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Export for 3D printing

Serpentine3D models are exact solids, so they export as clean, watertight meshes. Two formats and a pre-flight check cover the whole workflow.

Check it's printable first

Run printcheck, select your objects, and read the report:

printcheck

Bracket — PRINT-READY
  watertight: yes · manifold: yes
  size: 40 x 25 x 12 mm
  min wall: 12 mm
  overhangs >45°: 28.4% of surface — may need supports
  • watertight / manifold — for a solid these come from the geometry itself, so a valid solid always passes (tessellation slivers won't raise false alarms). An imported mesh is judged by its actual triangle connectivity.
  • min wall — the thinnest wall found, flagged (THIN) below the threshold.
  • overhangs — downward-facing area steeper than 45° from vertical (excluding the face resting on the build plate), i.e. what would want supports.

STL

export → STL — 3D printing. Serpentine writes binary STL (compact, what every slicer expects) and asks for a mesh quality:

Preset Curves File size
Draft coarse, faceted smallest
Standard matches the on-screen mesh small
Fine (default) smooth medium
Ultra fine maximum detail largest

Finer presets tessellate curved surfaces into more triangles — smoother prints, bigger files. All objects merge into one watertight mesh.

3MF

export → 3MF — 3D printing. The modern container that Bambu Studio, PrusaSlicer and Cura prefer over STL: it keeps real units, per-object colour, and separate objects instead of one merged soup.

Do it headless

Both formats work from a script or CI (see Script & automate):

doc.export("bracket.stl")        # Standard quality
# finer mesh:
from serpentine3d.fileio import stl
stl.export_stl([(o.name, o.shape) for o in doc.objects()],
               "bracket.stl", quality="fine")

Tips

  • STL carries no units — slicers assume millimetres, so model in mm (or use 3MF, which stores the unit).
  • Thin walls print poorly; if printcheck flags (THIN), thicken with shell or a push/pull before exporting.
  • Reorient the part so large overhangs face upward, or plan for supports.