what programs read STL?

I dont have a printer yet, however I want to see the files i have down loaded.

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As far as slicing for a printer, here are a few. Some are dependent on what printer you buy:

-Simplify3D

-Repitier-Host

-SoliPrint

-Makerware

-AstroPrint Service

-Octoprint Service

Most CAD programs will open them, but are not editable. They are triangle-vector composed surfaces… and therefore not real. You can export to an STL with these, though. The programs above convert it into G-Code that is readable for a printer.

If you just want to view .stl’s then I would recommend STLview which is on the windows app store, might be online as well. Or you could download the slicer for the printer you are thinking of getting. Common ones include Cura from Ultimaker, Makerware from MakerBot and Simplify3D although that’s not free.

That’s what I did to get into it! Hope this helps,

George

Meshmixer, its from AutoCAD, its free, I use it loads, as you can scale, sculpt, merge, etc etc. great tool for editing and viewing STL’s

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I agree with Steven - Autodesk Meshmixer is a very powerful and free programme for looking at, and modifying .stl files. It has come to my aid many times to rescue CAD models that have been exported as .stl files with issues. This meant they could not be printed, but Meshmixer has rescued them every time.

Would be worth giving Netfabb a go too. It’s great for repairing and re-exporting STL files and, among many other things, you can measure just about any dimension of your chosen part. The basic version will do for you and it’s free.

Cheers!

AndyL

Pot8oSH3D

Hi Morgan

you can drag&drop it in 3D SLASH : choose the smallest size of cubes to keep the resolution high and you can see your STL object. The smart thing is you can edit it if needed (add ou remove part of your object) and export it again in STL .

Let me know !

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