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Use our free and fast online tool to convert your PCX (Picture Exchange) image or logo into 3D STL (Standard Triangle Language) mesh/model files suitable for printing with a 3D printer or for loading into your favorite 3D editing package.
Here are three simple steps to create an STL file from a PCX file.
This setting allows you to specify how your PCX image is converted to an STL model. The Extrude options will extrude your image into 3D space, while the Standard options will apply a heightmap process to your image.
The setting can be used to alter the detail of the final STL model that is created. The default setting of Medium works well for most Extrude and Heightmap conversions, with the High setting recommended for highly detailed image files.
This setting, when given a height of more than zero, will instruct the tool to add a solid 3D base to the final STL model. The selected unit of measurement specifies the height of the base.
When this option is enabled, the tool will automatically attempt to make the background of your image transparent.
Manually specify your image background color rather than our tool trying to automatically work it out.
If the tool is unable to identify the background and you know the background color, you can specify it here.
This value can be adjusted to control the background removal tolerance. The higher the value, the more background is removed.
A higher value is useful for creating smoother results if your image is anti-aliased.
When the Invert Output option is checked, the pixel brightness is reversed, i.e., black becomes white and white becomes black, resulting in a 3D model that is reversed.
This setting tells the tool how to size the final 3D model when using the settings below for Width, Height, and Depth settings.
When using either the Color Extrude or Heightmap options within the Tool menu, you can optionally upload a separate image that can be used to colorize your 3D model.
This setting instructs the tool on how to interpret the color information of pixels in your image, thereby influencing the creation of the 3D STL model. The grayscale option is most commonly used when working with heightmaps, unless you are dealing with specific requirements that necessitate the use of color.
Use this value to merge similar colors; this is useful if the image is of low quality. A higher number can help reduce the effects of anti-aliasing in the PCX image.
With this setting, it is possible to reduce the inclusion of small holes within the 3D model caused by small, darker areas of the source PCX file, which can be useful in situations where the source image has not been optimized for use with the tool.
When your PCX file has a transparent background, this option can instruct the tool on how to treat the transparency, with the transparency converted to either black or white.
When this setting is enabled, the conversion tool will attempt to smooth out any "spikes" within the 3D model that are caused by contrasting pixels in the image being in close proximity to one another.
With this option enabled, the tool will mirror the 3D geometry of the generated STL model along the Z-axis.
If you would like the tool to create a 3D preview of your model, then please select this option. It is on by default.
You can use this option to fine-tune the STL format the tool uses. Binary is the default option, as this is the most common format of STL file, with the other two formats supporting color, which is only useful if your 3D editing application supports color STL model files.
Use this option to generate Face or Vertex (Smooth) normals in the final 3D model. Vertex normals give the mesh a smooth appearance. You can choose to not create Normals using the None option to reduce the file size.
| Extension | PCX |
| Full Name | Picture Exchange |
| Type | Image |
| Mime Type | image/x-pcx |
| Format | Binary |
| Tools | PCX Converters, Create Cookie Cutter, PCX Viewer |
The PCX file format is a legacy image file format originally released in 1985 by ZSoft Corporation. It was the native file format for the PC Paintbrush application and soon became one of the standard image formats for DOS.
The format uses an indexed palette method for storing color information and supports formats starting at 1-bit-per-pixel (bpp) through to 8-bpp, though support for 24-bit color was added later on. Image files based on the PCX format can still be found today and are supported by a limited number of modern applications.
| Extension | STL |
| Full Name | Standard Triangle Language |
| Type | 3D Model |
| Mime Type | application/vnd.ms-pki.stl |
| Format | Text & Binary |
| Tools | STL Converters, 3D Model Voxelizer, Create STL Animation, Compress STL, Text to STL, STL Viewer |
| Open With | Blender, Daz Studio, MeshLab, CAD Assistant |
The STL file format has its roots in the 1980's and is the native file format for 3D Systems stereolithography CAD software. The format defines a triangulated mesh with vertices and faces and is a popular format for sharing 3D printable model files.
There were several formats that attempted to extend the STL format, namely SolidView and VisCAM, whose formats included limited 15-bit color information for each mesh face, which is often ignored by most modern 3D software. The STL format can be either text or binary; our tools will support both formats.
The standard STL file format does not support colored faces, vertices, or texture information. The STL file generated by the tool will contain only raw mesh/triangle data by default, which is perfect for 3D printing.
The tool also has the option to save the file to one of the non-standard formats that support colored faces, such as VisCAM and SolidView which is perfect if you want to further process the STL in software that supports these formats.
Software used to prepare a 3D model file for printing, which is also known as 3D slicer software, cannot directly 3D print image files such as PCX. This is due to the fact that slicing software is designed for use with 3D models rather than flat 2D images.
A Pokémon coin image in grayscale
The Pokémon coin extruded to a 3D STL model
The 3D printed Pokémon coin
Slicer software can, however, handle files formatted to the STL standard. This is because the STL format was specifically designed as a medium of storage and exchange for 3D printable models. Our PCX to STL conversion tool will first create either a heightmap or an extruded 3D model from your PCX image file. This 3D model can then be loaded into your slicer software and sent to your 3D printer for printing.
Our tool converts image (bitmap) data into 3D geometry, which is then saved to the common STL file format.
The PCX to STL tool can convert the most common image file formats, such as PNG, JPG or any one of our supported image formats. The output is provided in STL format, which can be used in most 3D graphics applications.
3D geometry is created based on the luminosity of each pixel in the source image. For example, using the default tool settings, a black pixel represents a 3D pixel height of 0mm, and a white pixel represents a 3D pixel height of 10mm. Colors in between these will be converted to a 3D pixel in this range.
This option reverses the black-to-white range conversion, so with this option set, a black pixel will be rendered as a 3D pixel of 10mm in height, and a white pixel will be rendered as 0mm.
The "Detail" option allows you to control the resolution of the created STL file. Low detail will generate the model quickly and result in a smaller file. The High option will take longer to generate and can result in very large download files.
With this option, the PCX to STL converter will attempt to remove or smooth out any spikes in the resulting STL 3D model. Spikes are usually caused by highly contrasting adjacent pixels in the source PCX file.
The PCX you upload can be any size; however, our tool will resize your image to a maximum of 1200x1200 pixels for all uploaded images that are larger than this.
The STL file format describes an unstructured triangulated surface of the triangles using a 3D Cartesian coordinate system. STL files do not contain any scale information, and the units are arbitrary. We have a more detailed description of an STL file here.
We aim to process all PCX to STL conversions as quickly as possible, this usually takes around 5 seconds but can be more for larger more complex files so please be patient.
Our tool will save all STL files in binary format. Optionally, our tool will allow you to save to the non-standard color STL format.
Yes, of course! We do not store the PCX file you submit to us. The resulting STL file, once created is deleted 15 minutes after upload and the download link will expire after this time.
No. All our conversion tools process your PCX file on our dedicated conversion servers, meaning you can use our tools on low-spec computers, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices and receive your converted STL file quickly.
Yes! Our PCX to STL tool will run on any system with a modern web browser. No specialist software is needed to run any of our conversion tools.
Yes. Although you can use an Ad Blocker, if you like our PCX conversion tool please consider white-listing our site. When an Ad Blocker is enabled there are some conversion limits on some of our tools and processing/conversion times will be longer.
Yes. When you have converted your PCX to STL, there is a "Feedback" option that you can use to let us know of any issues you encountered when converting your file.
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