DAE to STL converter: the surface, as it is
Drop a .dae and get one .stl file, converted in Blender on our server. The trip keeps the geometry and nothing more; the skeleton and the skin weights, the shape keys and the materials and the textures cannot come along. Free, no account, nothing to install.
How do I convert DAE to STL?
Drop the file on this page, wait while the server converts it, and download one .stl file.
- 1Choose a .dae, or a zip of the folder that holds it with its textures. Files up to 50 MB.
- 2The converter opens it in Blender on our server and writes STL. Most files take under a minute; the page shows the result in 3D when it is done.
- 3Download one .stl file. The upload and the result are deleted 3 days later.
- In:
- .dae (or a zip with its textures)
- Out:
- one .stl file
- Keeps:
- the geometry
- Cost:
- free, no account
- The skeleton and the skin weights, the shape keys and the materials and the textures cannot be carried into STL.
What survives the trip
A Collada file states its unit and its up axis and both are honoured. It names its images by path and does not contain them, so zip the .dae with its texture folder. A file that names an image by an absolute path, a web address, a path leading out of the folder, or that pulls in another Collada document, is refused: re-export it as one document with relative paths.
The result is a binary STL of every mesh in the file, merged into one solid, written in the pose the model holds. Materials, textures, bones and shape keys do not exist in STL and are not written.
DAE and STL do not hold the same things, and the page says so before you upload: the trip keeps the geometry and nothing more, and the skeleton and the skin weights, the shape keys and the materials and the textures cannot come along. STL is what every slicer and every CAD tool reads.
What this conversion cannot do
Measured on real files, not assumed. Everything below is a property of the formats or of the pipeline, and knowing it beforehand is cheaper than discovering it in your 3D tool.
Collada importers disagree with each other
The reader handles files written by Blender and by most current exporters. Files from older Maya and 3ds Max plug-ins, SketchUp or game rippers vary a great deal. Open the result in a viewer before relying on it.
Converted is not the same as printable
Nothing is repaired, thickened or made watertight. A model built for rendering is a set of open shells, and a slicer will show the holes. That is a modelling job or the repair step in your slicer, not a format conversion.
Uploads stop at 50 MB
A larger file is refused before anything is uploaded. Decimate a dense mesh or shrink the textures in your 3D tool first; neither changes the format.
Frequently asked questions
Will the model keep its real size?
Yes. Unlike STL or PLY, a Collada file states its unit and its up axis, and both are applied: a model declared in centimetres and Y-up arrives at the right size and upright.
My model has several parts. Do I get several files?
No, one STL with every mesh in it. Split it in your slicer or 3D tool if you want the parts apart.
Is anything uploaded, and for how long?
Yes: the file you drop goes to our server in New York, is converted there, and both the upload and the result are deleted 3 days after the conversion. Nothing is shared with anyone.
Can I look at the DAE first?
Yes, without uploading anything: the DAE viewer draws it in your browser. Open the DAE viewer →
Can this become a VTuber avatar?
Not from STL: an avatar needs a skeleton, skin weights and a face that moves, and STL has no room for them. Convert the rigged source to VRM instead.
The other format pairs
All 50 are free, all run the same pipeline, and all say what they drop.
STL to GLB
STL in, GLB out, free: one file.
STL to FBX
STL in, FBX out, free: one file.
STL to OBJ
STL in, OBJ out, free: zipped with its files.
DAE to GLB
DAE in, GLB out, free: one file.
DAE to FBX
DAE in, FBX out, free: one file.
DAE to OBJ
DAE in, OBJ out, free: zipped with its files.
GLB to STL
GLB in, STL out, free: one file.
FBX to STL
FBX in, STL out, free: one file.
OBJ to STL
OBJ in, STL out, free: one file.
STL to PLY
STL in, PLY out, free: one file.
STL to DAE
STL in, DAE out, free: zipped with its files.
STL to USDZ
STL in, USDZ out, free: one file.
PLY to STL
PLY in, STL out, free: one file.
DAE to PLY
DAE in, PLY out, free: one file.
DAE to USDZ
DAE in, USDZ out, free: one file.
USDZ to STL
USDZ in, STL out, free: one file.
3MF to STL
3MF in, STL out, free: one file.
STL to 3MF
STL in, 3MF out, free: one file.
GLB to DAE
GLB in, DAE out, free: zipped with its files.
FBX to DAE
FBX in, DAE out, free: zipped with its files.
OBJ to DAE
OBJ in, DAE out, free: zipped with its files.
PLY to DAE
PLY in, DAE out, free: zipped with its files.
USDZ to DAE
USDZ in, DAE out, free: zipped with its files.
Only want to look at the file? GLB viewer, FBX viewer and OBJ viewer all run on your own device — nothing is uploaded.
Is your model going into VTubing?
Converting because the model is going into VTubing? STL is not the format those apps read. The same rigged file becomes a VRM with its humanoid bones mapped and its materials converted, in one step on the FBX to VRM converter.
Open the VRM converter