<p>3D objects can be defined mathematically using so-called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parametric_surface" rel="nofollow noreferrer">parametric surfaces</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_triangulation" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Turning</a> them into a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygon_mesh" rel="nofollow noreferrer">polygon mesh</a> introduces slight imperfections.</p>
<p>Can 3D printer software deal with parametric surfaces, i.e. take into account the intended parametric surface and how to use the 3D printer to approximate it well, or can it only open polygon meshes?</p>
<p><a href="https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/10533/slicing-directly-from-non-mesh-data">Here</a> is a related question about implicit surfaces or voxel grids (as opposed to parametric surfaces).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-10-31T19:21:36.010Z
Most slicers take triangles. OBJ, PLY, 3MF, UFP, CTM, STL, etc.. What kind of format would a parametric surface be exported as?
Mast
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-12-19T23:29:22.350Z
@Mast Any appropriate formats shoud be fine. For example, FreeCAD is ["natively parametric"](https://www.freecadweb.org/features.php#:~:text=natively%20parametric) (see my question) and supports ["dozens of different file formats"](https://www.freecadweb.org/features.php#:~:text=dozens%20of%20different%20file%20formats), some of which support parametric surfaces.
root
<software><surface>
How to discretize parametric surfaces as late as possible
root
# How to discretize parametric surfaces as late as possible

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-10-31)

3D objects can be defined mathematically using so-called [parametric surfaces](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parametric_surface).

[Turning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_triangulation) them into a [polygon mesh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygon_mesh) introduces slight imperfections.

Can 3D printer software deal with parametric surfaces, i.e. take into account the intended parametric surface and how to use the 3D printer to approximate it well, or can it only open polygon meshes?

[Here](https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/questions/10533/slicing-directly-from-non-mesh-data) is a related question about implicit surfaces or voxel grids (as opposed to parametric surfaces).

**Tags:** software, surface

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Most slicers take triangles. OBJ, PLY, 3MF, UFP, CTM, STL, etc.. What kind of format would a parametric surface be exported as?  
> **username_0**: @username_1 Any appropriate formats shoud be fine. For example, FreeCAD is ["natively parametric"](https://www.freecadweb.org/features.php#:~:text=natively%20parametric) (see my question) and supports ["dozens of different file formats"](https://www.freecadweb.org/features.php#:~:text=dozens%20of%20different%20file%20formats), some of which support parametric surfaces.  

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## 0 answers

