3D Printer File Output [File menu]
This is for the particular types of files which can be read by 3D printing software. StereoLithograpy (.stl) files should be universally read, but they are bulky and have no color information. Wavefront (.obj) files do allow color, although few low-cost printing programs accept color. Colors for different crystals in twins or epitaxial intergrowths are specified in the 3D Crystal color dialog in the Input2 menu.
Only the crystals themselves (their faces) will be put in the file - no edges, crystal axes, symmetry elements etc. and no face fill colors or striations.
Scale factor. The finite tolerances in SHAPE calculations are designed for central distances on the order of 1 A, so it may be convenient to use the scale factor in this dialog - usually a factor of 10 or more is required to convert to printer coordinates if the files are read in as millimeters.
Separate objects/colors. When multiple crystals are present, they may be designated as separate objects (with color and other 3D materials for .obj files). If not, all crystals are simply part of a single object. Some programs may ignore the separate objects, but some may allow movement or deletion of the separate objects. If this is selected for .obj files, a separate .mtl file is written to contain the color and material properties (specified in the 3D materials dialog).
The Windows program AccuTrans 3D will read VRML (.wrl) files written by SHAPE and convert them to .stl, .obj and many other formats.