More complex surfaces will require more triangles to define their surfaces, as they must be smaller to fit the curvature of each surface. It turned out that the tiny triangles, or facets, utilized to define the outer surface of the 3D model are perfect for defining simple and complex surfaces alike. This discovery was made as part of the process of transferring information from the 3D CAD system file to the 3D printer file.
This method was discovered in 1987 by Chuck Hill. Tessellations occur in the world around us commonly, examples include brick walls or tiled floors they can be made from simple shapes or complex shapes.Īn STL file uses triangles to perform tessellations for conveying information about the surfaces of a 3D model. Tessellation is a simple concept whereby a surface is covered with a pattern of shapes so that there are no overlaps or gaps. When a designer chooses to save a solid model as an STL (Standard Tessellation Language) file, the surface of the object is encoded using a concept called tessellation, hence the meaning of the STL acronym.
Creating the solid model involves defining the component’s geometry and typically involves a combination of planes, extrusions, surfaces, and possibly strategic material removal. The process to build an STL file first starts with the creation of the solid model by the CAD designer.
