STL, 3MF or OBJ: which file to send

Where Makerlane is today

Makerlane is a 3D printing service in Singapore. As of 21 October 2026 you can see your print price at makerlane.sg, with no sign-up. Ordering opens soon. Sign up for the free beta. Invites go out in small batches.

What does each file type keep?

STL is very common. It stores the surface as small triangles, and almost every 3D program can export it. It has no units and no colour, so check the size after you upload.

OBJ is common in 3D art and scanning tools. Its colour and texture usually live in separate files, a .mtl file and images, which are easy to lose if you send only the .obj. If colour matters, send a 3MF instead.

3MF was made for 3D printing. One file carries the shape, the units, the colours and several objects. A project 3MF from a slicer, the program that prepares a model for the printer, also keeps the settings and plates. Bambu Studio and OrcaSlicer save their projects as 3MF.

On Makerlane, painted or multi-part 3MF files from those two keep their colour areas, and you pick a stocked colour for each. A project with several plates is checked plate by plate and priced as one order. Your file's material, layers and strength are filled in for you.

Which one should I send?

From Bambu Studio or OrcaSlicer, send the 3MF. From a CAD program, send an STL, or a 3MF if your program offers it. From a scan or a 3D art tool, send an STL or an OBJ, and simplify it first if it is over 100 MB.

Do not send a sliced file. In Bambu Studio, Export plate sliced file makes a .gcode.3mf. It carries the printer's moves and pictures, not your model, so Makerlane cannot price it. Save the project instead: File, then Save Project.

Does Makerlane take STEP files?

Not today. STEP is a CAD format that stores exact curves, not triangles. Makerlane takes STL, OBJ and 3MF, so export one of those from your CAD program. A 3MF keeps the units with the file, so the size arrives as you drew it.

How do I export from CAD?

Set the units to millimetres. It saves a wrong-size surprise.

Pick a sensible resolution. The setting is often called tolerance or refinement. Too coarse, and curves print as flat facets. Too fine, and the file grows with no detail you can see.

Choose binary STL, not ASCII. It is the same shape in a much smaller file.

Export one closed, solid shape. Gaps in the surface can confuse the software that turns a model into printer moves.

My file is over 100 MB. What now?

Files get big when the model is made of a very large number of triangles. That usually comes from 3D scans or very fine exports. Over 100 MB, Makerlane will say the file is too big. If a model has too many triangles for the check, it says so and tells you how to simplify it.

You can fix it yourself first. In Bambu Studio, right-click the model and choose Simplify model. Or use the Decimate modifier in Blender. Lower the triangle count until the detail you care about starts to soften, then step back once. You can also export again from CAD at a lower resolution, or save as 3MF, which is compressed and often smaller than the same model as an STL.

Next step

Got your file? See your print price in seconds at makerlane.sg. The print price you lock never goes up. You see the handling fee and delivery before you pay, and nothing is added after you pay.