{"id":2954732,"date":"2026-01-27T11:51:31","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T19:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=2954732"},"modified":"2026-01-28T16:11:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T00:11:18","slug":"create-a-3d-printable-stl-with-arcgis-pro","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/3d-gis\/create-a-3d-printable-stl-with-arcgis-pro","title":{"rendered":"Create a 3D Printable STL with ArcGIS Pro"},"author":399105,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[23771,37151,738191],"tags":[25781,776262,763842],"industry":[],"product":[36561,36851],"class_list":["post-2954732","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-3d-gis","category-design-planning","category-developers","tag-3d","tag-3d-editing","tag-3d-printer","product-arcgis-pro","product-arcgis-pro-net"],"acf":{"authors":[{"ID":399105,"user_firstname":"Paul","user_lastname":"Gibbs","nickname":"Paul Gibbs","user_nicename":"pgibbsesri-com_esriinc","display_name":"Paul Gibbs","user_email":"pgibbs@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2025-09-03 19:17:08","user_description":"Developer Product Technical Support Analyst with Esri since 2021. Born and raised in Southern California, living in Seattle, Washington since 2022. BSc. Computer Science and picked up GIS along the way. Passionate about 3D Printing, 3D Data, FPV Drones, and all things Programming.","user_avatar":""}],"short_description":"Learn how to export 3D-printable STL models directly from ArcGIS Pro using a new open-source add-in built on the ArcGIS Pro SDK. ","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Have you always wanted a 3D Print from an ArcGIS Pro Local Scene? Download this Add-in<\/a> and follow these instructions<\/a> to bring your data to life!<\/strong><\/h2>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"kaltura","video_id":"1_fqw497wt","time":false,"start":0,"stop":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

In this post, I\u2019ll show how to export watertight, 3D-printable STL files directly from ArcGIS Pro and walk through real-world examples<\/em> like the Lincoln Memorial, Crater Lake, and Hawaiian bathymetry.<\/p>\n

You can now export an STL file directly from ArcGIS Pro<\/strong>! Thanks to the Graphics team\u2019s effort in ArcGIS Pro 3.5 they introduced the ExportSceneContentsFormat Class<\/a> into the ArcGIS Pro<\/strong> SDK<\/strong>. This class enables developers to export Local 3D Scene content programmatically as either a GLTF or STL file. This shipped as a backend implementation with no functional user interface to access it. This gap gave me the opportunity to create a simple ArcGIS Pro<\/strong> add-in that uses this class to export STL files and post-process the open mesh into a watertight, 3D-printable model.<\/p>\n

Github for the tool and how to download\/install<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I built an open-source tool that lets you use the ExportSceneContentsFormat<\/strong> class to create your own 3D-printable models in ArcGIS Pro<\/strong>. Visit the GitHub<\/a> repo for the source code and download the latest .esriAddinX release<\/a> to install the add-in in ArcGIS Pro<\/strong>. The GitHub README walks you through setup and first use.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2954814,"id":2954814,"title":"stlTool","filename":"stlTool.png","filesize":927160,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stlTool.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/3d-gis\/create-a-3d-printable-stl-with-arcgis-pro\/stltool","alt":"Screenshot of the 3D printing tool open with a local scene of Esri Offices","author":"399105","description":"","caption":"Screenshot of the 3D printing tool open with a local scene of Esri Offices","name":"stltool","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2954732,"date":"2026-01-27 19:21:14","modified":"2026-01-27 19:21:29","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1908,"height":828,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stlTool-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stlTool.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":201,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stlTool.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":333,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stlTool.png","large-width":1908,"large-height":828,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stlTool-1536x667.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":667,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stlTool.png","2048x2048-width":1908,"2048x2048-height":828,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stlTool-826x358.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":358,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/01\/stlTool.png","wide_image-width":1908,"wide_image-height":828}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

How to create your own 3D Printing Ready STL<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Install<\/strong> the STL Export add-in (double click on .esriAddinX)<\/li>\n
  2. Open<\/strong> a Local Scene in ArcGIS Pro<\/li>\n
  3. Set<\/strong> the basemap to Open Street Maps<\/li>\n
  4. Switch<\/strong> to the new STL Export<\/strong> ribbon tab<\/li>\n
  5. Choose<\/strong> extent method (screen \/ drawn \/ manual)<\/li>\n
  6. Set<\/strong> output folder and filename<\/li>\n
  7. Choose<\/strong>:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. \n
        \n
      1. Single STL vs per-object STLs<\/li>\n
      2. Base extrusion depth (feet)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \n
        1. Click<\/strong> Export<\/strong><\/li>\n
        2. Import<\/strong> STL into slicer (Bambu Studio<\/strong>, Snapmaker Orca<\/strong>, PrusaSlicer<\/strong>, etc.)
          \n

          Current Limitations<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n