Question 1

Which 3D file converter do I need?

Accepted Answer

Find your source format in the left column of the table above and your target across the top — the cell is the converter. If you're printing, target STL or 3MF; if you're editing elsewhere, OBJ; for web or AR, GLB.

Question 2

Is the 3D model converter free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every converter here is free with no signup, no watermark and no file-size paywall. There's no trial and no paid tier.

Question 3

Is there a free STL file converter here?

Accepted Answer

Yes — STL is both the most common source and the most common target. Read the STL row of the table for STL → OBJ, GLB, 3MF and PLY, or the STL column for everything that converts into STL. All of it is free and runs locally.

Question 4

Which FBX converter should I use?

Accepted Answer

FBX is read-only in Flip3D: it converts to STL, OBJ, GLB, 3MF or PLY, but there's no FBX exporter, so nothing converts to FBX. Pick the target from the FBX row above, or open the file first in the FBX viewer.

Question 5

Do my files get uploaded to a server?

Accepted Answer

No. There is no server and no upload. Every conversion runs in your browser with three.js and WebAssembly, and nothing is stored.

Question 6

Which formats can Flip3D read, and which can it write?

Accepted Answer

It reads STL, OBJ, GLB/glTF, 3MF, PLY, STEP/STP, IGES/IGS, FBX and DAE, plus images, SVG and DXF. It writes STL, OBJ, GLB, 3MF, PLY and DXF. STEP, IGES, FBX and DAE are read-only — there's no exporter for them, so those columns don't exist rather than producing a file that only pretends to be one.

Question 7

Why can't I convert STL to STEP?

Accepted Answer

An STL is a bag of triangles; a STEP file is a solid built from real surfaces. Going mesh → solid can't recover geometry that was never in the file, so the only thing a converter can output is a faceted shape wearing a .step extension — useless for CAD and misleading. We don't do it. For a 2D profile out of a mesh, STL to DXF gives you a genuine cross-section instead.

Question 8

Can it handle a DWG file?

Accepted Answer

No. DWG is AutoCAD's proprietary binary format. Re-export as ASCII DXF and use the DXF converters — every CAD package can do that.

Question 9

Is there a file-size limit?

Accepted Answer

200MB per file. Because everything runs on your own machine, the practical limit is your device's memory rather than a server quota.

From ↓ / To →	STL	OBJ	GLB	3MF	PLY
STL	—	STL→OBJ	STL→GLB	STL→3MF	STL→PLY
OBJ	OBJ→STL	—	OBJ→GLB	OBJ→3MF	OBJ→PLY
GLB	GLB→STL	GLB→OBJ	—	GLB→3MF	GLB→PLY
3MF	3MF→STL	3MF→OBJ	3MF→GLB	—	3MF→PLY
PLY	PLY→STL	PLY→OBJ	PLY→GLB	PLY→3MF	—
STEPread-only	STEP→STL	STEP→OBJ	STEP→GLB	STEP→3MF	STEP→PLY
IGESread-only	IGES→STL	IGES→OBJ	IGES→GLB	IGES→3MF	IGES→PLY
FBXread-only	FBX→STL	FBX→OBJ	FBX→GLB	FBX→3MF	FBX→PLY
DAEread-only	DAE→STL	DAE→OBJ	DAE→GLB	DAE→3MF	DAE→PLY

Target	Pick it when
STL	3D printing. Geometry only — no colour, no units, no metadata. The safe default for any slicer.
3MF	3D printing with more than geometry: units, multiple objects and colour survive. Preferred by Bambu Studio, PrusaSlicer, Orca and Cura.
OBJ	Editing elsewhere. Plain text, read by every 3D package. Materials live in a separate .mtl, which Flip3D does not write.
GLB	Web and AR. One self-contained binary file with materials inside — the format to embed or hand to a viewer.
PLY	Scans and point-cloud pipelines. What Meshroom, Polycam and most photogrammetry tools expect.

All 3D File Converters

3D model converter matrix

Which format should I convert to?

Images & vectors to 3D

2D CAD, laser & CNC

Viewers

Tools

Reference

Frequently asked questions