Struct StlExporter 

pub struct StlExporter;

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.

Implementations

impl StlExporter

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

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