What can I do with it?
- Prepare a model for 3D printing: convert a model from a 3D program, a game or a download site to 3MF or STL, the formats slicers (PrusaSlicer, Cura, Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer) read. "Repair the mesh" fixes faces that point inwards and removes broken faces. It doesn't close holes in a model.
- Use a model in another program: many programs read only a few formats. Convert e.g. an FBX from a game asset to glTF for a website, AR or three.js, or a glTF to OBJ or FBX for Blender, SketchUp, Unity or a CAD program.
- Look at a model: the 3D preview shows it with its size and number of faces, without installing a program.
Which format is best for 3D printing?
3MF, if your slicer reads it (all current ones do). A 3MF file says that its numbers are millimeters, so the model comes out in the right size, and it is compressed, so it is smaller than an STL. STL is the oldest and most widely supported format: take it for older programs and for print services that ask for STL. An STL has no unit: slicers assume millimeters, so a model made in inches or meters comes out 25 times too small or 1000 times too large; check the size in the preview. Binary STL is about four times smaller than ASCII STL and is read by every slicer.
Output formats
- STL, binary or ASCII (.stl): the standard for 3D printing
- 3MF (.3mf): the newer 3D printing format
- glTF binary (.glb) and glTF (.gltf with .bin): for the web, AR and game engines; GLB contains the textures
- Wavefront OBJ (.obj with .mtl)
- Autodesk FBX (.fbx)
- Collada (.dae)
- Stanford PLY, ASCII (.ply)
Input formats
Nearly every mesh format: STL, OBJ, FBX, glTF/GLB, Collada (DAE), 3DS, Blender (BLEND), PLY, 3MF, AMF, X3D, DirectX (X), AutoCAD DXF, IFC, LightWave (LWO, LWS), Milkshape (MS3D), Quake (MD2, MD3, MDL), Ogre (MESH.XML), Irrlicht, AC3D, OFF, STEP and more. Some features of a format (e.g. animations) may get lost, depending on the input and output format.
A model with extra files (an OBJ with its MTL and textures, a glTF with its BIN) needs them all: upload them together as ZIP. Textures are taken along into the result.
Repair
The option "Repair the mesh" removes degenerate faces (with no area) and invalid data and turns normals that point inwards. Identical vertices are always joined, and all faces become triangles.
Limits
You can upload models of up to 50 MB; a ZIP may contain up to 500 files and 300 MB unpacked.
Used tools
This converter uses the Open Asset Import Library (assimp) and, for the 3D preview, three.js.