STL to FBX converter: the surface, as it is
Drop an .stl and get one .fbx file, converted in Blender on our server. The trip keeps the geometry and nothing more; nothing the source holds is lost on the way. Free, no account, nothing to install.
How do I convert STL to FBX?
Drop the file on this page, wait while the server converts it, and download one .fbx file.
- 1Choose an .stl. Files up to 50 MB.
- 2The converter opens it in Blender on our server and writes FBX. Most files take under a minute; the page shows the result in 3D when it is done.
- 3Download one .fbx file. The upload and the result are deleted 3 days later.
- In:
- .stl, ASCII or binary
- Out:
- one .fbx file
- Keeps:
- the geometry
- Cost:
- free, no account
What survives the trip
An STL is a list of triangles and nothing else, ASCII or binary. There are no materials, no texture coordinates, no colours and no unit: the numbers are taken as they are. The Z-up of printing is turned so the part stands upright in Y-up formats.
The result is a binary FBX with the mesh, and the materials and images where the source has them, embedded in the file so it travels as one piece. The source has no skeleton, so none is written.
STL and FBX do not hold the same things, and the page says so before you upload: the trip keeps the geometry and nothing more, and nothing the source holds is lost on the way. FBX is what Unity, Unreal, Maya, 3ds Max and Blender open natively.
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.
The numbers come through as they are; no unit is guessed
STL has no unit field. A part modelled as 100 millimetres is written as 100 units, and a program that works in metres reads it as a hundred metres tall. Scale it by 0.001 in the program you open it in.
An FBX names its textures by path when they are not embedded
We embed every image we have, so the file opens textured wherever it goes. An image the source never contained cannot be embedded; the material then names it by file name and your 3D tool asks for it.
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
ASCII or binary STL?
Both are read. They hold the same triangles; the ASCII form is several times larger, so it reaches the upload limit with far fewer triangles.
Will Unity and Unreal read the file?
Yes, as any FBX: the mesh, the materials and the embedded images come in. The source has no skeleton, so there is nothing to map onto a humanoid.
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 STL first?
Yes, without uploading anything: the STL viewer draws it in your browser. Open the STL viewer →
Can this become a VTuber avatar?
Not as it is: an avatar needs a skeleton, skin weights and a face that moves, and an .stl has none of them. Rig and texture the model in Blender first, then convert the rigged file to VRM.
The other format pairs
All 50 are free, all run the same pipeline, and all say what they drop.
GLB to FBX
GLB in, FBX out, free: one file.
FBX to GLB
FBX in, GLB out, free: one file.
FBX to OBJ
FBX in, OBJ out, free: zipped with its files.
Blender (.blend) to FBX
Blender (.blend) in, FBX out, free: one file.
STL to GLB
STL in, GLB out, free: one file.
STL to OBJ
STL in, OBJ out, free: zipped with its files.
PLY to FBX
PLY in, FBX out, free: one file.
DAE to FBX
DAE in, FBX out, free: one file.
USDZ to FBX
USDZ in, FBX out, free: one file.
FBX to STL
FBX in, STL out, free: one file.
FBX to PLY
FBX in, PLY out, free: one file.
FBX to DAE
FBX in, DAE out, free: zipped with its files.
FBX to USDZ
FBX in, USDZ 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.
3MF to FBX
3MF in, FBX out, free: one file.
FBX to 3MF
FBX in, 3MF out, free: one file.
STL to 3MF
STL in, 3MF out, free: one file.
GLB to STL
GLB in, STL out, free: one file.
OBJ to STL
OBJ in, STL out, free: one file.
PLY to STL
PLY in, STL out, free: one file.
DAE to STL
DAE in, STL out, free: one file.
USDZ to STL
USDZ in, STL out, free: one file.
3MF to STL
3MF in, STL out, free: one file.
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?
An .stl is a surface without a skeleton, so no converter can make a VRM avatar out of it directly. Rigged and textured in Blender, the same model converts to VRM on the FBX to VRM converter, with the bones mapped onto the VRM humanoid.
Open the VRM converter