The STL, or Standard Triangle Language, file format has been around since the '80s and is supported by most modern 3D modeling applications. In particular, the STL format has become something of a standard format within the area of 3D printing, despite the rise of more modern formats such as 3MF.
STL files come in two flavors: binary or text format. The text format is human-readable, making it easy to perform manual edits, but can lead to very large file sizes. As you can imagine, the binary format is much more compact and represents the majority of the STL files you are likely to encounter.
The format itself is very simple; the 3D model is represented by a sequential list of triangles, with each triangle defined with 3 points consisting of their X, Y, and Z positions, along with an additional vector that contains the face normal (the direction the face is pointing). There is an additional attribute block for each triangle; however, this is largely unused and thus unsupported.
STL Converter Capabilities
When converting 3D model or mesh files using our STL converter, we will attempt to convert color materials into a suitable format for use in the converted file.
| Extension | X |
| Full Name | Direct X File |
| Type | 3D Model |
| Mime Type | text/plain |
| Format | Text |
The X file format is the legacy format used by the Microsoft Direct X suite of components and tools. Specifically, X files are used to store hierarchical 3D objects along with their associated material, texture, lighting, and animation data.
The 3D data is stored as plain text in the X file, allowing for manual editing within a simple text editor. 3D mesh surfaces are defined using a series of vertex coordinates and joined with lists of face indices. Along with these are optional normal and texture coordinates for textured surfaces; the textures themselves are often stored as external files using the DDS file format.
As mentioned previously, the X format is a legacy format and is no longer widely supported, with developers preferring to use modern formats such as FBX instead. That said, some 3D modeling applications still support importing and exporting to the X format.
X Converter Capabilities
When converting your STL to X, our tool will attempt to accurately convert any color or material information.
