Module stl 

Binary STL format import and export.

This module provides conversion between binary STL files and 3MF Model structures.

STL Format

The binary STL format consists of:

• 80-byte header (typically unused, set to zeros)
• 4-byte little-endian unsigned integer triangle count
• For each triangle:
  • 12 bytes: normal vector (3 × f32, often ignored by importers)
  • 12 bytes: vertex 1 (x, y, z as f32)
  • 12 bytes: vertex 2 (x, y, z as f32)
  • 12 bytes: vertex 3 (x, y, z as f32)
  • 2 bytes: attribute byte count (typically 0)

Note: ASCII STL format is not supported.

Examples

Importing STL

use lib3mf_converters::stl::StlImporter;
use std::fs::File;

let file = File::open("model.stl")?;
let model = StlImporter::read(file)?;
println!("Imported {} vertices",
    model.resources.iter_objects()
        .filter_map(|obj| match &obj.geometry {
            lib3mf_core::model::Geometry::Mesh(m) => Some(m.vertices.len()),
            _ => None,
        })
        .sum::<usize>()
);

Exporting STL

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

let file = File::create("output.stl")?;
StlExporter::write(&model, file)?;

Structs

StlExporter

Exports 3MF Model structures to binary STL files.

StlImporter

Imports binary STL files into 3MF Model structures.