File formats

3DCityLoader offer converted 3D city models in different formats. Here you can find out which is best suited for your CAD software.

Compatibility

Software	DXF	STL	OBJ	CityJSON	CityGML
AutoCAD	✅	❌	❌	❌
Revit	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌
Rhino	✅	❌	☑️	❌	❌
ArchiCAD	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌
Blender	❌	✅	☑️	❌	❌
3ds Max	✅	☑️	☑️	❌	❌
Civil 3D	✅	❌	❌	☑️
SketchUp	✅	☑️*	❌	❌
Cura	❌	✅	☑️	❌	❌
QGIS	☑️	❌	☑️*	✅

✅ Supported and recommended ☑️ Supported, possibly with restrictions ❌ Not supported

*only with plug-in

Your software is missing? We would be happy to find out which software you use and will do everything we can to support it too. Please feel free to contact us.

DXF

DXF (Drawing Interchange Format) is a format specified by Autodesk for the exchange of 3D data between different CAD programs. It is compatible with most programs from Autodesk's portfolio such as AutoCAD, Revit or 3ds Max, but also with many third-party solutions and is usually the best choice for further use in CAD applications.

3dcityloader supports this format also with terrain. Buildings and terrain are stored in two separate layers, each as 'Polyface Mesh'. The coordinate system used is that of the raw data. Thus the combination with other or own data is possible without any problems.

STL

The STL file format has become widely accepted in additive manufacturing (3D printing) and is supported by many applications in this field. The surfaces are described in this format by triangular facets and converted accordingly by us. Apart from the 3D surface description, the files do not contain any meta information on individual buildings or different layers. Therefore, it is usually only the second choice for further processing in CAD systems, but is ideally suited for use in additive manufacturing (3D printing). Export is also possible with terrain. In this case, a box is added to the terrain at the bottom, which is ideal as a base for additive manufacturing.