The limit: Tripo
- File size cap
- no fixed cap
- Triangle cap
- no fixed cap
- This page opens the reducer at
- 30 MB
This page opens the reducer at 30 MB. Source: Tripo export formats guide (checked 2026-09).
Why the file is over it
Tripo reconstructs a surface at uniform density, so a 100 mm figure gets the same triangle spacing on its back as on its face. That is 20 to 40 times what a 0.2 mm nozzle can reproduce. The generator also leaves small holes and self-intersections where views disagreed, which is what slicers flag.
How to get under it
- 1Export from Tripo as STL at the quality you want, then drop it below. The target is preset to 30 MB.
- 2Press Reduce. Repair runs first: open edges are closed and non-manifold vertices separated; then decimation removes the triangles flat regions do not need.
- 3Read the result card: triangles before and after, and watertight before and after.
- 4Download and slice.
What to expect
A 91 MB Tripo export (1.9 million faces) to 30 MB keeps 630,000 triangles. On a 120 mm figure that is one triangle every 0.15 mm, below the layer height of any FDM print. Going to 15 MB is usually still identical in the print and halves the slicing time.
Other ways
Tripo's Smart Mesh retopologises to 25,000 quads, which is great for animation and too coarse for a detailed print. Blender's Decimate keeps the surface but does not repair; run a repair pass separately if you go that way.
Questions
The result card says repair was applied. Did the model change?
Only the defects: triangles with zero area are removed and open edges closed. No vertex is moved, so the shape is the one Tripo generated.
Which Tripo export should I use?
STL at the highest quality; reduce here with a size target. Exporting lower quality from Tripo throws away detail everywhere, including where you wanted it.
Can I keep the colours?
Not in STL. For a colour print export GLB or OBJ from Tripo for the slicer and use the reduced STL where a single-material file is needed.