you to determine the density of a triangle mesh. When exporting these files, there are a couple of important factors to take into account:

These files store 3D data by breaking your part’s surfaces up into a mesh of triangles, and can be exported from virtually any CAD program. While traditional subtractive machining relies on a combination of part drawings and Computer Aided Machining (CAM) files, 3D printers accept STL files. The first step in 3D printing is creating a file that 3D printing software can parse.

There are four key steps to go from a part model to a 3D printed part: importing the part file from CAD into the software, turning that imported part file into a printable file, sending one or more of these files to your printer, and managing your printer(s) to maximize uptime and throughput. Different 3D printing software programs can vary greatly, but all have the same core elements and parse a unified file type.

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