# Export in inches or mm?

**URL:** <https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/export-in-inches-or-mm/110>\
**Category:** Modeling Questions\
**Created:** [March 27, 2016, 9:56pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/export-in-inches-or-mm/110 "2016-03-27T21:56:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![pauldg123](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/pauldg123/32/157_2.png) [@pauldg123](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/pauldg123)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 9:56pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/export-in-inches-or-mm/110/1 "2016-03-27T21:56:47Z")

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When exporting a simple stl, and import them in Cura to 3d print them, the scale seems to be off. In Cura I use mm,. Is there a way to set the preferences to mm or inches? Or am I doing something wrong?

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**Author:** ![Istvan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/istvan/32/23668_2.png) [@Istvan](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Istvan)\
**Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/export-in-inches-or-mm/110/2 "2016-03-28T14:55:27Z")

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Currently units are in mm, but we are working on improving the unit system.

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**Author:** ![DuffleBag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@DuffleBag](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/DuffleBag)\
**Post date:** [February 10, 2017, 2:52am UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/export-in-inches-or-mm/110/3 "2017-02-10T02:52:52Z")

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So, does that mean if I draw something 2.75 inches tall and export it, the .stl will be 2.75mm tall instead?

P.S. This is a loaded question… it just happened to me.

I know this topic is a year old, but it might just still be relevant. Please advise!

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**Author:** ![Istvan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/istvan/32/23668_2.png) [@Istvan](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Istvan)\
**Post date:** [February 10, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/export-in-inches-or-mm/110/4 "2017-02-10T16:48:02Z")

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STL does not support units. So if you export to STL it won’t contain any info about the units.

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**Author:** ![DuffleBag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@DuffleBag](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/DuffleBag)\
**Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/export-in-inches-or-mm/110/5 "2017-02-20T15:49:47Z")

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Sorry for the long rely time. Life got in the way…

I think I found a repeatable bug.

90% of the time I work in mm, but I just got a couple requests to design a few things using inches.

To my surprise, when I exported stl, it object was very small.

After your helpful reply, and a little experimenting, I realized that your stl export converts my 10 inch cube, to a 10mm stl!

![](https://cdck-file-uploads-us1.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/flex002/uploads/shapr3d/original/1X/57a3b1bbead83cd589e771681d20daea5eab71cb.PNG) ![](https://cdck-file-uploads-us1.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/flex002/uploads/shapr3d/original/1X/d8387b39df2ea5d887b2ffe08d8ad38cd2e754ac.PNG)  
 ![](https://cdck-file-uploads-us1.s3.dualstack.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/flex002/uploads/shapr3d/original/1X/660373c0fba88346bd31e7fefc17136087c5a1d8.jpg)

Please add this to your next release!

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**Author:** ![Istvan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.shapr3d.com/istvan/32/23668_2.png) [@Istvan](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/Istvan)\
**Post date:** [February 20, 2017, 4:05pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/export-in-inches-or-mm/110/6 "2017-02-20T16:05:19Z")

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As I mentioned before, STL does not contain any unit information. It contains dimensionless numbers. If you create a 1x1x1 inch cube in Fusion, Rhino or any other system, and import it to cura, it will interpret the numbers in the STL as millimeters. STL unfortunately is a dumb format, and it is a shame that it is the standard for 3d printing.

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**Author:** ![DuffleBag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@DuffleBag](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/DuffleBag)\
**Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 2:51am UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/export-in-inches-or-mm/110/7 "2017-02-23T02:51:07Z")

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I see now. I guess still didn’t completely understand.

I’ll just scale all my inch work to 2540% and call it a day!

Thanks for clarifying…again 🙂