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Importing STL Models

You can import .STL files with up to 500,000 facets (~ 24 MB for binary format .STL files and ~ 138 MB for ASCII format .STL files).

This increase in size is approximately:

  • Twenty-five times larger than what was previously allowed for solid .STL files.
  • Five times larger than what was previously allowed for surface .STL files.

For surface and solid .STL file imports, you are warned that conversion may take a long time and you are given an opportunity to cancel the import.

However, import performance has increased significantly. For example, the import time for a solid .STL file with 20,000 triangles is now as much as three times faster than it was with SOLIDWORKS 2015.

For surface .STL files, a stringent check gives more meaningful results.



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