I have bought a multi piece mold into preform and have scaled it (i sized it based on the build plate squares), i then printed all the pieces. I need to make changes to one of the pieces and need to export that piece out of preform as an stl so i can import it into blender to make the changes. How do i export the part as stl so i can bring it into blender?
Formlabs could make a mandatory check to see if you have an actual Formlabs printer before it would allow you to export .STL from .FORM file. That way they could somewhat limit the use of that feature so that non-formlabs users could not use formlabs software with other printers (unless someone who actually owns formlabs printer does the export for them).
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The new replace function in Preform 2.18.0 will scale an imported STL to the same dimensions as the part being replaced. So if you are only changing details there is no need to export a part to modify it.
Hi biilb how does the replace function work please? Have you used it before?
You right-click on the part you want to change and choose Replace from the contextual menu.
I’ve used it a number of times and it works well.
Regardless of how someone uses it would be a nice feature to have. Almost every other printer slicing software offers stl export (CURA, Simplify3d, even MakerBot slicer) as a standard feature. Why would we not expect it to be part of the feature set in preform.
Because it’s a free software, so you could use it’s features and then export to STL to use on another printer.
They’d have to make you buy Preform. But then Form2 users should not have to buy it since it should come with the Printer, but then again if Form2 users have 3 other printers and want to use their “free” Preform to generate supports for their other less supported printer… you see the issue.
Yes they could be nice and allow us to export. But business is business, Formlabs isn’t an open-source company 
Here is a use case…I’m wresting with an STL file that crashes every “repair” function that I have: my FDM slicer, meshmixer, etc. The only program that correctly repairs the model is Preform. But then I can’t get it back out. I’m trying to print it on an FDM printer.
Totally agree that you should be able to export/save the stl file. Especially when you have added a complex texture from an image. You can do it from the online texture engine so don’t understand why you can’t do it in Preform
I do a lot of 3d printing with quite a few slicers, and they all allow exporting an STL with supports, hollowing, holes, etc. This is just FL kind of being corporate IMO.
I need the exporting feature to export a textured part!
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+1
not including this feature is purely serving the company, not the customers. DUMB.
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I totally agree.
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I’d like to throw my hat in for this request. Though I don’t need .stl. I need a format that my customers can use to view the placement of supports WITHOUT having to download the .form file (and potentially f-up the print)
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I would like to bump this, would have saved me hours on certain projects over the years.
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From a business standpoint, Formlabs has little incentive to enable this feature. It is neither technically necessary nor essential to the normal operation of the printer, and enabling it would not create any obvious financial benefit for them. In fact, it could potentially work against their business model.
If we look at the broader resin-printing market, third-party slicers such as Chitubox and Lychee offer similar capabilities, including automatic orientation, support generation and raft creation. However, access to their more advanced features and automation is generally monetised through paid versions or subscriptions.
With Formlabs, PreForm is effectively included as part of the ecosystem. Customers have already paid a premium for the hardware, so Formlabs can provide a comparatively sophisticated software package without separately charging for it.
Allowing users to export fully prepared STL files from PreForm would change that dynamic. It could allow owners of third-party printers to use PreForm’s orientation, support-generation and other preparation tools without purchasing Formlabs hardware or otherwise contributing to the Formlabs ecosystem.
From a commercial perspective, there is therefore a clear reason for Formlabs to keep PreForm’s more advanced preparation capabilities tied to its own hardware rather than allowing them to become a free preprocessing tool for competing printers.
While everything you said is true, they could always lock it behind a printer detection or even open material mode license if they really wanted. Sure other companies could maybe reverse engineer their methods to some extent but I think the benefits gained by customers would be greater than that of what Formlabs loses here.
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Interesting, had not thought of that.
I don’t think the main concern is companies reverse-engineering Formlabs’ methods. I think it has more to do with people using printers from other manufacturers while still using PreForm as their preprocessing tool — essentially taking advantage of PreForm’s features, then exporting the prepared model into a free version of Chitubox or Lychee and slicing it there.
One of the strongest value propositions of the Formlabs ecosystem is its software. PreForm does a lot of the work required to get consistently good prints, and I can understand why Formlabs would want to keep that advantage exclusive to its own customers.
This was my thinking before you suggested this approach, though. Let’s see whether your proposed solution is something Formlabs considers viable.
Thank you for your input!
While this is not currently on our roadmap, I’ve flagged the recurring demand to our team.
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