Web links on 3D subjects

esp. links related to 3D on Linux

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This 3D Web Links (for Linux) page

! Preliminary !
More links may be added,
if/when I re-visit this page.
(and dead links will be removed
--- if I'm not dead).

< Skip to the Table of Contents (categories), below. >

INTRODUCTION :

This is a page of links to info on 3D topics --- 3D viewer programs, 3D converter programs, 3D modeller/editor programs, 3D file formats --- especially in relation to installing and using the viewer and modeller and converter programs on Linux systems --- especially Ubuntu (around version 9.10 = 2009 Oct, Karmic Koala --- and thereafter).

There is a Table of Contents (Table of Categories) below that you can use to find groups of links in a particular 3D subject category.

Or, you can simply scroll down this page to find links of interest.

Additionally, you can use the 'Find text' option of your web browser to look for keywords of interest on this page --- such as 'viewer', 'player', 'modeller', 'modeler', 'model', 'converter', 'translator', '3ds', 'dxf', 'obj', 'stl', 'linux', 'ubuntu', etc.

TABLE OF CONTENTS :

(links to sections below on this page)

END OF TABLE OF CONTENTS.   Start of Categories of 'external' links.

3D SOFTWARE of any type :

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3D VIEWERS :

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(The viewer links are roughly in alphabetical order by viewer name.)

3D CONVERTERS :

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    The John Burkhardt 3D file converters - IVCON and IVREAD :

  • To find info on versions of the 'ivcon' program, you can try WEB SEARCHES on keywords such as:
    'ivcon software 3d burkhardt'

  • ADMesh is no longer maintained by the author, Anthony Martin, but it was still available in Debian and Ubunut repositories, circa 2010 Oct.

    'admesh' does stla2stlb, stl2vrml, stl2dxf, stl2off conversions.
    Although admesh (binary) was not available through the 'Ubuntu Software Center' of Ubunut 9.10, it was available via the Synaptic Package Manager (on Ubuntu 9.10, Karmic). Alternatively, download the '.deb' file from a 'packages.ubuntu.com' web page and install it with Gdebi.

OLD SGI CODE for 3D VIEWERS & CONVERTERS and more :

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  • merlin.fit.vutbr.cz/...
    (source of an 'ivTools' zip file circa 2011 - see the zip file links in the 'Download' section near the top of the page)
    (C++ source) (nice descriptions)

  • NOTE: 'ivTools' includes source for a program called 'ivvrml' whose comments say that it is a convertor between Inventor/VRML file formats. The following formats are said to be supported:

    • ASCII Inventor
    • Binary Inventor
    • VRML1
    • VRML2 (VRML97)

    'ivTools' also includes the source for 'ivview' and 'ivinfo'. Also for 'ivcat', 'ivfix', 'ivgraph', 'ivnorm', and 'ivperf'.

  • ftp://oss.sgi.com/projects/inventor/download/
    (source of an 'inventor-2.1.5-10_src' tar.gz file circa 2011)
    (This may be the last reservoir of this source code. I am glad to preserve a copy here --- to avoid the disappearance of some programming history.) (C++ source)

    'inventor-2.1.5-10_src' includes source for 'ivdowngrade' (= 'iv2toiv1'), some example '.iv' files, and some 'demos': 'gview' (a precursor of 'ivview'?), 'drop', 'maze', 'noodle', 'qmorf', 'revo', 'SceneViewer' (looks like 'ivview'), and 'textomatic'.

    'inventor-2.1.5-10_src' also includes C++ source for some programs/routines called 'BarChart', 'Decal', 'GeneralizedCylinder', 'Triangulator', 'NurbMaker', 'fview', 'ivclock', 'LineManip', 'linkages', 'details', 'constrainManip', 'menu', 'spaceball', 'viewerTest', 'vortex', and 'componentTest' --- as well as another copy of source for 'ivcat', 'ivfix', 'ivinfo', 'ivnorm', 'ivper', and 'ivview' (in addition to the copy in the 'ivTools' archive above).

3D MODELLERS and RENDERERS:

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  • 3D modelling/rendering apps - at
    linuxappfinder.com/graphics/

  • The Blender modeller -at
    www.blender.org
    will read '.obj' and '.3ds' files via scripts developed by the Blender community.

  • The K3D modeller - at
    www.k-3d.org
    will read '.obj' and '.off' files.

  • The mm3d modeller - at
    www.misfitcode.com/misfitmodel3d/
    loads quickly and is said to read '.obj' and '.dxf' (3D) files as well as about 7 others including '.md2', '.md3', and '.lwo'.

  • The wings3D modeller - at
    www.wings3d.com
    will read '.obj' and '.3ds' files.

  • povray -at
    www.povray.org
    The Persistence of Vision Raytracer.

    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 below.

3D FILES : (for test and demo)

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    Wikipedia info on 3D file formats :

  • 3ds (3D Studio files)

  • CSV - Comma Separated Values - files are showable by 'paraview', if formatted properly

  • 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 - ref. Stanford, UNC, GaTech)

  • pov (POV ray tracer files)

  • stl (Stereolithography files)
    (suffix '.stlb' is sometimes used for binary 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 sources of free 3D model files:

  • toucan.co.jp
    (had many fish and flower '.3ds' files circa 2011, with their accompanying '.bmp' texture files)

  • globalfilesearch.net
    can be used to look for more 3D test/demo files by entering a files suffix such as .3ds or .wrl .

VRML : (VRML1, VRML2, and successor X3D)

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  • Wikipedia page on VRML for a nice introduction to the history of the VRML1 and VRML2 (= VRML97) file formats

  • 'VRMLworks' site of Bob Crispen that has been in existence for over 10 years. It has many dead links to old archival sites of VRML info and files. But there are some info-nuggets of interest here.

    • To find info on VRML files, you can try WEB SEARCHES on keywords such as:
      'vrml file'

3D TERRAIN : (code and files and info)

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3D UNUSUAL :
(out-of-the-ordinary 3D projects)

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  • markjstock.org in particular, his flowing forms, still and animated


  • anti-prism.com in particular, his complex geometric forms, still and animated


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*3D* web links - for Linux page.

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Page was created 2011 Jan 29.

Page was changed 2018 Dec 18.
(Added css and javascript to try to handle text-size for smartphones, esp. in portrait orientation.)