Apple's USDZ format is everywhere on iOS — scans, AR models, Quick Look downloads — and no slicer on earth reads it. Here's the two-tap conversion that keeps it all on your phone.
Updated November 7, 2026 · Published by Forma3D
USDZ is Apple's zipped Universal Scene Description package — geometry, textures, materials and scene graph bundled for AR Quick Look. It's the default output of iPhone scanning pipelines, which is exactly why "scan to STL" usually means "USDZ to STL" underneath.
In Files, tap your .usdz file and open it with Forma3D (or use Import inside the app). The mesh loads in the editor — check it rotates correctly, then open Export and choose STL, 3MF or OBJ. The result lands back in Files, ready for a slicer or the printer path.
Scans and AR models usually need a pass first: crop the capture floor and artifacts, repair non-manifold edges, and rescale — USDZ scenes often carry odd unit scales. Forma3D does all of this in Edit mode before you export, so the STL arrives print-ready rather than just converted.
If the model came from Forma3D's own Object Capture scanning, the full flow is covered in scan to STL on iPhone.
STL — maximum compatibility, geometry only, colors dropped. 3MF — keeps per-face colors, units and print metadata; pick it for multi-filament or when the model carries painted regions. OBJ — for DCC tools (Blender, etc.) that expect material sidecars.
USDZ is Apple's packaging format for AR content — a zipped container of USDC scenes, textures and materials. Slicers and printers can't read it; converting extracts the mesh geometry into STL, 3MF or OBJ that print software understands.
Yes — Forma3D opens USDZ files directly in Files on iPhone or iPad, shows the mesh in the editor, and exports STL, 3MF or USDZ. The whole conversion runs on-device.
The mesh geometry transfers losslessly. What can change: STL drops colors and materials (use 3MF to keep per-face color), textures don't convert to geometry, and unit scale may need checking — Forma3D lets you rescale in millimeters before export.
Apple's own scanners (Forma3D's Object Capture, ARKit), the Measure app ecosystem, AR Quick Look downloads, Sketchfab and Apple sample models — anything saved into Files as .usdz.
Available on iPhone and iPad