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Mainly used to create a valid watertight solid model for Stereo Lithography. It can also be used to export meshes to other applications.

Difference between meshes and polysets

Export STL files

Save meshes

NoteSTL files do not store units. AliasStudio always stores STL files in the current units.
NoteWhen AliasStudio reads STL files, it assumes they are in the current units. If the units have changed, or if you are importing an STL file into another application, the geometry may need to be scaled.

The tool warns you if your shell has any boundaries before tessellating it. Further checks will reveal problems in the tessellation and attempt to repair them.

The tests are the same as in the Mesh > Mesh Repair tool. We check that the triangles are non-degenerate, that the mesh is manifold, and has consistent triangle orientation. Boundaries in the tessellation are indicated with arrows.

STL options

Format

The format of the output STL file (ASCII or Binary). The default setting is Binary.

Tolerance

This tolerance is used for exporting shells (not meshes).

The Tolerance value controls the number of triangles on the tessellated shell. It describes the maximum difference (in current units) between the original shell and the tessellated shell output to the STL file. The lower the tolerance value, the greater the number of triangles. The tolerance value will be reflected in the resolution of the physical model produced by the stereolithography machine.