I searched high and low for the best means to preview a 3D print file prior to opening them up in a slicer such as Lychee or Cura. 3D files can become large and heavy in no time, and this often means loading up a file one at a time into your slicing software is a slow and painful process.
Here is how you can preview files using free software from Microsoft called 3D Viewer. You can then see your 3D object rotating in Folders like this:
1. Download 3D Viewer by Microsoft
You can download it here for free. It’s quick to install.
2. Enable the Preview Pane in your Folders
Now, you’ll make sure ‘Preview’ is set in your folder. On Windows 10, you can find this by navigating to ‘View’, ‘Show’ and then ‘Preview Pane’.
Single-Click on 3D print files such as STL, and they will rotate in the preview pane. Easy!
Microsoft 3D Viewer currently supports a wide range of 3D file formats, including 3mf, fbx, obj, stl, ply, gltf, and glb.
