3D printing & STL6 min read
Drain holes for hollow resin prints: how many, how big, where
Why a hollow resin print needs two drain holes per cavity, where they go, how large they should be and how to plug them, with the published Formlabs minimum.
3D printing & STL posts
STL file size, mesh repair and pre-slicer checks.
3D printing & STL6 min read
How to hollow an STL for resin printing: wall, drain holes, plugs
Measured resin savings on seven scans, how thick the wall should be, where the drain holes go and why thin figures save less. With an online hollowing tool.
3D printing & STL5 min read
Why AI 3D models fail in the slicer, and how to fix them
Overlapping shells, holes and flipped faces from Meshy, Tripo or Rodin explained, the three ways to fix them, and a measured before-and-after of a rebuild.
3D printing & STL6 min read
Why your STL imports at the wrong size: inches, cm and metres
STL has no unit, so slicers read millimetres. How to tell inches from cm or metres, what PrusaSlicer and Cura detect on their own, and how to fix the file.
3D printing & STL5 min read
How to make a lithophane: thickness, size, light and print settings
Turn a photo into a lithophane STL: which photo works, 0.8 to 3 mm thickness, print width, white PLA at 100% infill, fine layers, orientation and backlight.
3D printing & STL6 min read
How to split an STL that is too big for your printer bed
Bed sizes of common printers, how cutting an STL into parts works, margins, orientation and how to join the parts with glue, pins or dovetails.
3D printing & STL5 min read
Slicer errors explained: what STL warnings mean and how to fix them
What PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio and Cura mean by open edges, non-manifold edges, reversed faces and floating parts, and how to repair the STL behind them.
3D printing & STL6 min read
STEP to STL: export settings that keep curves smooth
Linear and angular deflection explained with numbers, how they change file size, which preset to use for FDM or resin, and how to handle units and assemblies.
3D printing & STL6 min read
STL file too large to upload? Limits by platform and fixes (2026)
Upload limits on Etsy, MakerWorld, Printables, Thingiverse and Cults3D, checked October 2026, and how to bring an STL under them without losing detail.
3D printing & STL6 min read
STL volume, weight and cost: check a model before you print
Turn an STL's volume into grams and cost: filament densities from data sheets, how walls and infill change the weight, and how far an estimate can be trusted.
3D printing & STL5 min read
How to reduce STL file size without ruining the print
Why STL files get large, how to read the triangle count straight from the file size, and what binary, re-export, decimation and 3MF each save in practice.
3D printing & STL8 min read
STL vs 3MF vs OBJ: picking the right 3D file format
What each format really stores, how many bytes the same mesh costs in all three, why units decide most arguments, and the edge cases that break silently.