# SVG to STL Converter

> To convert SVG to STL, extrude the SVG's filled shapes to a chosen height and save them as a 3D mesh. Kenerate's free converter does it in your browser: it scales the design to a width in millimetres, can raise each colour for multi-colour printing and adds a plate or keychain tab. Stroke-only paths must become fills first.

URL: https://kenerateai.com/svg-to-stl
Publisher: Kenerate AI (https://kenerateai.com)
Last updated: 2026-10-01

## Key facts
- Price: Free, no account
- Reads: Filled paths, shapes and compound paths (even-odd and nonzero fill rules)
- Skips: Stroke-only paths, embedded raster images, white background fills (optional)
- Size: 10–250 mm wide · 0.4–30 mm high, plus 0–5 mm extra per colour layer
- Base: None, plate, or keychain with ring hole
- Output: STL, 3MF, OBJ, GLB
- Smooth at any size: Curves are sampled from the vector itself, so a 20 mm badge and a 200 mm sign are equally clean.
- Colour layers: Each fill colour becomes a separate layer that can sit a little higher — so a filament change at each height prints a multi-colour logo on a single-nozzle printer.
- Holes stay holes: The inside of an O, A or a ring follows the SVG's fill rule, so it isn't filled in.
- Plate and keychain: Add a rounded backing plate or a keychain tab with a ring hole in one click.
- Parse: Paths, shapes and transforms are read; fills are grouped by colour.
- Resolve holes: Compound paths become outlines with holes according to the fill rule.
- Scale: The design is centred, flipped to Y-up and scaled to your width in mm.
- Extrude: Each colour is extruded to its height, optionally on a plate, and exported.
- STL (Stereolithography): Triangle mesh (binary or ASCII); by 3D Systems, 1987. Holds: Triangle surfaces, Facet normals. Lacks: Colour and textures, Units, Materials. Best for: 3D printing — every slicer opens it. Opens in: Cura, PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer, Blender.
- 3MF (3D Manufacturing Format): ZIP package with XML; by 3MF Consortium, 2015. Holds: Meshes with units (millimetres), Colours and materials, Several objects and build plates. Lacks: Animation. Best for: Modern 3D printing and multi-colour prints. Opens in: Bambu Studio, PrusaSlicer, OrcaSlicer, Cura, Windows 3D Builder.

## Steps
1. Add the SVG — Drop your .svg onto the box above, or try the two-colour sample.
2. Set width and height — Choose the finished width in mm and the extrusion height.
3. Layers and base — Add extra height per colour for multi-colour prints, and a plate or keychain tab if needed.
4. Download — Download STL or 3MF and slice.

## In depth

### Fills extrude, strokes don't
An SVG stroke is a line with a width that's only drawn on screen; it has no outline to extrude. Converting strokes to paths turns them into real filled shapes. Open paths that aren't closed can't be extruded either.

### Units: why sizes go wrong elsewhere
In CSS and SVG, 1 inch = 96 px = 2.54 cm [15], so 1 px ≈ 0.265 mm. Converters that treat one SVG unit as one millimetre make parts 3.78× too big. This tool sidesteps it: you set the finished width directly.

### Holes and fill rules
Whether the middle of an O is open depends on the path's fill rule (nonzero or even-odd) and the direction of its inner contour. The extrusion follows the same rule your browser uses to draw the SVG, so if it looks hollow on screen, it prints hollow.

### Make it printable
Thin parts below about 0.9 mm (two perimeters on a 0.4 mm nozzle) are risky [11]. Thicken fine lines or scale the design up before printing.

References:
[1] Wikipedia — STL (file format): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STL_(file_format)
[2] Wikipedia — Wavefront .obj file: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavefront_.obj_file
[3] Wikipedia — FBX: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBX
[4] Khronos Group — glTF: https://www.khronos.org/gltf/
[5] 3MF Consortium — 3MF specification: https://3mf.io/specification/
[6] Wikipedia — Universal Scene Description (USD / USDZ): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Scene_Description
[7] Wikipedia — PLY (file format): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLY_(file_format)
[8] Khronos Group — glTF 2.0 specification: https://registry.khronos.org/glTF/specs/2.0/glTF-2.0.html
[9] Apple — AR Quick Look: https://developer.apple.com/augmented-reality/quick-look/
[10] three.js — documentation: https://threejs.org/docs/
[11] Prusa Knowledge Base — Modeling with 3D printing in mind: https://help.prusa3d.com/article/modeling-with-3d-printing-in-mind_164135
[12] Prusa Blog — lithophanes and filament transparency: https://blog.prusa3d.com/lets-play-with-filament-transparency-how-to-make-amazing-lifelike-color-photos-with-just-a-simple-color-change_104338/
[13] Polymers (2024) 16(20):2862 — FFF parameters and translucency of PLA: https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16202862
[14] Wikipedia — Lithophane: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithophane
[15] W3C — CSS Values and Units Level 3 (absolute lengths): https://www.w3.org/TR/css-values-3/
[16] Adobe Substance 3D — OpenGL vs DirectX normal maps: https://experienceleague.adobe.com/en/docs/substance-3d/bakers/common-questions/what-is-the-difference-between-the-opengl-and-directx-normal-format
[17] Blender Manual — Normal Map node: https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/render/shader_nodes/displacement/normal_map.html
[18] Wikipedia — Normal mapping: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_mapping
[19] SIL Open Font License: https://openfontlicense.org/

## FAQ
Q: Is SVG to STL conversion free?
A: Yes — free, no account, and the SVG never leaves your browser.

Q: Why is part of my SVG missing?
A: Only filled shapes can be extruded. Lines drawn as strokes have no area — convert them with “Stroke to Path” (Inkscape) or “Outline Stroke” (Illustrator) and try again.

Q: What about text in my SVG?
A: Convert text to paths (“Object to Path” or “Create Outlines”) before exporting, otherwise the font isn't part of the file.

Q: How big will it be?
A: You choose the width in millimetres, so the SVG's own units don't matter. (In CSS and SVG, 96 px equals one inch, which is why some converters make files 3.78× too big when they treat a pixel as a millimetre.)

Q: Why is the inside of my letter filled?
A: The path's fill rule decides holes. If a hole is filled, set the path to even-odd fill or combine the shapes with “Difference” in your editor.

Q: Can I print it in several colours?
A: Yes. Set an extra height per colour, then add a filament change at each layer height in your slicer, or export 3MF and assign colours there.

Q: How do I convert SVG to STL in Blender?
A: Import it with File → Import → Scalable Vector Graphics, select the curves and raise Extrude in the Object Data properties, then convert to a mesh (Object → Convert → Mesh). Imported SVGs are tiny, so scale the model up before exporting STL. Or drop the SVG here and set the finished width in millimetres directly.

Q: Will a white background be printed?
A: Not by default — “Ignore white fills” leaves white shapes out. Untick it to keep them.

## Related pages
- AI 3D Model Generator: https://kenerateai.com/ai-3d-model-generator
- Image to 3D: https://kenerateai.com/image-to-3d-converter
- AI STL Generator: https://kenerateai.com/ai-3d-printing-model-generator
- Text to 3D: https://kenerateai.com/text-to-3d-generator

## Sources
- Wikipedia — STL (file format): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STL_(file_format)
- Wikipedia — Wavefront .obj file: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavefront_.obj_file
- Wikipedia — FBX: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBX
- Khronos Group — glTF: https://www.khronos.org/gltf/
- 3MF Consortium — 3MF specification: https://3mf.io/specification/
- Wikipedia — Universal Scene Description (USD / USDZ): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Scene_Description
- Wikipedia — PLY (file format): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLY_(file_format)
- Khronos Group — glTF 2.0 specification: https://registry.khronos.org/glTF/specs/2.0/glTF-2.0.html
- Apple — AR Quick Look: https://developer.apple.com/augmented-reality/quick-look/
- three.js — documentation: https://threejs.org/docs/
- Prusa Knowledge Base — Modeling with 3D printing in mind: https://help.prusa3d.com/article/modeling-with-3d-printing-in-mind_164135
- Prusa Blog — lithophanes and filament transparency: https://blog.prusa3d.com/lets-play-with-filament-transparency-how-to-make-amazing-lifelike-color-photos-with-just-a-simple-color-change_104338/
- Polymers (2024) 16(20):2862 — FFF parameters and translucency of PLA: https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16202862
- Wikipedia — Lithophane: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithophane
- W3C — CSS Values and Units Level 3 (absolute lengths): https://www.w3.org/TR/css-values-3/
- Adobe Substance 3D — OpenGL vs DirectX normal maps: https://experienceleague.adobe.com/en/docs/substance-3d/bakers/common-questions/what-is-the-difference-between-the-opengl-and-directx-normal-format
- Blender Manual — Normal Map node: https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/render/shader_nodes/displacement/normal_map.html
- Wikipedia — Normal mapping: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_mapping
- SIL Open Font License: https://openfontlicense.org/