# Save volume rendering as STL file

**URL:** <https://discourse.slicer.org/t/save-volume-rendering-as-stl-file/524>\
**Category:** Support\
**Tags:** segmentation, faq\
**Created:** [June 19, 2017, 5:03am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/save-volume-rendering-as-stl-file/524 "2017-06-19T05:03:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 42

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**Author:** ![lassoan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/lassoan/32/13_2.png) [@lassoan](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/lassoan)\
**Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 2:52pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/save-volume-rendering-as-stl-file/524/42 "2021-10-21T14:52:09Z")

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> [@slicer365](#):
>
> Model from Radiant, the model is from the Radiant’s Volume Rendering

The images above with black background use volume rendering (raycasting) and those with blue background use surface rendering (rendering of polygonal meshes obtained using segmentation). You can see the difference between quality and level of detail.

Even though the skin and bone surface have very strong boundaries (so volume rendering is quite surface-rendering-like), surface rendering limitations are visible near the sutures and near the orbital bone, and for the skin rendering near the small wedges near the eyes and ears. Since the depth of the features are quite shallow, you could capture them as texture using “Probe volume with model” module - see how it is done [here](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/retain-image-color-in-volume-rendering/12294/24):

 ![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/slicer/original/2X/4/43242f476836a72628642f4fbd41a544539749c1.jpeg)

But surface rendering, even with textures, would never be able to come near to rendering structures that have more transparency, such as this:

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/o5I_XWkm1nk/maxresdefault.jpg "Color volume rendering") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5I_XWkm1nk)

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