Struct BinaryStlExporter 

pub struct BinaryStlExporter;

Exports 3MF Model structures to binary STL files.

The exporter flattens all mesh objects referenced in build items into a single STL file, applying build item transformations to vertex coordinates.

This was previously named StlExporter. If you were using StlExporter, update your code to use BinaryStlExporter.

Implementations

impl BinaryStlExporter

pub fn write<W: Write>(model: &Model, writer: W) -> Result<()>

Writes a 3MF Model to binary STL format.

Arguments

• model - The 3MF model to export
• writer - Any type implementing Write to receive STL data

Returns

Ok(()) on successful export.

Errors

Returns Lib3mfError::Io if any write operation fails.

Format Details

• Header: 80 zero bytes (standard for most STL files)
• Normals: Written as (0, 0, 0) - viewers must compute face normals
• Transformations: Build item transforms are applied to vertex coordinates
• Attribute bytes: Written as 0 (no extended attributes)

Behavior

• Only mesh objects from model.build.items are exported
• Non-mesh geometries (Components, BooleanShape, etc.) are skipped
• Each build item’s transformation matrix is applied to its mesh vertices
• All triangles from all build items are combined into a single STL file

Examples

use lib3mf_converters::stl::BinaryStlExporter;
use lib3mf_core::model::Model;
use std::fs::File;

let output = File::create("exported.stl")?;
BinaryStlExporter::write(&model, output)?;
println!("Model exported successfully");

pub fn write_with_resolver<W: Write, A: ArchiveReader>( model: &Model, resolver: PartResolver<'_, A>, writer: W, ) -> Result<()>

Writes a 3MF Model to binary STL format with support for multi-part 3MF files.

This method extends write by recursively resolving component references and external model parts using a PartResolver. This is necessary for 3MF files with the Production Extension that reference objects from external model parts.

Arguments

• model - The root 3MF model to export
• resolver - A PartResolver for loading external model parts from the 3MF archive
• writer - Any type implementing Write to receive STL data

Returns

Ok(()) on successful export.

Errors

Returns Lib3mfError::Io if any write operation fails.

Returns errors from the resolver if external parts cannot be loaded.

Behavior

• Recursively resolves component hierarchies using the PartResolver
• Follows external references via component path attributes
• Applies accumulated transformations through the component tree
• Flattens all resolved meshes into a single STL file

Examples

use lib3mf_converters::stl::BinaryStlExporter;
use lib3mf_core::archive::ZipArchiver;
use lib3mf_core::model::resolver::PartResolver;
use std::fs::File;

let archive_file = File::open("multipart.3mf")?;
let mut archiver = ZipArchiver::new(archive_file)?;
let resolver = PartResolver::new(&mut archiver, model.clone());

let output = File::create("output.stl")?;
BinaryStlExporter::write_with_resolver(&model, resolver, output)?;