The STL option of the Construction Geometry feature enables you to import and view an STL (Stereolithography) file in Mechanical.
To import an STL file:
Highlight the Model object, open the drop-down menu on the Model Context Tab, and select .
At this point, define the following properties as needed:
Length Units: Meters is the default setting. Changing this property rescales the STL geometry according to the new unit. Changing from Meters to Centimeters resizes the model accordingly.
Show Always: Options include (default) and . If you set this property to , the application displays the STL geometry in the Geometry window regardless of what object is selected in the tree.
Color: Change the color of the STL geometry. This enables you to easily identify your STL geometry.
Right-click the STL object and select . This option imports and displays the new model in the Construction Geometry folder.
Note: When generated, the position of the imported STL geometry in the Geometry window is determined by the coordinates from which the original STL file is generated. To ensure that you can see the geometry, use the F7 key (Zoom to Fit) to properly display all geometries.
The Statistics property displays the number of triangles included in the STL geometry.
Also see the STL object reference page of the Help for more information.