IGES → STL · Online Conversion Guide
Discretize surfaces for printing and manufacturing Remove semantics and generate unified meshes for machining Great for reusing legacy models
IGES: IGES is an older CAD surface/geometry exchange format, good for surface transfer but weaker than STEP for assemblies and parametric retention.
STL as the target format: STL is commonly used for 3D printing/rapid prototyping, keeping triangle shells only (no materials/hierarchy).
Practical tips: Balance tessellation tolerance between face count and fidelity; Pre‑fix holes/gaps to avoid non‑manifold geometry.
Typical scenarios: Legacy model migration, surface patching, reverse engineering.
Why convert IGES → STL
- Discretize surfaces for printing and manufacturing
- Remove semantics and generate unified meshes for machining
- Great for reusing legacy models
Quick steps
- Upload IGES on the homepage
- Choose STL as the output and convert
- For very large models, run 3D Tiles tiling
- Open the 3D viewer for interactive preview/sharing
Inline conversion (no redirect)
More common conversions
FAQ
Q: What information may be lost from IGES to STL?
Parametric features/constraints/history become polygon meshes; verify materials and textures.
Q: How to reduce size for IGES → STL?
Remove hidden parts, lower tessellation where acceptable, compress textures, enable Draco, merge materials.
Q: Batch or very large models supported?
Use 3D Tiles tiling for massive assemblies; consider splitting by hierarchy/area.
Q: Can I further edit after converting?
After converting to STL, geometry is mesh-based; you can clean meshes and tweak materials, but parametrics are not preserved.