STL Import for Inventor is a Stereolithography (.stl) file import add-in for Inventor®. This add-in gives Inventor the ability to import polygon data from ASCII and Binary STL files.

STL Import for Inventor reads polygon mesh data stored in STL files and imports it into Inventor. A polygon mesh in a STL file is comprised of a set of triangular faces. STL Import for Inventor creates trimmed planar surfaces for each triangle/quad and knits them together to create a body. If the polygon mesh is closed (i.e. it does not contain boundary edges) then STL Import for Inventor will create a closed body feature, otherwise an open surface will be created.

STL Import for Inventor is very easy to use. STL Import for Inventor adds new commands to Inventor. It also adds a ribbon bar to the Inventor user interface called "Add-Ins" containing these new commands.

STL Import for Inventor is designed to work with the following versions of Inventor:

• Inventor 2012 (32 Bit & 64 Bit)
  
  
• Inventor 2011 (32 Bit & 64 Bit)
  
  
• Inventor 2010 (32 Bit & 64 Bit)
  

System Requirements

Below is the hardware, software and operating system requirements for Inventor add-ins running on the Microsoft Windows platform. 

• Inventor (32 Bit & 64 Bit): 2010, 2011 and 2012
  
  
• Operating System (32 Bit & 64 Bit): Windows XP SP2 or later, Windows Vista
  
  
• RAM: 1 GB (Recommended 2 GB)

Download & Purchase

Please download a fully functional trial of STL Import for Inventor by clicking on the "Download Now" button below. To start using the software, you need a license key. A license key can be of two types: Trial or Permanent. A trial key is issued to you on the purchase of '7 day license' so that you may try the software before you purchase a permanent key. A permanent key is issued after you have purchased a license. We are confident that during the trial period (7 days with unlimited runs) you will find STL Import for Inventor extremely useful. Later when you decide to buy the software please return to this page and click the "Buy with/without Subscription" button to place your order. Upon verifying the order you will recieve an e-mail with instructions on how to obtain your permanent key. We will create and send you your Key by e-mail within one business day. To avoid disruption in your workflow we urge you to place your order before the trial period ends.

		1.21 MB
		$19.99
		$299
		$249

IMPORTANT! Purchasing a Subscription is highly recommended since it the most cost effective way of keeping your software up to date. Moreover, Subscription entitles you to get a second free perpetual license for your laptop, among many other benefits. For details please read the SYCODE License and Subscription Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

Our licenses are single computer licenses and are locked to each computer they are installed on. Basically, the license key is specific to the computer's Host ID (the MAC address of the computer), and will not work on another computer. The installer picks up the physical MAC address of the network card connected to the computer which is basically “Ethernet adapter Network Connect Adapter”. So unless you change your network card, the key will always work even if you reinstall your operating system. If your internal network is periodically assigning a different Host ID to your computer, then please find a solution for this with your IT department.

Note: Downloading this software indicates your acceptance to the SYCODE Software License Agreement. The price mentioned above is for a single user license. For your bulk-licensing needs please contact us.

Installation & Usage

Since STL Import for Inventor is an add-in for Inventor, it must be loaded into the Inventor environment before it can be used. Please follow the simple instructions in the STL Import for Inventor ReadMe document which is copied into the installation folder.After you have loaded the add-in file into Inventor, simply click on the ribbon bar in Inventor called "Add-Ins" to run these new commands. Truly, software made simple!

The 'Add-Ins' ribbon bar consists of the following commands:

• Import - Import a STL file
  
  
• Help - Display the STL Import for Inventor help file
  
  
• Register - Register your copy of STL Import for Inventor
  
  
• About - Display the STL Import for Inventor About box

The STL Import for Inventor ribbon bar

STL Import for Inventor comes with detailed documentation for each command as well as a  tutorial to get you started in the shortest possible time. There is also a PDF version of the help file which you can download by clicking the link below.

The STL File Format

The STL file format is the Rapid Prototyping industry's standard data transmission format and is the format required to interact with stereolithography machines. Stereolithography files contain solids which are made up of 3 sided facets. STL files may be ASCII or binary data, although binary is far more common due to the resulting size of the CAD data when saved to the ASCII format. A STL file describes a raw unstructured triangulated surface by the unit normal and vertices (ordered by the right-hand rule) of the triangles using a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system. Many CAD systems are able to output the STL file format among their other formats, but very few have the ability to import STL files.

Customization

If you want STL Import for Inventor to work in a different way to suit your workflow, do let us know. We will customize the add-in to suit your specific needs.

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