STL files are used to represent simple 3D models, defined using triangular 3D faces.
Initially it was introduced as native format for 3D Systems Stereolithography CAD system, but due to its extreme simplicity, it was adopted by a wide range of 3D modelling, CAD, rapid prototyping and 3D printing applications as the simplest 3D model exchange format.
STL is extremely bare-bones format: there are no complex headers, no texture / color support, no units specifications, no distinct vertex arrays. Whole model is specified as a collection of triangular faces.
There are two versions of the format (text and binary), this spec describes binary version.
This page hosts a formal specification of .stl file format of 3D Systems Stereolithography using Kaitai Struct. This specification can be automatically translated into a variety of programming languages to get a parsing library.
// Code generated by kaitai-struct-compiler from a .ksy source file. DO NOT EDIT.
import "github.com/kaitai-io/kaitai_struct_go_runtime/kaitai"
/**
* STL files are used to represent simple 3D models, defined using
* triangular 3D faces.
*
* Initially it was introduced as native format for 3D Systems
* Stereolithography CAD system, but due to its extreme simplicity, it
* was adopted by a wide range of 3D modelling, CAD, rapid prototyping
* and 3D printing applications as the simplest 3D model exchange
* format.
*
* STL is extremely bare-bones format: there are no complex headers, no
* texture / color support, no units specifications, no distinct vertex
* arrays. Whole model is specified as a collection of triangular
* faces.
*
* There are two versions of the format (text and binary), this spec
* describes binary version.
*/
type Stl struct {
Header []byte
NumTriangles uint32
Triangles []*Stl_Triangle
_io *kaitai.Stream
_root *Stl
_parent interface{}
}
func NewStl() *Stl {
return &Stl{
}
}
func (this *Stl) Read(io *kaitai.Stream, parent interface{}, root *Stl) (err error) {
this._io = io
this._parent = parent
this._root = root
tmp1, err := this._io.ReadBytes(int(80))
if err != nil {
return err
}
tmp1 = tmp1
this.Header = tmp1
tmp2, err := this._io.ReadU4le()
if err != nil {
return err
}
this.NumTriangles = uint32(tmp2)
for i := 0; i < int(this.NumTriangles); i++ {
_ = i
tmp3 := NewStl_Triangle()
err = tmp3.Read(this._io, this, this._root)
if err != nil {
return err
}
this.Triangles = append(this.Triangles, tmp3)
}
return err
}
/**
* Each STL triangle is defined by its 3 points in 3D space and a
* normal vector, which is generally used to determine where is
* "inside" and "outside" of the model.
*/
type Stl_Triangle struct {
Normal *Stl_Vec3d
Vertices []*Stl_Vec3d
Abr uint16
_io *kaitai.Stream
_root *Stl
_parent *Stl
}
func NewStl_Triangle() *Stl_Triangle {
return &Stl_Triangle{
}
}
func (this *Stl_Triangle) Read(io *kaitai.Stream, parent *Stl, root *Stl) (err error) {
this._io = io
this._parent = parent
this._root = root
tmp4 := NewStl_Vec3d()
err = tmp4.Read(this._io, this, this._root)
if err != nil {
return err
}
this.Normal = tmp4
for i := 0; i < int(3); i++ {
_ = i
tmp5 := NewStl_Vec3d()
err = tmp5.Read(this._io, this, this._root)
if err != nil {
return err
}
this.Vertices = append(this.Vertices, tmp5)
}
tmp6, err := this._io.ReadU2le()
if err != nil {
return err
}
this.Abr = uint16(tmp6)
return err
}
/**
* In theory (per standard), it's "attribute byte count" with
* no other details given on what "attribute" is and what
* should be stored in this field.
*
* In practice, software dealing with STL either expected to
* see 0 here, or uses this 16-bit field per se to store
* additional attributes (such as RGB color of a vertex or
* color index).
*/
type Stl_Vec3d struct {
X float32
Y float32
Z float32
_io *kaitai.Stream
_root *Stl
_parent *Stl_Triangle
}
func NewStl_Vec3d() *Stl_Vec3d {
return &Stl_Vec3d{
}
}
func (this *Stl_Vec3d) Read(io *kaitai.Stream, parent *Stl_Triangle, root *Stl) (err error) {
this._io = io
this._parent = parent
this._root = root
tmp7, err := this._io.ReadF4le()
if err != nil {
return err
}
this.X = float32(tmp7)
tmp8, err := this._io.ReadF4le()
if err != nil {
return err
}
this.Y = float32(tmp8)
tmp9, err := this._io.ReadF4le()
if err != nil {
return err
}
this.Z = float32(tmp9)
return err
}