Polygonal Modeling - File Formats

File Formats

A variety of formats are available for storing 3d polygon data. The most popular are:

• .3ds, .max, which is associated with 3D Studio Max
• .mb and .ma, which are associated with Maya
• .lwo, which is associated with Lightwave
• .lxo, which is associated with modo (software)
• .obj (Wavefront's "The Advanced Visualizer")
• .c4d associated with Cinema 4D
• .dxf, .dwg, .dwf, associated with AutoCAD
• .md2, .md3, associated with the Quake series of games
• .fbx (Alias)
• .rwx (Renderware)
• .wrl (VRML 2.0)
• .blend, which is associated with Blender
• .jt originally developed by Siemens PLM Software; now an ISO standard.
• .dae (COLLADA)
• .u3d (Universal 3D)
• .stl used in rapid prototyping
• .ply used to store data from 3D scanners
• .nif (NetImmerse/gamebryo)
• .mdl used with Valve Software's Source Engine