Import Export

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Revision as of 13:27, 4 August 2018 by Renatorivo (talk | contribs)

This page gathers the different file formats that can be imported or exported from FreeCAD. Most of these file formats are implemented by a specific module. This module doesn't need to be loaded in order to import or export to that format, but must be loaded to display the corresponding preferences page.

Format Description Import Export Module Preferences page
FCStd FreeCAD's native file format yes yes Built-in no
FCMat FreeCAD Material Card yes yes Built-in no
FCMacro FreeCAD Macro yes yes Built-in no
STEP One of the most widely used exchange format for engineering models yes yes Part yes
STPZ Compressed version of STEP exchange format for engineering models yes yes Part yes
IGES A bit older but still much in use solid-based format yes yes Part yes
BREP OpenCasCade's native format yes yes Part no
DXF Autodesk Exchange Format. Only 2D geometry is supported yes yes Draft yes
DWG Autocad main format. Only 2D geometry is supported. Requires the installation of external software. yes yes Draft yes
SVG 2D format widely used for vector graphics yes yes Draft / Drawing yes
OCA Open CAD Format (obsolete, 2D-only format) yes yes Draft yes
IFC Industry Foundation Classes, used to exchange BIM models. Requires the installation of external software. yes yes Arch yes
DAE Collada format, used for exchange of mesh geometry yes yes Arch yes
OBJ Mesh exchange format yes yes Arch / Mesh no
STL Mesh exchange format mostly used for 3D printing yes yes Mesh no
BMS Binary mesh exchange format yes yes Mesh no
AST Mesh exchange format yes yes Mesh no
OFF Mesh exchange format yes yes Mesh no
PLY Mesh exchange format / Points cloud yes yes Mesh / Points no
INP Abaqus format yes yes FEM no
POLY Tetgen format no yes FEM no
UNV FEM exchange format yes yes FEM no
MED FEM exchange format yes yes FEM no
DAT FEM exchange format (FEM) or 2D airfoil profile (Draft) yes yes FEM / Draft no
BDF FEM exchange format yes no FEM no
FRD CalculiX result format yes no FEM no
NC G-Code file format yes yes Path no
GC G-Code file format yes yes Path no
NCC G-Code file format yes yes Path no
NGC G-Code file format yes yes Path no
CNC G-Code file format yes yes Path no
TAP G-Code file format yes yes Path no
GCODE G-Code file format yes yes Path no
EMN IDF file format yes no Idf no
IV OpenInventor file format yes yes Built-in no
VRML Web 3D format yes yes Built-in no
WebGL (HTML) Web 3D format no yes Arch no
SCAD OpenSCAD file format yes yes OpenSCAD no
CSG OpenSCAD Constructive Solid Geometry yes yes OpenSCAD no
ASC Points cloud format yes no Points no
POV Povray format no yes Raytracing no
CSV Comma-separated values spreadsheet yes yes Spreadsheet no
PDF Adobe portable document format no yes Built-in no