Which 3D file format is best for jewelry on a website?
For jewelry on a website, use GLB. It is the web's 3D file format: one compact file holding the mesh, its materials and the separate parts, so a viewer loads it in one request and shoppers can switch metals. Keep the Rhino 3DM as your design master, since it keeps exact curves, units and layers, and save STL for the printer or caster.
3D Jewelry Designer2 min read
Why does GLB suit a product page?
GLB is the binary, single-file form of glTF, a format made for delivering 3D models to apps and web pages. One .glb holds the meshes, their materials and how the parts fit together. Because the band, head and stones stay separate parts, each takes its own material, so a shopper can switch metals on the piece itself.
GLB is what web viewers and AR previews usually load, and Rhino, Blender and most CAD tools can export it. glTF and GLB explains the two ways the format is packaged.
When is another format the better choice?
Each format has its own job. The 3D format comparison shows what each can carry.
- 3DM, for designing. Rhino and MatrixGold save it, with exact curves, units and named layers. Keep it as the master: a mesh cannot be turned back into the curves it came from.
- STL, for printing and casting. A bare triangle mesh with no units, parts or materials, so it is the safest file for a printer and the poorest for a product page.
- USDZ, for AR on iPhone and iPad. It is the file Apple's AR Quick Look opens.
- OBJ, FBX, Collada and PLY, for moving meshes between programs. OBJ keeps its materials in a separate .mtl file, and PLY mostly holds 3D scans.
Can you publish a viewer from the design file itself?
Yes. The studio opens 3DM, GLB, GLTF, STL, OBJ, FBX, DAE and PLY files, so there is no GLB to export first.
- Upload the file. A Rhino or MatrixGold .3dm opens with its own units and layers, and metals, stones and prongs are detected from layer and object names.
- Save it as a project. Check the parts and materials first.
- Publish the viewer. In Dashboard → Embeds, publish the saved design as an interactive viewer, from the Starter plan, and paste its iframe snippet into your product page.
A 3D jewellery viewer for your website walks through it, and embeds covers the settings. The studio also exports the piece as GLB, STL, OBJ or USDZ from the Growth plan, as export and share lists.
How do you check a file before it goes live?
Open a .glb in the free GLB viewer. It renders the file with jewellery materials and lists every part, with whether each was recognised as metal or stone, without uploading anything. Starting from an STL? See how to convert an STL ring to GLB.
Questions
Is GLB the same as glTF?
It is the same format packaged two ways. A GLB is one binary file with everything inside, while a glTF is a text file that usually points to separate .bin and texture files. That is why a single GLB is easier to send and to open.
Can a GLB file be compressed?
Yes. Draco compression makes the mesh data inside a GLB smaller, at the cost of rounding its vertex positions slightly, so check fine details such as prongs after compressing. The free GLB viewer opens Draco-compressed files.
Related
- 3D file formats compared: 3DM, GLB, STL, OBJ, FBX
What 3DM, GLB, STL, OBJ, FBX, Collada and PLY can and cannot carry: exact curves, units, separate parts and materials, and what each is for.
- glTF and GLB: the 3D file format for the web and AR
glTF is an open 3D format made for the web and AR, and GLB is the same format in one binary file. What each holds and when to use which.
- A 3D jewelry viewer for your website
Put an interactive 3D view of your jewellery on your own site with one iframe snippet locked to your domains, or send it as a live 3D link.