3D file formats
Every 3D format makes a different trade — printing vs the web, geometry vs materials, simple vs self-describing. Here's what each of the common ones actually stores, in plain English, so you can tell which file you have and which you want.
The 3D-printing standard — bare triangles, no color, no units.
The interchange lingua franca — plain-text mesh, with a .mtl for materials.
The web & AR bundle — mesh, materials and animation in one binary.
The open standard — GLB's readable JSON twin, “the JPEG of 3D.”
STL's modern successor — color, units and multiple parts in one file.
Want to do something with a file rather than read about it? Open one in the free 3D viewers, or change its format with the 3D file converters — all in the browser.
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