stl

• stl stands for Stereolithography
• an stl file format is supported by many other software packages; it is widely used for rapid prototyping, 3D printing and computer-aided manufacturing.
• An stl file holds information on the geometry (i.e. the dimensions of the part) and therefore the volume of the part.
• STL files describe only the surface geometry of a three-dimensional object without any representation of colour, texture or other common CAD model attributes.
• stl is a triangulated representation of a 3D CAD model
• The triangulation of a surface will cause faceting of the model and the parameters used for outputting an STL will affect how much faceting occurs
• stl parameters include; chord height, deviation, angle tolerance etc.