Free 3D File Converter

STL is the oldest and most universal 3D printing format. It describes a model as a plain list of triangles - nothing else. No colors, no materials, no units, no object names. That simplicity is exactly why every slicer, CAD tool, and print service on earth accepts it.

3MF is the modern 3D-printing format designed to fix STL's gaps. A single .3mf file can hold multiple objects with names, colors, materials, real units, and even slicer settings like plate layout - which is why modern slicers such as Bambu Studio and PrusaSlicer use it as their native project format.

OBJ is the plain-text workhorse of 3D interchange. It stores vertices, faces, UV coordinates, and normals in a human-readable file, with materials referenced from a companion .mtl file. Practically every 3D application of the last 30 years can read it.

GLB is the binary form of glTF, often called "the JPEG of 3D". One file packs the full scene: meshes, PBR materials, embedded textures, animations, and a real unit scale (meters). It is the standard for 3D on the web and the default output of most AI 3D generators.

glTF is the JSON flavor of the same Khronos standard behind GLB. The scene description is human-readable JSON, typically pointing at external binary buffers and texture images. Same capabilities as GLB - PBR materials, animations, real units - in a multi-file layout.

PLY was designed at Stanford to store scanned 3D data. Its superpower is per-vertex properties - most importantly vertex colors - which makes it the default output of 3D scanners, photogrammetry pipelines, and Gaussian-splatting tools.

FBX is Autodesk's proprietary scene format and the long-standing standard for moving rigged, animated characters between DCC tools and game engines. Skeletons, skinning, blend shapes, and animation clips all travel inside one file.

COLLADA (.dae) is an XML-based interchange format that predates glTF. It can carry full scenes with materials, rigs, and animations, and remains common in SketchUp exports, older asset marketplaces, and legacy game pipelines.

STEP is the engineering world's exchange format: an ISO standard that describes parts as exact mathematical solids (B-rep) rather than triangle meshes. CAD packages, CNC shops, and manufacturers all speak STEP - it is how precise parts travel between engineering tools.

USDZ is Apple's AR format: Pixar's Universal Scene Description packed into a single file that iPhones and iPads open natively in AR Quick Look - no app required. E-commerce product previews on Apple devices run on USDZ.