CAD File Formats — Pick the Right Tool for Each

DWG is the de facto interchange format for 2D and 3D CAD drawings. Originally developed for AutoCAD in 1982 and now maintained by Autodesk, the format stores vector geometry, layers, annotations, and limited 3D solid modeling data. Because DWG dominates the AEC and manufacturing CAD ecosystems, the ability to read and write it cleanly is the single most important interop feature for any 2D CAD tool. Below are every tool in our catalog that imports and/or exports DWG.

DXF (Drawing Exchange Format) is the open-spec sibling to DWG, designed in 1982 specifically for moving CAD data between applications. As an ASCII text format (binary DXF also exists), it's the lingua franca for laser cutters, plasma cutters, CNC routers, and any toolchain that needs to read CAD geometry without an AutoCAD licence. Every serious 2D CAD tool reads and writes DXF cleanly.

STEP (ISO 10303) is the international standard for exchanging 3D solid CAD data. Unlike DWG/DXF, STEP captures real B-rep solid geometry — meaning the receiving CAD tool gets the model's solid topology, not just surface meshes. This makes STEP the default format for cross-vendor mechanical design (SolidWorks ↔ Inventor ↔ Creo ↔ NX), and increasingly for 3D printing and CAM workflows where the kernel needs to do real surface analysis.

STL is the universal language of 3D printing. The format represents 3D geometry as a mesh of triangulated facets — simple, ubiquitous, and supported by every slicer and every printer. STL is lossy (no colour, no parametric history, no NURBS) but its simplicity is its strength: anything that can output STL can be 3D printed. Below are every tool in our catalog that imports or exports STL.

IGES is the older neutral CAD exchange format, predating STEP and historically used heavily in aerospace, automotive, and shipbuilding workflows where surface geometry (not solids) was the primary representation. IGES carries NURBS surfaces, curves, and analytic primitives, but lacks STEP's solid topology and PMI. Most mechanical CAD tools still read and write IGES for backwards-compatibility with legacy data.

IFC is the open BIM data standard maintained by buildingSMART International. Where DWG carries lines and STEP carries solids, IFC carries semantically-rich building models — walls know they are walls, doors know they are doors, slabs reference their floor level. This makes IFC the cornerstone of BIM-to-BIM interoperability and the required format for openBIM submissions to governments and large-firm collaboration. IFC4 is the current production version; IFC4.3 adds infrastructure (roads, rails, bridges) support.

OBJ is the universal interchange format for 3D mesh data with materials. Originally from Wavefront Technologies in the 1980s, it became the standard for moving 3D models between modelling, animation, and rendering applications. Unlike STL, OBJ carries textures, materials (via .mtl), vertex normals, and UV coordinates — making it the format of choice for visualisation, game asset pipelines, and 3D scanning output.

PDF in the CAD world is more than just a print format — it's the lingua franca for stakeholder review. PDF carries vector geometry, layers, annotations, and (in 3D PDF / U3D / PRC variants) full 3D model data with measurement and section tools. Most CAD tools export PDF for plotting, markup, and digital sign-off, while specialist tools like Bluebeam Revu and Adobe Acrobat handle the review/markup side of the workflow.

FBX is Autodesk's proprietary scene-and-animation interchange format. It carries 3D meshes, materials, rigs, animations, lights, and cameras — everything a game engine or animation pipeline needs. FBX dominates the games/film/animation toolchain (Unity, Unreal, Maya, 3ds Max), and increasingly architectural visualisation workflows where you need full scene fidelity (lights + materials + animation) not just geometry.

JT is the lightweight 3D visualisation format used heavily in automotive and aerospace mechanical design. Maintained by Siemens (and an ISO standard, ISO 14306), JT is designed for huge assembly visualisation — millions of parts, level-of-detail mesh data, attached PMI. It's the format of choice for digital-mockup workflows at the OEM level, particularly in supply chains anchored to Siemens NX and Teamcenter PLM.