LayerForgeSTL viewer & print checker
Spin a model round in 3D and check it's ready to print: size, volume, holes and other problems.
Runs in your browser. Your file is never uploaded.
What the checker looks at
- Size in millimetres, and whether it was probably saved in the wrong units.
- Volume, for a rough idea of how much filament it needs.
- Holes (open edges) and non-manifold edges, the two most common reasons a slice comes out wrong.
- Flipped faces and zero-area triangles.
- Triangle count: anything in the millions is slow to slice and far more detail than a nozzle can print.
What to do about problems
Small holes and flipped faces are usually fixed automatically by modern slicers. For bigger problems, re-export the model from the program that made it, or use your slicer's repair option. If a model is simply too detailed, reduce its triangles.
Questions
What does “watertight” mean?
Every edge of the surface is shared by exactly two triangles, so the model is a closed solid with no holes. Slicers need that to know what's inside and what's outside.
What are non-manifold edges?
Edges where three or more faces meet, like two cubes touching along one edge. They make the inside of the model ambiguous, and slicers can fill or skip parts of it.
What are flipped normals?
Each triangle has a front and a back. If some face inwards while the rest face out, slicers can get confused. Most slicers repair this automatically.
Can it open 3MF and OBJ files too?
Yes. Drop an STL, OBJ or 3MF file in.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The viewer and the checks run entirely in your browser.
LayerForge checks every model in your library like this
LayerForge fixes, shrinks and sorts thousands of models in the background, and runs your printers too. Coming to Kickstarter with lifetime licences.