3D Computer-Aided Design (CAD) programs provide an invaluable benefit for engineers and designers to visualize their product in a 3-dimensional, virtual space. However, exporting to a Standard Tessellation Language (STL) file format happens to be a major pain point for some users. For example, low resolution files will have facets that may appear in a 3D printed model and those with very high resolutions will create an excessively large file that is difficult for 3D printing software to process. In order to get a good quality 3D print, you need to start with a good STL file.
STL files are made up of triangles which approximate a surface. In order to 3D print an STL file, the mesh must be closed (watertight), meaning all edges of the triangle align with another and all of the normal directions are matching. When exporting from your CAD package, it’s important to consider the different options that your software provides such as distance deviation or angle resolution. In addition, every design program has a different method of converting files to STLs and some are more successful than others. Fathom has identified a list of potential STL errors and recommendations to proactively address these issues.
| CAD to STL : Export Considerations | Potential STL Errors |
|---|---|
| Distance Deviation | Inverted Normal |
| Angle Resolution | Bad Edges |
| Edge Length | Holes |
| Aspect Ratio | Noise Shells |
| ACSII Versus Binary | Multiple Shells |
Inverted Normal / / A triangle’s normal is flipped the wrong way which creates an open mesh. Because of this, slicing software will be unable to create contours for printing. Simple STL editing software will enable you to flip the direction of the normal to correct the issues.
Bad Edges / / The edge of a triangle is not adjacent to another triangle edge. Many times, bad edges that are very close to one another may be stitched together to close the mesh. This requires STL repair and we recommend re-modeling the areas where the boundary edges were detected in the native CAD software. Adding thickness or clearance where needed can sometimes help solve faulty edges.
Holes / / Missing triangles from a region prevents a closed mesh. This is sometimes an easy fix within the STL, but that is not always the case. It may be necessary to edit or re-export of the original 3D CAD file.
Multiple Shells / / Typically, it’s ideal for your STL to be made of one shell body for printing. Unwanted meshes and noise shells are typically created in error during an STL export. We recommend removing noise shells for cleaner contours. Solving any issues with your models in the native CAD software tends to have better results.
Overlapping & Intersecting Triangles / / Overlapping and intersecting triangles may produce areas too small to print. Intersecting faces usually lead to failures since the software doesn’t recognize which areas are inside or outside of the model. We recommend combining the bodies into a single solid before exporting into an STL.
Working with Fathom provides immediate and comprehensive access to the most relevant equipment and experience in advanced manufacturing, engineering, and prototyping. Our engineers are able to address the most common mistakes and potential errors with STL file preparation, as even the most popular CAD packages can pose difficulties during STL file export. The expert team at Fathom has identified the most common pitfalls and guarantees that this STL Guideline document will save you time and ensure that your 3D printed parts accurately represent your idea.
Download the STL Guide—How to take your STL Files to Printed Parts
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Doblet Goes From 3D Printing to Injection Molding Doblet Goes From 3D Printing to Injection Molding—Faster Iterations and Better Development For…
FDM Material Selection Engineering Grade Thermoplastics 3D Printing Materials characterize manufacturing processes and manufacturing processes influence the material properties of…
Composite Tooling Design: Guide to Materials & Manufacturers Last year, the team at Stratasys launched an FDM-focused composite tooling design…
HP Multi Jet Fusion Services / / Multi Jet Fusion System FAQ Frequently Asked Questions—HP Multi Jet Fusion Services By…
MTUC Grand Prize / / uPrint SE Fathom partnered with GrabCAD and SolidProfessor in hosting three open design competitions comprising 2015 Make The Unmakeable Challenge.…
First DragonFly 2020 in United States As Read on PR Newswire Today, Fathom is the First to Receive the DragonFly 2020…
Voxel Print / / Half-Day Event There are less and less limitations to digital fabrication every day as researchers, developers and…
J750 Introduction Webinar Meet the Worlds First Full-Color, Multi-Material 3D Printer / / The Stratasys J750 PolyJet-Based System With the…
PolyJet—Enterprise-Level 3D Printing Fathom started using PolyJet-based 3D printers in 2008 because the technology and wide range of material options were…
Introducing / / DragonFly 2020 Pro The Fathom team is excited to announce that its partner, Nano Dimension, recently launched its DragonFly…
Inside 3D Printing—Dec 2016 During this years Inside 3D Printing event in San Diego, Principal and Co-Founder Rich Stump will…
Make the Unmakeable #2: Winner Q&A From May 4th through June 15th, Fathom partnered with GrabCAD to host the second of three challenges…
Make the Unmakeable #1: Winner Q&A From February 24th through May 4th, Fathom partnered with GrabCAD to host the first of…
SmartQuote—Digital Supply Chain Since 2014, SmartQuote has been Fathom’s online digital manufacturing portal for quick and easy access to prototyping and…
PolyJet 3D Printer Best Practices / / Prototyping & Production A PolyJet-based 3D printer by Stratasys from Fathom is an…
Made in the Bay Area: Executive Panel The San Francisco Business Times is hosting a manufacturing innovators forum on September…
Guest Speaker Brian McLean of LAIKA On display until May 20th, many puppets, props and sets from four incredible LAIKA films are part…
FDM Materials at Fathom Three of the Most Used FDM Materials Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is one of the most…
Material Spotlight / / Nylon 12CF FAQ Nylon 12CF on FDM-based Stratasys equipment is a carbon-filled thermoplastic with excellent structural characteristics.…
Material Spotlight / / Agilus30 FAQ Agilus30 is a PolyJet material released earlier this year from Stratasys and it is…
Make the Unmakeable #3: Winner Q&A Fathom partnered with GrabCAD and SolidProfessor in hosting the third round of the 2015 Make…
Phytec 3D Prints Functional PCBs Phytec Quickly and Economically Produces Complex PCB Prototypes With Nano Dimension’s DragonFly 2020 3D Printer…
PEKK Material Option for FDM / / PEKK FAQ Just last year, the Fathom production team began offering carbon-filled Nylon 12…
On-Demand Webinar: Stratasys J750 When a new mobile device hits the market, new accessories such as chargers and cases immediately…
3D Printing Q&A with Simon Fried Nano Dimensions innovative hardware, dedicated nano-inks and novel software open new possibilities for a…
New PolyJet Soluble Support New soluble support material works on PolyJet’s advanced triple-jetting 3D printers—SUP706 dissolves away from complex models…
Streamline with GrabCAD Print Accompanying the launch of the Stratasys F123 3D Printer Series, new GrabCAD Print software simplifies the…
New F123 Series of 3D Printers With the release of the new F123 series during SOLIDWORKS World in Los Angeles,…
SOLIDWORKS Add-In / / 3DP Circuitry The Nano Dimension team recently introduced a SOLIDWORKS add-in to further elevate the additive manufacturing of PCBs (printed…
SF Business Times Feature The Fathom team has come a long way from our modest start in one of the…
3D Printing & Scanning Replicas of Michelangelo Works In honor of Michelangelo’s birthday on March 6th, Fathom is thinking about…
Q&A Interview with Hendric Vogel Fathom is more than a company driven by advanced technologies that enhance the product development…
Matte vs. Glossy / / Finishing Options for PolyJet Parts Are you unsure of whether to choose matte or glossy…
Fathom’s design team is always searching for and thinking up ways to optimize additive manufacturing methods and solve real world problems.…
Skills Inc. and the Fortus 450mc Company Overview Skills Inc. is an aerospace supplier in the Seattle region with a unique…
3D Printing Scaled Industrial Assemblies High-quality models that perfectly imitate a real product can generate greater engagement than just a…
F123 Story / / Complex Designs, Fast At the Center for Advanced Design (CAD), a product development firm in Minnesota,…
3D Printer Trade-Ins ANNOUNCING 3D PRINTER TRADE-IN OFFER OFFER EXPIRES AS OF 12/31/2015 A special offer made available from Stratasys—upgrade today and…
Speedo—Sprints with 3D Printing Speedo Utilizing 3D Printing to Outpace Design Competition International swim gear powerhouse Speedo has integrated 3D…
Change Is Additive—Week of 6/23/2017 CHANGE IS ADDITIVE—A 3D Printing News Series by Fathom 3D Printing in Aerospace Manufacturing, New Jet…
3D Printing Movie Props, Zero Theorem North Design Labs worked with Fathom to quickly go from a concept to a…
Custom 3D Printed Shoes / / 3D Scan Data, The Future of Retail Seattle-based product development firm, came to Fathom…
Suitable Technologies “Our Objet 3D printer from Fathom has been invaluable in the development of Beam and other products. It…
3D Printed Prosthetic Hand / / Helping Hand for Isabella Getting 3D Printed Prosthetic Hand Inspires Young Girl’s Curiosity in…
Fathom Ranked NO. 2 by Inner City Fathom among ICIC and FORTUNE’s Inner City 100 winners Annual ranking showcases the…
Engineering & Design Services FAQ – Fathom The Engineering & Design Team at Fathom is a unique group of experts with industry-leading additive…
Exploring New Fortus 3D Printers Every day, Fathom helps companies go from concept to consumer in faster and more innovative…
Champions of Manufacturing Manufacturing Summit Hosted by CMTA Honors Fathom as a Champion of ManufacturingAdditive Manufacturing Expert Recognized this Week…
Recycling & Disposing of 3DP Material Have you heard about the recent recycling program announcement from Stratasys? North American customers…
3D Printing 2015 Innovation Awards Each year, the EDA’s East Bay Innovation Awards recognize and celebrate significant contributors to the…
Objet500 Connex3 for Product Design Vivid color 3D printing is just one of many capabilities available on the Objet500 Connex3.…
Astroboy / / Green Toys Green Toys needed an astronaut to accompany their spaceship toy set, soon to be released.…
Death of the Assembly Line / / The 3rd Industrial Revolution Rebirth of “Made in the USA” The First Industrial…
Introducing Fortus 450mc & 380mc Leverage State-of-the-Art Ease of Use and Speed The all-new Fortus 380mc and 450mc 3D Production…
Model Finishing for 3D Printing / / 3D Printed Computer Mouse A variety of post-processing techniques can be applied to…
Natures Helping Hand Fruit Picker Prototype / / Fruit Picker We worked with Nature’s Helping Hand to design and prototype…
3D Printed Parts for Siva Cycle Kickstarter Project “I came to Fathom because they were close, convenient and competitively priced.…
New Nylon 12 Material That’s Tough Stratasys introduced FDM Nylon 12 for Fortus 3D Printing Production Systems earlier this month.…
3D Printed Chandelier & Industrial Design – Fathom “This project was an investigation in using digital tools and additive manufacturing…
Emerging Manufacturer of 2015 Seattle Business magazine honored Fathom, among 18 other pioneering companies at their annual Washington Manufacturing Awards…
Q&A Interview with Randall Oglesby The people on the support team at Fathom are not only experts with using professional…
Digital Orthodontics with Stratasys 3D Printing 3D printing is revolutionizing the orthodontic process, providing digital advantages over the traditional workflow…
Not Your Ordinary Slinky One of our most popular posts on social media this month was of a slinky, but…
National MFG Day Highlights 3D Printing Additive Manufacturing Production Center in San Francisco Bay Area One of 840 Events Focused…
3D Printing With ULTEM 1010 STRATASYS ANNOUNCES ULTEM 1010 FOR FORTUS 900MC ULTEM 1010’s strength and thermal stability make it…
You’re Invited—RAPID 2015 Join us at RAPID for our Manufacturing Roadshow Make It In the New Economy— Higher Profits. Higher…
Fathom Expands in Oakland Fathom Expands its Oakland Facility to Meet Its Customers’ Growing Needs for Advanced Prototyping and Low Volume…
Speaker of Inspiration: Challenge #1 The first challenge of the Make the Unmakeable contest calls for creative solutions to New…
Prototyping For Compost “I can tell that quality is interwoven into everything Fathom does, it’s really amazing to see and…
Simulated Polypropylene Photopolymer A new material has arrived for Stratasys 3D printers — Endur RGD450 is a general purpose, high-toughness material…
Packaging Application / / 3D Printing for Thermoforming / / Meet CREOS “Hello, my name is creos. Nice to meet…
Additive MFG Workshop Sept 25 Fathom is a sponsor of this months Additive Manufacturing Workshop for Small Businesses this month…
Ideation to Distribution—Expert Q&A How do you successfully take your idea to market? Even large companies that have been household…
Back to the Roots / / AquaFarm Prototype Project Back to the Roots is a San Francisco Bay Area-based company…
Flexible and Rigid Color Palettes Stratasys has introduced ten new palettes available for Connex3 technology, expanding the Connex3 digital material…
Second Year on Inc. 5000 Fathom Celebrates Second Year on Inc. Magazine’s Annual List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies3D Printing…
Passion for Cycling + 3D Printing Each year, Sea Otter Classic takes place in Monterey, California—not far from Fathom’s Oakland…
[ NEWS ] 3D Printed Prosthetics Fathom is pleased to share exciting coverage on the team’s work with Isabella, who…
MakePartsFast.com Q&A: Tips on Making the Best Use of 3D Printers In a recent interview with Fathom’s Principal Rich Stump…
Technology Partnership Announcement Fathom and Lawrence Livermore National Lab Join Together in Technology Partnership 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing Company Partners…
Stratasys Blogger Visits Fathom, Digital ABS Material Workshop Fathom recently hosted a digital ABS material workshop where San Francisco Bay…
Stratasys and Objet Complete Merger Combination Creates a Leader in 3D Printing and Direct Digital Manufacturing with Market Valuation of…
Multi-Material Color 3D Printing / / Connex3 Services Fathom is the first 3D printer partner of Stratasys in North America…
How to 3D Print Ornaments / / Custom Holiday Ornament In the spirit of the holiday season, the Fathom team…
3D Printing The Wizard of Oz Inspired by the new multi-material color 3D printing available on the Objet500 Connex3 and…
Introducing Objet30 Prime Get started exploring the new possibilities of a PolyJet-based desktop 3D printer using the Objet30 Prime by…
3D Printing Casts / / 3D Printed Arm #CAST In The Making Breaking a bone is never fun. But Mike…
GrabCAD + Fathom Webinar Sept 17 GrabCAD & Fathom Host Webinar on How Cloud-Based Product Data Management (PDM) and…
Benefits of 3D Printing for Business 3D printing is at the front lines when it comes to the future of…
Bay Areas Tech for Good Award Fathom RECOGNIZED AT 2015 TECH & INNOVATION AWARDS— San Francisco Business Times honors the…
“As an organization working to highlight the East Bay’s remarkable assets and advantages for innovative companies, East Bay EDA knew…
PolyJet Project / / 3D Printed Models for Oakland’s Mayor 3D Printed Models For Oakland’s Mayor Symbol of Oakland’s Innovative…
Webinar: 3D Printing Jigs & Fixtures In this conversational webinar recorded on March 19 at 9:00 AM PST, Fathom interviews…
3D Printing Babies (FOX News) / / 3D Baby Model from Ultrasounds 3D Babies co-owners Katie and Gerard Bessette made…
3D Printed Keyboard / / Multi-Material Connex Technology Designer Arnon Gratch of Stratasys was able to create a mechanically sound,…
2019 Kick-off / / Be Better Than Yesterday Fathom’s annual kick-off—held January 3rd and 4th of this year—is an essential…
Working Together is Success We wanted to tell a story while demonstrating the unique capabilities of Objet500 Connex systems, such…
Gamifying + 3D Printing = Robodub Every day, Fathom collaborates with extraordinarily creative customers to prototype and fabricate innovative new products.…
Desktop Metal—Q&A with Fathomer As the Advanced Technologies Manager for Fathom, Michael Duncan directs cutting-edge projects for innovative, forward-thinking companies…
Q&A Interview with Colin Caufield Fathom is continually expanding, welcoming new faces and redefining roles for those who have been…
Patent Issued For On Demand Platform + Inc 5000 Ranking PATENT ISSUED FOR ON DEMAND DIGITAL MANUFACTURING PLATFORM + Continued…
[ NEWS ] 3D Printed Smart Oven “Fathom has harnessed thermal heat. They have mastered digital design with the use…
Motley Fool Connects with Rich Stump During the Inside 3D Printing Conference in New York City back in March, Steve Heller…
In The Making: Project Pyra and Mars In building Project Pyra, Fathom Director of Research Carlo Quiñonez aimed to challenge…
Connecting Industrial 3D Printing Manufacturing To Help the Medical Community Jump To Form * This page will be updated with…
Location / / Fathom Headquarters / / Hartland, WI Three companies, FATHOM, Midwest Composite Technologies (MCT) and ICOMold have combined…
Featured Part / / Innovative Robotics With MJF Print-in-Place Mechanical Assemblies for Accelerated Innovation Redesign of Robotic Assembly / /…
Changing the Way Products are Designed, Prototyped & Manufactured Being on the forefront of testing emerging additive technologies for prototyping…
Fathom Step-By-Step Tutorial—How to Convert a Mesh or Scan Data Into a Workable T-Spline In this tutorial, Fathom Research Associate,…
60% of CAD users say STL file prep and repairs are the biggest challenges for engineers when preparing files for…
Securing ISO 9001:2015: Certified Manufacturing Fathom Secures ISO 9001:2015 Certification / / Advanced Manufacturer Headquartered in Oakland, CA Further…
3D Printing Michelangelo ANCIENT ARTISTRY OF METAL CASTING — Transformed by Advanced 3D Printing & 3D Scanning The Thinker. David. Bacchus. Pietà. Michelangelo’s…
3D Printing Prototypes: Form, Fit and Function Learn more about Form, Fit and Function for 3D printing prototypes with Account…
How To 3D Print Assemblies With Moving Parts with Alexei Samimi, Mechanical Engineer at Fathom As 3D printing becomes increasingly…
3D Printed Replica Models of Seattle’s Space Needle 3D Printing Perfect Replicas of Seattle’s Space Needle Fathom partnered with the Seattle…
Fathom Announces It Has Been Acquired by Core Industrial Partners. Fathom to Become One of the Largest Privately Held Digital…
Fathom Expands Domestic Tooling & Injection Molding Capabilities We are delighted to welcome Summit Tooling, Inc. and Summit Plastics,…
Hartland, Wis., November 10, 2020 In 2020, four legacy companies – FATHOM, Midwest Composite Technologies, ICOMold and GPI Prototype –…
On-Demand Inventory with DDM Additive manufacturing has transformed the landscape of production, better enabling business agility in manufacturing with additional…
Desktop Metal 3D Printers / / Studio System Case Study In this blog post, we highlight a featured case study…
3D Scanning the Fathom Team / / Tips on 3D Printing Scans Snapping a Fathom team photo has been on…
3D EXPERIENCE Marketplace / / Make – On Demand Manufacturing As one of the advanced manufacturing service providers listed, the…
Fortus 900mc Use Case—Direct Digital Manufacturing The Fortus 900mc is the most powerful FDM-based additive manufacturing system for prototypes and…
3D Printed Nasopharyngeal Swabs For Accelerated COVID-19 Testing The FAST spiral swab was perfected over 25 iterations in 35 days with clinicians…
At Fathom we offer a unique advantage of speed and agility-our experts help companies go from concept to prototype to manufacturing in ways not previously possible.
| 90+ Machines | |
| SLS / / Two-day | SLA / / Next-day |
| FDM / / Next-day | DMLS / / Three-day |
| PolyJet / / Same-day | MJF / / Two-day |
| 30 Second Quotes |
| Prototype Tool / / As soon as 10 days |
| 10K Parts / / 10 days |
| Production Tool / / As soon as 3 weeks |
3 & 5 Axis Milling & Turning
(Plastics, Composites and Metals)
Tolerance Accuracy Range
from +/-0.001″ to 0.005″
Injection Molding Adjacent
without High Costs of Metal Tools
Most Commonly Used for High-Volume
Prototyping & Bridge to Production
Finishing, Production Painting and Color Matching
Assembling, Including Embedded Electronic
Components, Threaded Inserts, and More
Highly Trained Staff / / Full-Time & Part-Time
Support as Short-Term & Long-Term Strategy
Decrease Downtime with Customizable
Staffing Accelerates Implementation
Let’s get started.
Fathom is driven by advanced technologies and methods that enhance and accelerate today’s product development and production processes.
