The creation of stereolithography files, identified by the ‘.stl’ extension, represents a pivotal step in the additive manufacturing process. These files contain geometric data representing the surface of a 3D object as a tessellated mesh of triangles. For example, a CAD model of a wrench, once finalized, must be converted into this triangulated format to be compatible with a 3D printer.
The adoption of this file format provides significant advantages by facilitating the translation of complex designs into a format readable by a broad spectrum of rapid prototyping equipment. This standardization streamlines workflow and allows for efficient communication between design and manufacturing teams. Originally developed for stereolithography in the late 1980s, the file format has become ubiquitous across various 3D printing technologies.