Simplifying 3D Models

Have you ever used an application to generate a 3D model and ended up with an enormous .stl file? When I use HueForge, the resultant .stl files are usually around 125 MB. When I use TouchTerrain, I also end up with large 3D models. However, unnecessarily large models require more time for slicing and more storage space. Furthermore, if you plan to share your models on Thingiverse or other 3D model repositories, it may not be necessary to propagate such large models. Finally, what’s most important to me is that sometimes I want to edit models in Tinkercad, but 3D model imports are limited to files with 300,000 triangles or less. This is where mesh simplification comes in handy.

Mesh simplification, also known as mesh decimation or polygon reduction, is the process of reducing the number of polygons in a 3D model while maintaining as much of the original shape, appearance, and important features of the model as possible. This is similar in concept to compressing images and audio files where the intent is to reduce file size while preserving as much of the image or audio quality as possible. Mesh simplification is a feature of Blender, Meshmixer, MeshLab, SolidWorks, and other 3D modeling applications. But what if you don’t have any of these applications? While some of them are free to use, I haven’t wanted to install an application for the sole purpose of using its mesh simplification feature.

Fortunately I discovered 2 potential solutions that are both free and can run straight from your web browser. The first is 3DLess.com where you simply choose your file, specify the target number of vertices, and save your file. If you are concerned about privacy, a big benefit is that the processing happens locally on your web browser, meaning that your file is not uploaded. In my limited experience, this has not successfully reduced polygon counts or file sizes on the large .stl files that I’ve been trying to simplify. I assume I’m doing something wrong, so I mention this website in case others find success with it.

My preferred option is Fast Quadric Mesh Simplification. Simply choose your file, specify a % reduction, and click the “Simplify” button. I’ve found that it simplifies 125 MB HueForge files in a matter of seconds, and despite reducing polygons to 10% of its original size, I cannot visually tell the difference between the original and simplified models. Most importantly, this website has reduced models to the point where I can import them into Tinkercad and make simple modifications.

If you are looking for a free and easy solution to simplify your 3D models, I hope you are able to get great results with one of the above options. If you are aware other other websites that do something similar, let me know!