3D tools on Linux

3D viewers & converters

Introduction

with a MENU
of links to pages
on 3D viewers,
converters,
and
test/demo files

INTRODUCTION :

This page is meant to provide a menu of links to pages ofnotes on 3D tools for Linux ---mostly 3D file viewers and 3D file converters.

The emphasis is on software that is available at no cost or low cost.

Editing 3D files with tools such as Blender and Wings3D is a much moredifficult and extensive topic than 3D viewers and converters.

There will be a few notes in these pages on 3D modellers being used as3D file viewers.

But, if I collect notes on creating and editing 3D files with3D file editors (modellers),I will collect those notes on separate web pages,and (if I remember to) I will put links on this page.

This page is meant to provide a menu of links to pages of notes on

• 3D file viewers

• 3D file converters

• 3D test/demo files

• and a few special topics on 3D files and their viewers and converters --- such as 'VRML1/VRML2/X3D' and 'Terrain modellers/viewers'.

The pages on viewers and converters include

• source code

and/or

• Linux binary executables packages (32-bit), installable on Ubuntu 9.10 = 2009 Oct or thereafter (or on other Linux distros, especially Debian-based distros)

for many of the 3D viewer and converter programs.

The ultimate purpose is to collect 3D code from all overthe Internet to make it easily availablefor further 3D software development for Linux systems.

A quick overview of some 3D file types :

Some of the 3D file types we will be dealing with are :

(Many of the following links are to Wikipedia.)

• 3ds (3D Studio files)

• dwg (Autodesk DWG files)

• dxf (Autodesk DXF files)

• igs (IGES files)

• iv (SGI Inventor files)

• obj (Alias/Wavefront Object files)

• off (Object File Format files)

• ply (Ply format files)
  (References: Stanford, UNC, GaTech)

• pov (POV ray tracer files)

• stl (Stereolithography files)
  (suffix '.stlb' is sometimes used for binary STL files, and '.stla' is sometimes used for ASCII STL files)

• stp (STEP files)

• vrml (VRML1 files)
  (a subset of the SGI Inventor file format)

• vtk (Visual Tool Kit files)

• wrl (VRML2 = VRM97 files)
  (common file suffixes: '.wrl', '.wrl.gz', '.wrz')

Some 3D viewers, for Linux :

Some of the 3D viewers that have proved to be easily installable onLinux (Ubuntu 9.10 or thereafter) are (roughly in alphabetic order) :

• GLC_Player
  'glc_player' is said to read 3ds, obj, stl, off, 3dxml, and Collada (dae) formats.

  I have verified that it does a good job on reading and showing several of these formats.

  A screenshot of 'glc_player' is at the top of this page.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword glc_player.

• g3Dviewer
  'g3dviewer' is said to read the many 3D file formats supported by the LibG3D library.

  This includes most of the formats read by 'glc_player' --- and more.

  However, the user interface of 'glc_player' (in 2011) allows for more viewing options that 'g3dviewer', which has a rather minimal user interface.

  The formats handled by LibG3D include '.3ds', '.lwo', '.obj', '.dxf', '.md2', '.md3', '.wrl', '.vrml', '.dae' (COLLADA), '.ase' (ASCII Scene Exporter), '.ac' (AC3D)

  I have not tried 'g3dviewer' on all of these formats yet.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword g3dviewer.

• geomview
  will read and display the OFF file format.

  Note:
  'geomview' does not read the usual 3D file formats.

  Reportedly, some people have used translators to get 3ds and dxf file data into a format, like OFF, that is readable by geomview.

  'geomview' has been used as a viewer for Mathematica and Maple output.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword geomview.

• ivview
  reads SGI Inventor files [and VRML1 files] --- suffix typically '.iv' [or '.vrml' or '.wrl'], but the suffix can be anything.

  'ivview' apparently reads header records to determine if it is reading the right type of file.

  The 'ivview' user interface is quite simple, but very effective.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword ivview.

• Paraview
  'paraview' reads '.stl' and '.ply' files and various VTK format files --- '.vtk', '.vtu', etc.

  'paraview' has a rather sophisticated viewing interface, probably due to the fact that the program has been developed to run on parallel processing machines --- hence the 'para' prefix.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword paraview.

• Varicad-view
  is a free viewer offered by the company that makes the non-free VariCAD drafting software for Linux.

  It is difficult to find programs on Linux that read Autodesk 2D and 3D files, like DWG and DXF files.

  So this is one of the few options on Linux for viewing AutoCad files.

  I have had great success in reading 2D DWG and DXF files with 'varicad-view', but I have not been able to display 3D AutoCAD files with that viewer.

  However, I have viewed 3D STEP files with 'varicad-view'.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword varicad-view.

  I ran across another CAD software group, gCAD3D (German), that makes a 3D CAD program by that name.

  'gCAD3D' will read and display 3D DXF files.

  The gCAD3D.org group makes a Linux executable available for free (in 2011).

  But the 'gcad3d' package is not really tailored to run on various Linux 32-bit or 64-bit platforms --- and the graphics are a little 'quirky' --- probably because the program is a 'one-architecture-fits-all-Linuxes' approach.

  Hence I hesitate to lift 'gcad3d' to the status of the other viewers in this list.

  Besides, 'gcad3d' is a modeller, rather than simply a viewer, so it has a rather complex user interface.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword gcad3d.

• Whitedune
  'whitedune' reads newer VRML files ('VRML2' and, supposedly, some very specific 'X3D' files, which are basically VRML2 wrapped in XML) --- suffix typically '.wrl' or '.x3d'.

  'whitedune' is actually a VRML2 editor, which makes its interface much more complicated than pure viewers like 'glc_player', 'g3dviewer', 'ivview' and 'paraview'.

  But I include 'whitedune' in this list of viewers because it is the only easily installable VMRL2 viewer that I could find for Linux systems.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword whitedune.

  (I found later the the 'g3dviewer' package for Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid will install on Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic. 'g3dviewer' is said to read '.wrl' files.)

Additionally, some 3D modellers (creators and editors of 3D files) canbe used as viewers, but they are ordinarily slower to load than 'lighter-weight'3D viewers.

And they have much more complicated user interfaces.

There are several 3D modellers that are easily installable onLinux (esp. Ubuntu), and they are (in numero-alphabetic order by name) :

• The Blender modeller
  will read '.obj' and '.3ds' files via scripts developed by the Blender community.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keywords blender 3d.

• The K3D modeller
  will read '.obj' and '.off' files.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword k3d.

• The mm3d modeller
  loads quickly and is said to read '.obj' and '.dxf' (3D) files as well as about 7 others including '.md2', '.md3', and '.lwo'.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword mm3d.

• The wings3D modeller
  will read '.obj' and '.3ds' files.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword wings3d.

Blender, Wings3D, and K-3D were easily installable on Ubuntu Linuxvia the left of the toolbar panel across the top of the screen --- 'Applications > Ubuntu Software Center' (in 2011).

And 'mm3d' was easily installable via the 'sudo apt-get install mm3d'command.

There are a few other 3D viewers that I should mention --- butI list them separately, because they may not be as easilyinstallable on Linux (esp. Debian or Ubuntu) as the packages above.

• There are some MeshLab screenshots at sourceforge.net.

  'meshlab' is said to read ply, stl, off, obj, 3ds, collada (dae), vrml, dxf, x3d, and several others --- a lot of the same formats handled by 'glc_player' or 'g3dviewer'.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword meshlab.

• OctagaPlayer
  Commercial only?

  Forum threads indicate that Octaga offered a free version around 2007.

  There seems to be a free download now (2011 Jan), but commercial outfits tend to have a history of suddenly withdrawing free viewers.

  'octagaPlayer' is said to handle 'x3d' and 'vrml2' formats.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword octagaplayer.

• 'freeWRL' source is/was available via Sourceforge, and also available via tar file for Arch Linux --- freeWRL version 1.22.10.

  However, there do not seem to be any Debian packages available --- nor any kind of binary packages (such as a PPA) from Ubuntu.

  In fact, it appears that 'freewrl', a Java-based system, was dropped by Debian packagers circa 2005.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword freewrl.

• mview
  

  'mview' (mesh viewer) has source available at Sourceforge.

  'mview' is said to read ASCII 'ply', 'vrml1', 'vrml2', 'vtk' (ascii POLYDATA), and wavefront 'obj' (ascii polygons).

  If an 'mview' package becomes available for Debian or Ubuntu, I may promote it to the 3D viewers list above along with 'glc_player', 'g3dviewer', 'ivview', and others.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword mview.

• 'view3dscene' had a home page at Freshmeat with installation instructions at vrmlengine.sourceforge.net.

  'view3dscene' is said to read 'vrml1', 'vrml2', 'x3d', '3ds', 'md3', wavefront 'obj', and Collada ('dae').

  If 'view3dscene' packages become available for Debian or Ubuntu, then I may promote it to the 3D viewers list along with 'glc_player', 'g3dviewer', 'ivview', and others.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword view3dscene.

• The Persistence of Vision Raytracer, was available as Ubuntu packages for dapper, hardy, karmic, lucid, maverick, and natty.

  So it has received much attention by the Ubuntu developers.

  POV-Ray by itself is a command-line utility (not a GUI) that makes high-quality 2D image files.

  'povray' takes scene descriptions, written in a special language, to produce ray-traced images (or even a sequence of images, for animations).

  Since there may be quite a learning curve on this --- and since it actually 'renders' 3D models as static 2D images, I have not included 'povray' in the 3D viewers list above.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword povray.

• 'viewstl' source code was at Sourceforge.

  I have found no Ubuntu or Debian packages for the 'viewstl' STL file viewer.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword viewstl.

I generally stay away from Java-based code --- especiallyfor 3D, not only for performance reasons, but because it is so hardto find Debian or Ubuntu packages of Java-based 3D viewers.

But I provide links to such Java-based 3D viewers here ---if only as a reminder that they exist.

Besides 'freeWRL' (mentioned above as being 'dropped' byDebian package-makers), here are a few more Java 3Dviewer programs.

• dxfviewer at -
  escape.de/~quincunx/

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword dxfviewer.

• geometria at -
  geocentral.net/geometria/

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword geometria.

• Xj3D at -
  xj3d.org

  Xj3D is a project of the Web3D Consortium --- which, judging by Web3D progress over the past 10 years and more, means we can't expect much.

  That consortium has essentially pissed away the good foundation that SGI laid for them.

  See notes on a web posting titled 'How VRML 2 Destroyed Internet VR [Virtual Reality] For A Decade' in my web page on VRML1 and VRML2 and X3D.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword xj3d.

The Java 'write-once, run anywhere' IDEA is a nice one.

One of the problems, however, is getting Java-engines[byte-code interpreters] that run with no problems onyour particular machine --- with its windowing system andits 3D video card.

Java 3D is basically taking a very, very complex area--- 3D graphics programming adding another layer of complexity--- another layer of things that can go wrong ---to that complex situation.

However, since

• Google does lots of code development in Java, and

• Google bases some of its operating systems, like Chrome and Android, on Linux, and

• Google houses some 3D code on its code sites,

maybe we can expect some stable, Java-based 3D-file-viewerson Linux, in coming years.

Some 3D file CONVERTERS for Linux :

Most 3D multi-converter programs (programs that convertbetween many pairs of 3D file formats) require lots ofdevelopment and testing.

As a consequence most such programs are non-free and rather costly.

On Linux, I have found only a few 3D 'multi-converter' programs, namely :

• ivcon and ivread
  by John Burkhardt at
  FSU (Florida State University) and previously at Iowa State.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keywords ivread ivcon.

• ADMesh
  which is mainly an STL (Stereolithography) file 'fixer' --- for both ASCII and binary STL files --- but it also will write Wavefront OBJ files and VRML1 files from STL files.

  For more information, here is a WEB SEARCH on the keyword admesh.

On Linux, there are quite a few 3D 'one-to-one'converter programs, that is programs that convertONLY one 3D format to ONLY one other 3D format.

Not surprisingly, the quality of these 3D converterprograms varies considerably.

Most are available as source rather than compiled binaries.

You hardly ever find these, or the 'multi-converters' above,in Linux binary packages such as Debian or Red Hat packages.

A list follows that gives an idea of the kinds of 3D'one-to-one' converters that might be (or were) availableand buildable on Linux (or Unix) :

• 3ds-to-iv

• dxf-to-iv

• dxf-to-3ds

• iv-to-pov

• obj-to-wrl

• obj-to-iv

• stl-to-pov

• vrml1-to-vrml2

• vrml-to-pov

These indicated 'one-to-one' converters are actually some combinationsthat I have found to be implemented in one language or another, but it is notclear to me yet whether they are all capable of being fairly easilyimplemented --- in particular, on Linux (especially Ubuntu or some otherDebian-based distro).

However, if the source is available and compilable, for some of these,I intend to make the source and compiled program available via a3D converters web page.

At least these programs do not require libraries for GUIuser interfaces and for 3D graphics, so the compilationrequirements are generally relatively simple.

Some 3D test/demo files :

In addition to web pages for 3D viewers and 3D converters,I also have a web page that is meant to serve asa source of various 3D sample files for various 3D fileformats, with suffixes such as

'.3ds', '.blend', '.dwg', '.dxf', '.igs', '.iv', '.obj', '.ply', '.pov', '.stl', '.stp', '.vtk', '.wrl', '.x3d' --- the ones in bold being the types that are most commonly used (and found).

A few of these formats, like '.igs' (IGES) and '.dwg', are actually mainly used as 2D drafting formats.

But they are included here because they often contain geometry that is used to make 3D models --- and some viewers of 3D files are also capable of viewing these 2D file formats.

My background on 3D viewers and converters :

I spent about 10 years (about 1995 to 2004) working on SGI (Silicon Graphics)Unix workstations, installing and supporting software for engineeringpurposes --- especially Finite Element Analysis and for Large ScaleVisualization.

About 1993 to 1998 were the 'boom years' for SGI.

During that time, their talented people had come out withthe Inventor file format for 3D models --- with lightingand some built-in animation capabilities included inthe format specification.

VRML 1 was a subset of the SGI Inventor specification.

The potential capabilities were demonstrated by some examplefiles which included interactivity capabilities.

One example VRML(2) model is a sphere that could beslid back and forth along a rod (constrained thereto),by using a mouse to drag the sphere.

I was in a position to try out the SGI 'ivview' program (a 'stand-alone' program) and 'Cosmoplayer' program(a web browser plug-in, only) on various demoInventor and VRML files.

It seemed like there was a lot of potential there ---in the advertising and presentations worldif not in the engineering world.

In any case, thus was born my interest in 3Dfile viewers, 3D file converters, and 3D file formats.

On the MENU - of 3D resources pages, below :

There is a 'Table of Contents', just below, that contains links toseveral web pages that I have constructed having to do with3D viewers, 3D converters, and 3D test/demo files --- as well as'special subject' areas in 3D graphics.

You can use the Find-Text option of your web browser to lookfor keywords on this page (and in those pages) ---keywords such as 'view', 'play', 'convert', 'vrml', 'inventor','3ds', 'dxf', 'iv', 'obj', 'stl', 'ply', etc.

There is also a link to a page of 'external' web links --- on 3D viewers,3D converters, 3D file formats, and other 3D topics --- nearthe bottom of this page.

I try to provide links that will not go dead in a year or two,but the internet is littered with 'Links' pages on which90% of the links are dead.

No doubt, in about 10 years, at least 50% of the links onmy 3D links page will be dead.

TABLE OF CONTENTS :

(a menu of links to 'local' web pages)

• 3D viewers
  install notes and an archive of installation/reference files (source code and some binary packages) - for Linux

• 3D converters
  install notes and an archive of installation/reference files (source code and some binary packages) - for Linux

• 3D test/demo files
  an archive of files suitable for testing 3D viewers and 3D converters --- including notes on how to make 3D files viewable from web pages --- that is, how to setup 3D viewers as 'helper applications' in web browsers.

• VRML1 and VRML2 and X3D
  notes on the formats that were meant to bring 3D data and viewing to the web

• 3D terrain software
  notes on software such as GIS (Geographic Information System) software, for terrain viewing and modeling
  [PAGE TO BE CONSTRUCTED - not available]

• unusual 3D software
  some interesting 3D software projects by some individuals who think 'outside the conventional 3D box'
  [PAGE TO BE CONSTRUCTED - not available]

  To give an idea of the intended content of this last page, here are one or more links to sites of unusual 3D projects :

  markjstock.org
  in particular, his flowing forms, still and animated.
  See the following two images, still and animated.

Also seeantiprism.com ---
in particular, the complex geometric forms, still and animated.

See the following two images, still and animated.

Links :

• Here is a page of 'external' 3D links to web info on

  • 3D viewers

  • 3D converters

  • 3D modellers

  • 3D file formats

  • sources of sample 3D files

  • and other types of 3D info

END OF TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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