# CNC Kitchen article: Slicer settings w/ STL vs Step exporting info

**URL:** <https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/cnc-kitchen-article-slicer-settings-w-stl-vs-step-exporting-info/42357>\
**Category:** 3D Printing\
**Created:** [October 20, 2026, 4:40am UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/cnc-kitchen-article-slicer-settings-w-stl-vs-step-exporting-info/42357 "2026-10-20T04:40:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Oregonerd](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/oregonerd/32/8012_2.png) [@Oregonerd](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Oregonerd)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 4:40am UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/cnc-kitchen-article-slicer-settings-w-stl-vs-step-exporting-info/42357/1 "2026-10-20T04:40:26Z")

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Interesting what he has to say about exporting STL vs Step.

[![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/shapr3d/original/3X/e/8/e89a9a7932d13ec74095260cb09e306d78c22c69.jpeg "Almost Nobody Uses This Slicer Setting - But It Can Make Walls MUCH Cleaner") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPfoNLJc9ZU)

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**Author:** ![Oregonerd](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/oregonerd/32/8012_2.png) [@Oregonerd](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Oregonerd)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2026, 2:07pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/cnc-kitchen-article-slicer-settings-w-stl-vs-step-exporting-info/42357/2 "2026-10-20T14:07:57Z")

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It looks like “smart infill” is going to be a thing in the near future. I’m hopeful it will encompass holes.

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**Author:** ![tinboxnotes\_sculptly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e19b73/32.png) [@tinboxnotes\_sculptly](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/tinboxnotes_sculptly)\
**Post date:** [October 27, 2026, 1:23am UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/cnc-kitchen-article-slicer-settings-w-stl-vs-step-exporting-info/42357/3 "2026-10-27T01:23:45Z")

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Some practical notes from printing a lot of exported parts:

- If your slicer reads STEP (PrusaSlicer 2.6+, Bambu Studio and OrcaSlicer all do), send it STEP. The slicer then meshes the true curves itself, so you skip the export-resolution guesswork entirely.

- If you have to use STL, export at the highest resolution. Low-resolution STLs turn holes into polygons, and a polygon’s flats sit inside the true circle, so holes come out a little undersized. On small holes for pins or screws that’s often the whole 0.1-0.2 mm you end up drilling out.

- 3MF is a decent middle ground when you’re sending a file to someone else: it’s still a mesh, but it carries units, so nobody opens your part at 1/25 scale.

- Whatever format you pick, a quick test plate with a few hole sizes (3, 5, 8 mm) tells you more about your printer’s hole compensation than any setting does.

On the “smart infill” point: Orca already has per-region modifiers you can place around holes to add perimeters there, which covers most of what I’d want until something automatic shows up.