STEL Converter

Extract text from Stella polyhedron files (STEL)


Drop or upload your .STEL file
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How to extract text from your STEL file

  1. Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your STEL file.
  2. You’ll see a preview, if available.
  3. Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.

Convert STEL to another file type

To convert STEL polyhedron files to another format, you need Stella or other 3D software.

Convert a file to STEL

To convert other file formats to the "Polyhedron Model" file type, you need software like Stella or a similar tool.


About STEL files

The .STEL file stores complex 3D and 4D geometric models, primarily polyhedra, created in Stella. It saves mathematical parameters including vertex coordinates, face structures, symmetry groups, and color mapping. These files are managed exclusively by the Stella software suite (Small Stella, Great Stella, or Stella4D) developed by Robert Webb. The major disadvantage of the .STEL format is its highly specialized, proprietary nature. Files cannot be opened directly in standard 3D applications like Blender or Autodesk AutoCAD. You typically need a paid license for Stella to natively open, edit, or prepare the models for printing. Users often need to convert .STEL to STL for 3D printing or OBJ and VRML for general 3D rendering. However, because the format is closed, standard online converters routinely fail to process it. This file format is difficult to open or convert. Emphasize that often only the original software can properly read or export the data. We can inspect the file, analyze its binary or text headers, and show internal content. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.

Convert.Guru analyzes your STEL file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.


FAQ

If you want to convert STEL file to OBJ, FBX, DAE, 3DS, MAX, BLEND, MA, MB, C4D, STL, PLY or WRL, you can use Stella or similar software from the "Polyhedron 3D Model Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….

To convert DWG, DAE, X3D, IGES, WRL, JT, SKP, 3DS, 3DM, OBJ, STEP or FBX files to STEL, try Stella or another comparable tool in the "Polyhedron 3D Model Storage" category.



The STEL Converter Story

The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our STEL converter.