STL Import for IntelliCAD is a Stereolithography STL file import plug-in for IntelliCAD powered applications. This plug-in gives IntelliCAD powered applications the ability to import geometric data from ASCII and Binary STL files.
The STL file format is the Rapid Prototyping industry's standard data transmission format and is the format required to interact with stereolithography machines. Stereolithography files contain solids which are made up of 3 sided facets. STL Import for IntelliCAD converts these facets into a single PolyFace Mesh entity and adds it to the active drawing.
STL Import for IntelliCAD is very easy to use as it adds a new command to the IntelliCAD powered application called "STLImport". Simply type "STLImport" at the command prompt and select a STL file to import into the active drawing.
The 'STLImport' menu consists of the following commands:
STLImport - Imports an STL file
STLImportHelp - Displays the STL Import for IntelliCAD help file
STLImportRegister - Registers your copy of STL Import for IntelliCAD
STLImportAbout - Displays the STL Import for IntelliCAD About box
The STL File Format
The STL file format is the Rapid Prototyping industry's standard data transmission format and is the format required to interact with stereolithography machines. Stereolithography files contain solids which are made up of 3 sided facets. STL files may be ASCII or binary data, although binary is far more common due to the resulting size of the CAD data when saved to the ASCII format. A STL file describes a raw unstructured triangulated surface by the unit normal and vertices (ordered by the right-hand rule) of the triangles using a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system. Many CAD systems are able to output the STL file format among their other formats, but very few have the ability to import STL files.