Depthue Studio

STL checker: is this model ready to print?

Depthue Studio checks an STL the way a slicer will see it: whether it is a closed solid, whether it fits your build plate, how much of it overhangs, where the walls are too thin, and what it weighs. A print estimate adds grams, filament length, layers, time and cost from a real slice of the mesh.

Check an STL Every Studio feature

Free in your browser, no card. Files stay on your device until you save to the cloud.

Depthue Studio checks for a ribbed vase reporting Ready to print, with a print estimate of 72.6 g, 3 h 30 min and the filament cost

The short answer

Flags an open mesh, a part that does not fit the plate, more than 30% of the surface overhanging past 45 degrees, walls under 0.8 mm and loose pieces.
Reads volume, mass and the thinnest wall from the mesh after every operation.
The print estimate slices the mesh for grams, filament metres, layers, time and cost, with your layer height, walls, infill, speed and price.

Solid: Closed (watertight) or not, triangles, shells
Plate fit: Against 12 machine presets or a custom size: Bambu Lab, Prusa, Creality, an 8K resin printer, a 400 x 400 mm laser bed and a 300 x 180 mm CNC bed
Overhangs: Share of the surface facing down steeper than 45°; shading view with an angle from 20° to 80°
Thin walls: Thinnest wall measured from sampled surface points; flagged under 0.8 mm
Volume and mass: cm³ measured from the mesh; mass in PLA; any density from 0.3 to 25 g/cm³ in the print estimate
Print estimate: Grams, filament metres, layers, time and cost from layer height, nozzle, walls, infill, speed, density and price per kg
Tools: Overhang shading (O), layer and section view (L), measure (M), orthographic camera (5)

How to check an STL file for 3D printing

1
Open the model
Drop the STL, OBJ, 3MF, GLB or PLY on the plate and pick your printer in the Viewport panel.
2
Read the checks
The inspector lists what needs fixing in plain words, or Ready to print when nothing does.
3
Look closer
Press O for overhang shading, L for a slice at any layer, M to measure between two points.
4
Estimate the print
Estimate this part slices it with your settings and gives grams, metres of filament, layers, time and cost.

Overhang shading in Depthue Studio with the support angle slider set to 45 degrees over a vase and a sphere — Overhang shading (O): faces past the support angle turn red and faces within 15° of it turn amber. Faces resting on the plate stay plain.

Layer and section view in Depthue Studio at layer 375 of 750, showing the slice outline of a twisted vase — Layer view (L) draws the exact slice outline at any layer, with the layer number for your layer height. Gaps in the mesh show in red.

The five things that stop a print

Most failed prints of a downloaded or generated model come from a short list. Studio checks each one on the mesh after every operation, so a fix shows up in the report straight away.

Check	Flagged when	Usual fix
Closed solid	The mesh has holes, open edges or flipped faces	Repair operation
Build plate	The part is larger than the plate you picked	Scale, rotate or cut it
Overhangs	Over 30% of the surface faces down steeper than 45°	Rotate the part or add supports in the slicer
Thin walls	The thinnest wall measures under 0.8 mm	Thicken operation, or scale up
Several pieces	The file holds loose fragments	Keep largest shell, or a base plate to join them

Look at the problem, not just the number

Overhang shading (O) paints faces past the support angle red and faces within 15° of it amber. Set the angle between 20° and 80° to match your printer and material.
Layer view (L) cuts the model at any layer and draws the slice outline computed by the geometry engine, with the layer number for your layer height. Gaps in a broken mesh show in red.
Measure (M) reads the distance between two points in mm with dX, dY and dZ. Points snap to corners; hold Shift to place one freely.

Weight, time and cost before you slice

The print estimate slices the mesh with your layer height, nozzle, walls, infill, speed, material density and filament price, and returns grams, metres of filament, layers, time and cost. Your settings are remembered for the next part, which makes quoting a batch quick. For a quick quote without a model, the free 3D print cost calculator works from grams and hours.

Then fix it in the same place

Every fix is an operation in the STL editor: repair, thicken, cut, add a base plate, rotate. Change one and the checks update.

Questions

How do I check if an STL is printable?

Open it in Depthue Studio and read the checks: it must be a closed solid, fit your build plate, have walls of at least about 0.8 mm and not overhang too much. Studio lists each problem in plain words with a fix, or says Ready to print.

How do I know if my STL is watertight?

The Closed solid check says Yes or No for the mesh after all operations. If it says No, add the Repair operation, which welds vertices, fixes flipped faces and fills holes, then read the check again.

How do I calculate the volume and weight of an STL?

The checks show the volume in cm³ measured from the mesh and its mass as solid PLA. A real print with walls and infill weighs less; the print estimate gives that figure for your settings and any material density from 0.3 to 25 g/cm³.

How accurate is the print estimate?

It slices the real mesh at every layer with your layer height, walls, infill and speed, so grams and filament length come from the part's actual outlines and areas. It leaves out travel moves, acceleration, cooling and supports, so treat your slicer's time as the final figure.

Does it check overhangs?

Yes. The checks report the share of the surface facing down steeper than 45° and flag it above 30%. Overhang shading paints those faces red, and you can set the support angle from 20° to 80° for your printer.

Is it free?

Yes. Checks, overhang shading, layer view, measuring and the print estimate all run in your browser and never use credits.