Convert 3D files without uploading them

Triangle surfaces. What a 3D printer and a slicer expect.

• .stlRead — supportedWrite — supported

  STL

  The standard file for 3D printing. It stores triangles only: no colour, no units, no separate parts.

• .objRead — supportedWrite — supported

  OBJ

  A plain text mesh format from Wavefront. It keeps named groups and material names, with materials in a companion .mtl file.

• .plyRead — supportedWrite — supported

  PLY

  A mesh format used by 3D scanners. It can store a colour for every vertex, which STL cannot.

• .offRead — supportedWrite — supported

  OFF

  A very simple text mesh format: a list of points, then a list of faces. Common in academic geometry work.

• .gltfRead — supportedWrite — supported

  glTF

  The standard format for 3D on the web. The .gltf file is JSON and usually points at separate texture and geometry files.

• .glbRead — supportedWrite — supported

  GLB

  glTF packed into one binary file. Textures and materials travel inside it, so there is nothing to lose.

• .usdzRead — not supportedWrite — supported

  USDZ

  Apple's format for augmented reality. Open one on an iPhone or iPad and it stands up in the room through Quick Look.

  We write USDZ but cannot read one back: the scene inside is normally stored in a binary form that has no reader outside Pixar’s own library. Convert USDZ to STL shows you how to do it in free desktop software.

• .3mfRead — supportedWrite — supported

  3MF

  The modern 3D printing format. It keeps units, colour and several separate objects in one file. Slicer project files use it too.

• .daeRead — supportedWrite — not supported

  COLLADA

  An XML exchange format for 3D scenes. We can read it. Writing it is not useful enough to be worth the file size it produces.

  We can read this format but not write it.

• .fbxRead — supportedWrite — not supported

  FBX

  Autodesk’s animation and scene format, used across games and film. We can read it. Nobody can write it in a browser, so we do not pretend to.

  We can read this format but not write it. Convert OBJ to FBX shows you how to do it in free desktop software.

• .blendRead — not supportedWrite — not supported

  Blender

  A Blender project file. It is a snapshot of Blender’s own memory, so only Blender can open it. Export from Blender instead.

  We cannot read this format: only the program that made it can. Convert BLEND to STL shows you how to do it in free desktop software.

Exact solid geometry, with curves that stay curves.

• .stepRead — supportedWrite — supported

  STEP

  The universal CAD exchange format. It stores exact curved surfaces, not triangles, and every CAD program can open it.

• .igesRead — supportedWrite — not supported

  IGES

  The older CAD exchange format, still common in manufacturing. We can read it. For new files, use STEP instead.

  We can read this format but not write it.

• .brepRead — supportedWrite — not supported

  BREP

  The native shape format of OpenCASCADE, the CAD kernel behind FreeCAD. Rare outside that world, but we can read it.

  We can read this format but not write it.

• .3dmRead — supportedWrite — not supported

  Rhino 3DM

  The native file of Rhino, used in product design and jewellery. The format is open, so we can read it.

  We can read this format but not write it.

• .sldprtRead — not supportedWrite — not supported

  SolidWorks Part

  A single SolidWorks part. The format is closed and undocumented, so no free tool can read it. Export STEP or STL from SolidWorks instead.

  We cannot read this format: only the program that made it can. Convert SLDPRT to STL shows you how to do it in free desktop software.

• .sldasmRead — not supportedWrite — not supported

  SolidWorks Assembly

  A SolidWorks assembly. It only holds references to its parts, so the file alone is not enough even for SolidWorks.

  We cannot read this format: only the program that made it can. Convert SLDASM to STL shows you how to do it in free desktop software.

• .iptRead — not supportedWrite — not supported

  Inventor Part

  An Autodesk Inventor part. The format is closed. Export STEP or STL from Inventor instead.

  We cannot read this format: only the program that made it can. Convert IPT to STL shows you how to do it in free desktop software.

• .skpRead — not supportedWrite — not supported

  SketchUp

  A SketchUp model. Reading it needs Trimble’s own SDK, which cannot run in a browser. Export from SketchUp instead.

  We cannot read this format: only the program that made it can. Convert SKP to STL shows you how to do it in free desktop software.

Flat outlines. They become geometry once you give them a thickness.

• .svgRead — supportedWrite — supported

  SVG

  A flat vector drawing. Closed paths can be given a thickness to make a 3D shape, which is how signs, stencils and laser parts start.

• .dxfRead — supportedWrite — supported

  DXF

  The 2D drawing format that laser cutters and CNC machines accept. Like SVG, but built for machines rather than screens.

The moves a machine makes, rather than the model it was given.

• .gcodeRead — supportedWrite — not supported

  G-code

  The list of moves a printer or CNC machine actually performs. It is made for one specific machine, so we read it but never write it.

  We can read this format but not write it. STL to G-code shows you how to do it in free desktop software.

A picture becomes a shape through what its brightness means.

• .pngRead — supportedWrite — supported

  PNG

  A picture. Converted in, it becomes a flat plane carrying the image. Converted out, it is a render of the model as you have it framed.

• .jpgRead — supportedWrite — supported

  JPEG

  A photograph. Converted in, the brightness of each pixel becomes height. Converted out, it is a render of the model on a white background.

A folder with models inside it.

• .zipRead — supportedWrite — not supported

  ZIP

  A folder of files packed into one. Nearly everything downloaded from a model site arrives as one, usually holding several models, a readme and some photographs.

  We open a ZIP and read the models inside it. We do not write one, because a ZIP is a container rather than a format — choose the format you want and it is written directly.

• .rarRead — not supportedWrite — not supported

  RAR

  Another way of packing a folder into one file. Less common than ZIP, and the only one of the two whose compression is not free to implement.

  We cannot open a RAR. Its compression is licensed rather than published, so no browser tool can unpack one — but your computer already can, and then the files inside work here normally. How to get an STL out of a RAR file shows you how to do it in free desktop software.