convert png to stl

[charles meyer]

My talented listmates,

A cartoonist friend wants to convert this drawing - character to 3D print them. I signed up for a free meshy account, uploaded the png, and clicked convert to stl but when I click Download it just displays all sorts of paying options. 

Has anyone used meshy and downloaded an .stl? 

Have you used luma? Tripo? Kaedim? Other AI or application which converts a png into stl for free? 

Thank you.

Charles.

[Jeff budrys]

There are free options here. The keychain generator is new, but might be a fast easy way to get what you need. I’ll try it this afternoon. 

Jeff 

On May 25, 2026, at 11:34, charles meyer <reachm...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[cha...@charlescollins.net]

When I used meshy that it defaults to the Version 6 "pay model". If you go back to meshy and use model version 5 ( in the bottom left after uploading the image) it will be free.
Charles C

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[John G. Heim]

FWIW, you can use inkscape to convert a  png to an svg file and then use openscad to convert the svg into an stl.

The inkscape command  is something like this:

$ inkscape --export-type=svg --export-filename=image.svg image.png

The openscad command is somewhat more complicated:

openscad -D "image=\"image.svg\"" -o "image.stl" svgtostl.scad

Here's the  svgtostl.scad code:

image="error";
linear_extrude(height = 1) {
    import(file = image);
}
I have no idea  if this  actually works. I know  it produces  an stl file  but I don't  know if you can print it. I  was messing around  with it trying to print some maps for a D&D game I was running. I was hoping to print the maps on  a 3D  printer so myself and  my blind  friends  could have  a map  to  go by.  It might be interesting to actually give it a try someday.

[Davie]

I use Inkscape and fusion for this often. In Inkscspe GUI and use Path > Trace Bitmap. You have to play around with how you want to define the lines, any smoothing and so on. Use the preview button to see if you are on the right track. I haven't found any one method to be universal, I just poke around until I find something that works.
Once you have an SVG then you can import that into a variety of CAD programs.
- Davie

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