Use our free and fast PNG to STL online tool to convert your PNG image or logo into a 3D STL model file suitable for printing with a 3D printer or for loading into your favourite 3D editing package. To convert your image simple click the Upload a file... button and select your image. Once selected you will be able to set various options to control the size of the generated 3D model size.
Click on the "Upload a file" button above to begin. Your PNG image/heightmap should fit within 600 x 600 pixels, if it is larger than this the image will be resized accordingly. Once you submit your image it will be processed as quickly as possible. More complicated images may take longer than others so please be patient. For more information about how your image is converted into the final 3D model please see the section below How Does it Work?.
Here are 3 simple steps to create an STL file from a PNG file.
The PNG image you upload can be any size, however our tool will resize it to a maximum of 600x600 pixels for normal users and for premium subscription holders this is increased to a maximum of 1000x1000 pixels.
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.
First click the "Upload..." button, select your PNG file to upload. Select any configuration options. When the PNG to STL conversion has completed, you can download your STL file straight away.
We aim to process all PNG 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.
We aim to create the most accurate conversions with our tools. Our tools are under constant development with new features and improvements being added every week.
Yes, of course! We do not store the PNG 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.
Yes! Our PNG 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 PNG 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.
In Standard mode our tool examines your 2D PNG image and based on the luminosity of each pixel, will create a corresponding "3D" pixel where the height of the pixel is determined by the pixel luminosity. A black pixel in your PNG will have a height of 0mm and not be included in the final 3D generated model, however a white pixel will have a height that you specify once your image is uploaded. The tool has a Invert Output option if you wish to reverse the model height calculations. When this option is selected a white pixel will have a height of 0mm and a black pixel will have the height you have specified. This mode is ideal for the conversion of detailed heightmap images into 3D models.
In Extrude mode our PNG tool behaves in a similar way to Standard mode except the tool attempts to find simple shapes in your image and it performs an Extrude operation on any shape found. The height of the extruded shape is again based on the pixel luminosity. This mode is ideal for simple images such as logos and other simple shapes such as coins (see our Coin examples in the library tab). We also have another version of this tool aimed at extruding images to color 3D models, this is only available to 3D file formats that support color such as 3MF.
The PNG graphics file format is a commonly used format for storing 2D images which can be highly compressed by the use of a palette if the image has a sufficiently low number of colors (256 colors in general). The PNG file is then further compressed using the DEFLATE compression algorithm to ensure small file sizes that are fast to download.
PNG files are seen as the logical successor to the GIF image file format and was devised in the mid-1990's as a superior format to GIF. PNG files are generally used for company logos, icons and other non-photographic image content. Saving a digital photo in the PNG format will create a much larger file than an equivalent JPG image hence the PNG format being unsuitable for most digital photo content.
| Extension | STL |
| Full Name | Standard Triangle Language |
| Type | 3D Model |
| Mime Type | application/vnd.ms-pki.stl |
| Format | Text & Binary |
| 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 or 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 an 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 which supports these formats.
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