The file format has evolved since then and is now used for 3D printing many different materials on various scales. This is one of the earlier forms of 3D printing from the 1980’s and is based around using resin-like materials to construct objects for manufacturing. The term STL can actually be referred to in several different terms but was originally short form for stereolithography. Our top pick right now is the STL file format, which is considered the current standard bearer for transferring data between applications for 3D printing. What Is The Best Format For Exporting Your 3D Model From Blender To Your Slicing Software?ĭeciding what the best option for anything is will always be a subjective question, but what do we believe is the most suitable file format for transferring data from Blender to a slicing application?

The trick is knowing which file format is best for your task. Therefore it needs to be compatible with proprietary file formats of different kinds. The list is ordered from most recommended to least.įile formats that have an * next to them require an external addon to be installed in order for Blender to use said formats for importing and exporting.īlender can be used to do just about anything 3D-related task that you can think of, but it still needs to be able to work with other applications in larger pipelines. As two different platforms are used, we need to use compatible file formats to transfer the 3D data from one application to another.īelow is a list of file formats that are suited to transferring 3D data from Blender 3D to slicing software such as Cura. The second is a form of slicing software that breaks a model down into parts so that the printing knows how to create the model best, as well as providing support structures where needed to overhanging faces. The first is the modeling software used to design the model itself, defining the size, thickness and appearance. 3D printing requires the use of two different kinds of software.

Blender 3d printing download