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Export Mesh

In one sentence: Save the selected mesh to a file in STL, OBJ, PLY, or another supported format.

Overview

Workbench: Mesh
Menu: Mesh → Meshes → Export…
Command: Mesh_Export
Shortcut: none

Saves the selected Mesh::Feature to a file on disk. The output format is determined by the file extension chosen in the save dialog.

Intuition

Export Mesh is the last step before sending a model to a 3-D printer, slicer, or external geometry tool. Choose the format that your target application expects — STL for 3-D printing, OBJ for 3-D graphics tools.

When to use it

  • Exporting a tessellated solid to STL for 3-D printing.
  • Saving a repaired mesh for use in another application.
  • Converting between mesh formats (e.g., PLY → OBJ).

When NOT to use it

  • Don't use it to export B-rep geometry to STEP or IGES — use File → Export with a B-rep format.

Step-by-step

  1. Select the Mesh::Feature in the model tree.
  2. Choose Mesh → Meshes → Export….
  3. In the save dialog, choose the file path and type the filename with the desired extension (e.g., part.stl).
  4. Click Save.

Format guide

Format Extension Best for
STL (binary) .stl 3-D printing — compact binary
STL (ASCII) .ast Debugging — human-readable but large
OBJ .obj 3-D graphics tools (Blender, etc.)
PLY (binary) .ply Point cloud / scan data tools
OFF .off Simple geometry exchange

Prefer binary STL for printing

Binary STL is 5–10× smaller than ASCII STL for the same mesh. All modern slicers read binary STL.

Common mistakes and pitfalls

Export the repaired mesh, not the raw import

If you imported an STL with defects and repaired it, make sure you select the repaired mesh object (not the original import) before exporting.

Python API

import Mesh
import FreeCAD as App

mesh_obj = App.ActiveDocument.getObject("Mesh")
Mesh.export([mesh_obj], "/path/to/output.stl")

See also