These are the four butterfly designs turned into 3D files, supplied two ways: STL meshes for 3D printing, and STEP solids for CAD. Each butterfly is the flat silhouette raised to a single fixed height of 3 mm, so the result is a low, plate-like 3D butterfly rather than a sculpted, rounded model. The four are the same designs as the rest of the collection: a daisy and vine wing, a veined monarch, a rose and leaf wing, and a dotted, spotted one.
The STL files are the ones to print. Each is a closed, watertight mesh, which is the kind of clean geometry a slicer reads without holes or flipped faces to repair, so they import into slicers like Cura, PrusaSlicer, and ChiTuBox ready to set up. The actual print still depends on your printer, material, and settings, but the model going in is solid and closed rather than a broken shell. They suit both filament and resin machines, and because each butterfly is one connected piece at a flat 3 mm height, it prints as a single flat object that you can sand, paint, or finish afterward.
Because they are flat, single height butterflies rather than organic models, they work best for things that suit a low relief shape: a printed butterfly for wall or shelf decoration, a pendant or charm when scaled down, an ornament or magnet, or a positive master for making a silicone mold to cast from. A 3 mm plate is not a multi-part model to assemble or a rounded figurine; it is one clean raised silhouette.
The STEP files carry the same four butterflies as solid CAD models rather than meshes. Where an STL describes the shape as a surface of triangles, a STEP file holds true solid geometry, so it opens in CAD software as an editable solid you can measure, modify, or bring into a CAD assembly. These were exported as genuine CAD solids, not converted from the mesh, so if you work in CAD and want the butterfly as a real solid body rather than a print mesh, STEP is the version to use.
The four designs differ in detail. The monarch and the dotted butterfly are the most open and simple; the daisy and vine and the rose designs carry much finer interior work, so check the scale before printing or machining those small, since the thin floral detail needs enough size to hold at a 3 mm height.
File details:
- File types: STL (mesh, for 3D printing) and STEP (solid CAD model)
- Packages: one ZIP of 4 STL files, one ZIP of 4 STEP files
- Designs included: 4 butterflies each, two floral, one monarch, one dotted
- Height: single fixed 3 mm extrusion of the 2D silhouette
- STL: closed, watertight mesh, for filament (FDM) and resin (SLA/DLP) printers
- STEP: true B-Rep solid (AP214), exported as CAD solids, not mesh-converted
- Best for: 3D printed decoration, pendants and charms, ornaments, magnets, mold masters, CAD solid use
- Detail note: check scale on the floral designs before printing or machining small
Download the Free Butterfly STL and STEP Files
Download the STL files for 3D printing, or the STEP files if you want the butterflies as solid CAD models. Use one design or all four, and scale to the size your project needs, checking the finer floral detail before you print or machine it small.
Looking for other formats of this design? Our full collection includes SVG, PDF, DXF, DWG, PNG and CDR files. You can access them all on the main collection page.
License and Usage
These files are licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 for strictly personal, non-commercial use.
You are free to download, cut, and modify these designs for your personal projects. However, you may not sell the digital files or any physical products manufactured from them. If you share a modified version of this design, you must credit FreePatternsArea and distribute it under this exact same license.
Unauthorized redistribution, reproduction, or commercial exploitation of these files is a violation of intellectual property rights and may result in legal action.