Saving, opening & exporting
Work is saved as an .h8prt/.h8asm/.h8drw history file that rebuilds on load; export STL for printing, DXF for flat patterns and drawings.
hammer8 runs entirely in your browser — no account, no cloud. Files live on your disk.
The hammer8 file
Save / Save As (top bar) write an .h8prt file (assemblies: .h8asm, drawings: .h8drw): it stores the feature history, not the final mesh, so it is tiny and rebuilds exactly on load — parts, assemblies and drawings all use it. Open and Recent bring a file back; the tab strip lets several documents stay open side by side.
- A part saved months ago still opens — the format is kept backward-compatible, and the older
.wcad/.wcadprt/.wcadasm/.wcaddrwnames open exactly the same (Save As suggests the new extension when you want to migrate). - Rename features in the tree before saving; names travel with the file.
Exporting
- Export STL (top bar) — a mesh of the visible bodies for 3D printing. Tessellation quality follows the status-bar setting.
- Sheet metal — export the flat pattern as DXF from the Sheet Metal tab (Sheet metal).
- Drawings — export PDF / DXF, or print, from the drawing sheet (2D drawings).
- DXF import — bring 2D profiles into a sketch (Import a DXF profile).
When it fails
- The browser asks where to save every time — use the same folder; Recent keeps the list.
- An old file shows warnings after opening — geometry references can go stale across big edits; see Fix a rebuild error for repairing them.
Related: Your first part (sketch → extrude) · A tour of the interface