Formats · Printy3D

Input formats#

The file name's extension names the format; at completion the API checks that the bytes really are that container and gives the file its kind. An archive is never trusted on its extension alone.

Extension	kind	Notes
`.stl`	mesh
`.obj`	mesh	Geometry only. An OBJ that names materials (mtllib / usemtl) must come in a ZIP with its MTL and textures; on its own it is rejected with obj_materials_unsupported.
`.3mf`	mesh	Including the BambuStudio production extension.
`.ply`	mesh, splat or pointcloud	Decided by the header: faces make a mesh; no faces with Gaussian-splat columns (scale_, rot_) a splat; no faces otherwise a point cloud.
`.gltf, .glb`	mesh
`.fbx`	mesh
`.vrm`	mesh	VRM avatars.
`.wrl`	mesh	VRML.
`.dae`	mesh	COLLADA.
`.off`	mesh
`.step, .stp`	cad	Each body is converted to a mesh; an assembly’s repair also returns its parts one by one (result_parts_zip). Exact Check (cad_check) measures STEP files, alone or as a ZIP of an assembly, without changing them.
`.dcm, .dicom`	medical	A DICOM series arrives inside an archive.
`.las, .laz`	pointcloud	LiDAR point clouds.
`.zip`	archive	The usual way to send textures. LZMA- and PPMd-compressed ZIPs are not supported.
`.tar, .tgz, .tar.gz`	archive
`.rar`	archive	Accepted; see the note below.

.7z is refused. Images, vectors and documents are not 3D inputs.

Textures and colour#

Colour survives the whole pipeline. Send a textured model as one file that carries its textures (GLB, 3MF, VRM, FBX) or as a ZIP of the model, its material file and its texture images (OBJ + MTL + PNG/JPG). Repairs project the texture back onto the rebuilt surface and return it in the GLB and the OBJ ZIP.

**Textures travel in a ZIP.** An OBJ that names materials must arrive with its MTL and textures in one ZIP. Left, the upload; right, the repaired result with its texture. Model: Garden Gnome, Poly Haven, https://polyhaven.com/a/garden_gnome, CC0 1.0

Checking a format#

GET/v1/formatsfiles:read

Lists every format as {ext, kind, enabled, test_enabled}: enabled means live jobs may process it, test_enabled that the sandbox accepts it. A format can be accepted as an upload and still not be enabled for live jobs; a live job on it then answers 501 feature_unavailable.

Output formats#

Format	Where it comes from
GLB	Repairs (`result_glb`), mesh tools, inspect's `preview`; any export
OBJ (ZIP with MTL and textures)	Repairs (`result_obj_zip`), mesh tools; any export
3MF	Repairs when the engine writes it (`result_3mf`); any export
STL, PLY	An export or the convert tool
JPG	Inspect thumbnails
JSON	Analyses, measurements and tool results