Convert STL to DXF in your browser

Scan and print meshes often have to end up in a CAD drawing. This page parses the STL locally and writes each triangle as a DXF 3DFACE entity, which AutoCAD, BricsCAD, Civil 3D and Revit all import without a plug-in.

Tool und Bezeichnungen sind auf Deutsch. Die Referenzhinweise darunter bleiben auf Englisch.

STLDXF converter

Runs entirely in this browser tab. Your file is never uploaded and nothing is stored.

STL-Datei hier ablegen oder zum Auswählen klicken

or — no sign-up required

Brauchen Sie eine zertifizierte CAD/BIM-Fachkraft, um diese Datei zu bearbeiten?

TaskBider drafters, detailers and BIM coordinators work remotely and every listing shows the pay. Typical published range for this work: $18–$45/hr.

Schritt für Schritt

  1. 1Drop the .stl file above (binary or ASCII).
  2. 2Open the DXF in AutoCAD with the drawing units matched to the mesh's authoring units — STL declares none.
  3. 3Use 3DORBIT and SHADEMODE to confirm orientation; Y-up mesh tools land on their side in a Z-up drawing.
  4. 4For a 2D deliverable, set a plan view and run FLATSHOT or SECTIONPLANE to generate clean linework from the mesh.

Worauf Sie achten müssen

  • Every triangle becomes one 3DFACE, so a heavy scan mesh makes a heavy drawing. Decimate in MeshLab or Blender first if the DXF has to be workable.
  • A mesh is not a solid: dimensioning off facets gives faceted values on curved surfaces.
  • All faces land on a single layer named STL_MESH so they are easy to isolate or freeze.
STLStereolithography mesh

The triangle-soup format every 3D printer and mesh tool reads. Openly documented in both ASCII and binary form, with no units, colours or structure.

DXFDrawing Exchange Format

Autodesk's documented text interchange format for 2D/3D CAD geometry — readable by every CAD package and, unlike DWG, by open-source tools.

Fragen aus der Praxis

Can I get arcs and circles instead of triangles?

Not from a mesh. The curvature was already thrown away when the STL was written; retracing critical features in CAD is the only way back to true arcs.

Which DXF version is produced?

A minimal entities-only DXF that every release since R12 reads, which is why it imports so reliably.

Paid to draft, model or coordinate?

TaskBider lists remote CAD and BIM roles with the pay shown on every listing.