When you need STL from a 3MF
3MF is the better printing format, but STL is still what everything accepts: older slicers, online print services, CNC and CAM tools, scripts and many model-repair tools. Converting gives you a file anyone can open.
Bambu Studio and OrcaSlicer projects
Bambu Studio and OrcaSlicer save each object's mesh in its own file inside the 3MF and place them with the 3MF Production extension. Converters that only read the simplest 3MF layout produce an empty or scrambled STL from these. This converter reads the package the way the slicer wrote it:
- every object and component is followed across files and transformed to its saved position;
- the declared unit is converted to millimetres;
- a sliced
.gcode.3mfprint job is recognised and reported, instead of producing an empty file.
What changes in the STL
| In the 3MF | In the STL |
|---|---|
| Several objects with names | One merged mesh |
| Plates and object positions | Positions kept; all plates in one file |
| Units (usually mm) | Millimetres, unlabelled |
| Colours and filament choices | Dropped |
| Supports, modifiers, slicer settings | Dropped |
If you need each object as its own STL, export them individually from the slicer, or load the merged STL and use Split to objects.
Keep the colours? Stay in 3MF
If the receiver can read 3MF, sending the 3MF is usually better: smaller, with units and colours. Choose 3MF above to rewrite a project as a clean, single-object 3MF that keeps its standard colours.
On a phone
The converter works in a phone browser; the STL lands in Downloads or Files. The Mes3D app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android opens 3MF projects directly and exports STL, OBJ or 3MF after measuring, cutting or resizing.