I have been slowly scanning my way through my own polymer clay sculptures in the hopes of touching them up and having a library of files to work with when I get to 3d printing in the future. I need some help understanding what file type would be best to be saving once I finish my 3d scans in the proprietary software. I have a general grasp of STL vs OBJ, however going from either of those and then loading into zbrush, and then wanting to add futher touches and sculpting them eventually to print what would be better, STL or OBJ? Sorry if this is a stupid question I just can’t seem to get a clear answer searching online.
Hello @ndsugi ,
For the purpose of bringing a model into ZBrush it doesn’t really matter. Either STL or OBJ is fine. However, your slicing software or print agency may have a preference. Export in whatever format works best for your pre-print process. If it also supports both file types then it may not matter. Your slicer will convert the geometry in whatever format you import it into the format necessary to be processed by your printer.
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Thanks for the help! In terms of sculpting and modifying the files once converted as a tool in zbrush does one appear to work better than the other? An STL file appears smaller than a OBJ.
If I had to recommend one it would be OBJ. It is the more time-tested format, and certain obscure features like ZBrush’s mesh-update functionality (importing a mesh into another to update a pose or UVs) supports OBJ but does not support STL.
For the purposes of simply importing geometry into the file it doesn’t matter. The 3D Print Hub plugin can export to either, so whatever works better for your slicer or print agency.
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